I’ve always been fascinated with paradoxes. You know, seemingly contrary statements that are nevertheless true. For example the statement, “Standing is more tiring than walking.” is a paradox. Sarah and I were reminded of how true that statement is just a few weeks ago when we had to stand for close to an hour on a crowded train while traveling through Japan. Standing for that hour took more out of me than all the walking we had done that morning and afternoon.
The Bible is full of paradoxes. Just think of how Jesus taught that the first shall be last and the last shall be first. Or how he said that if you want to become the greatest in the kingdom of God you must become the least. With truths like that we aren’t surprised to learn that following God’s Word leads to a paradoxical lifestyle. Our text this morning informs us that following God’s Word both separates us from the world, and sends us to the world.
Jesus spoke the paradoxical words of our text as a prayer the same night he was betrayed. In his prayer he asked to receive strength for his upcoming crucifixion, and protection for his disciples who would soon find themselves carrying on without Jesus visibly at their side. Jesus wanted his Father to protect his disciples through the “power of his name” (vs. 11, 12). What do you think that meant by that? Was Jesus praying that God would protect the disciples through some sort of magical incantation such as hocus-pocus or abracadabra? Of course not! He was asking God to protect his disciples through the Word. You see God’s name is not just his titles but everything that he has revealed to us about himself – all of which you can find in the Bible.
Just how can God’s Word protect us from the world? It protects us by separating us from it. It does that by giving us an accurate perspective on sin and its consequences. For example the world wants us to believe that sleeping around is OK as long as you practice safe sex, or that sex before marriage is OK as long as you are in a committed relationship. Isn’t that what many movies portray? They make it seem as if such affairs are hot and exciting and that the relationships of married couples are boring and stagnant. But movies aren’t real are they? If you want a dose of reality of what happens when you disregard God’s Word about sex and marriage just watch any daytime talk show. Jerry Springer can’t seem to get through a show without his guests yelling and often taking swings at each other because their sinful lifestyles have caused jealousy and dissension, not exhilaration and passion.
Only through God’s Word can we see sin and temptation for what it really is – nothing more than an enticing picture. Let me explain what I mean. Hanging in my office is a picture I took years ago while hiking in the mountains. When I get distracted I often find myself looking at the picture thinking of how great it would be to be hiking in those mountains again. What do you think would happen if I tried to jump into that picture thinking it was real? I would end up with a sore shoulder and a bump on my head because on the other side of the picture is a solid wall, not a mountain vista. In the same way temptation beckons and entices. It promises wonderful things but when we fall for it we find out that there nothing on the other side except pain and guilt.
Isn’t that what Judas found out? His love for money lead him to believe that if only he could have lots of cash he would find happiness. But where did his greed lead him? It lead him to betray his Lord and Saviour and then to become so grieved at what he had done that he went out and committed suicide. Brothers and sisters listen to God’s Word because it can and will protect us from falling for the Devil’s traps. Don’t believe what the world has to say about what is fun and what isn’t. What does the world know? Look at the mess it has gotten itself into. Only God’s Word can keep us safe by separating us from the world’s way of thinking and from buying into the Devil’s lies.
Before we go on I want to tackle a difficult verse in our text concerning Judas. When Jesus says that Judas was “doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled” (v. 12) he’s not saying that Judas had been destined to betray Jesus and there was nothing that he could have done to change it. In interpreting this passage we need to be careful to distinguish between God’s foreordaining and his foreknowledge. Just because God knows something is going to happen doesn’t mean that he wants it to happen that way. Take the fall into sin by Adam and Eve for example. God knew that Adam and Eve would eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil before he created them (Eph. 1:3-10) but this doesn’t mean that God wanted Adam and Eve to fall into sin or that he had programmed them to do so. That would make God the author of evil and James says that that is not so (James 1:13).
So where does that leave us? Well, just as it was not God’s will for Adam and Eve to eat from that tree so God did not want Judas to sin by betraying Jesus. Paul clearly teaches that God wants all to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth (1 Tim. 2:4). Jesus demonstrated that by calling Judas to repentance right up the very end but Judas refused to turn from his sin. Since God knew that Judas would betray Jesus despite the warnings, he directed the prophets to write about the betrayal centuries before it happened. That’s why Jesus could say that Scripture would be fulfilled by Judas’ actions. The lesson that we want to learn from this is that just as Jesus called Judas to repentance he calls us to repentance. He urges us to leave our life of sin and turn to him for forgiveness. Jesus desperately wants you to be with him in heaven. Don’t reject that call as Judas did!
The more we study God’s Word and apply it to our life the less we will have in common with the world. We won’t share the same priorities or get excited about the same things. It may even get to that point where we would feel a lot more comfortable if we could all move off to a monastery somewhere with fellow Christians. But here’s the paradox of God’s Word. While God’s Word separates us from the world it also sends us to it. In verse 18 Jesus said, “As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world.”
Jesus had been sent by his Father to reach out to a world that had been destroyed by sin. Just as Jesus went around Palestine preaching the truth so now he has sent us to the world to bring the truth about sin and salvation. Although Jesus doesn’t want us to reach out in a self-righteous manner he does want us to be bold about telling people that sin damns, no matter how small a sin it may seem. It doesn’t matter if you’ve lead a pretty good life and done your best the Bible says that if we break even one part of God’s law we have broken it all (James 2:10). Or think of it this way. How many links do you have to break on a tow chain before it becomes useless? Just one.
Sharing God’s demands and pointing out shortcomings is only part of the work God has given to us to do isn’t it? Once our listeners have become convicted of their sin we can share with them the good news of Jesus’ death and resurrection. Although by nature we are like useless broken tow chains Jesus has connected us to the Father through his work. He reached down and made us his own through baptism and assures us of that every time we hear his Word and receive the Lord’s Supper.
Since God has given us this awesome news about salvation we can’t afford to pack up and live in a monastery. We need to share that good news with others. In fact if we don’t share that news we show ourselves to be very irresponsible. Just think for a moment what would happen if the Cancer Foundation found out that fruits and vegetables don’t help prevent cancer but accelerate it but failed to share that news with the public? What would people think of such researchers who would keep that news to themselves? In the same way we have an awesome responsibility to tell others the truth about sin and salvation. Let’s not keep silent!
Of course not everyone will appreciate our work of sharing God’s Word. Jesus said in our text that just as the world hated him so it will hate us. But we can be sure that God will keep us safe as we do his work because Jesus also prayed for his Father to protect us from the evil one (vs. 14, 15). People may mock and ridicule us for our faith but they will have to answer to God for it.
With this prayer Jesus prepares us for his Ascension. He wants us to know that even though he has visibly gone to heaven he hasn’t left us here to fend for ourselves. Jesus assures us that the Father will continue to protect us in the same way that he protected the disciples – through his powerful Word and the working of the Holy Spirit. Listening to the Word will lead to a paradoxical life as it first separates from the world and then sends us to it. The world won’t think much of us but that’s fine because Jesus also said that the first shall be last and the last shall be first (Matthew 19:30). That’s a paradox worth living and dying for. Amen.
