J. Douglas Dortch, Jr., Ph.D.
First Baptist Church, Tallahassee, FL
“The Odds Are In Your Favor ”
From the Lenten Series "A Living Lord "
Scripture: John 11:45-53
March 2 , 2008
I was playing golf this week with someone not a member of First Baptist Church, who brought up in our conversation a recent experience he had with the Florida Lottery. People don’t usually tell me about their lottery experiences, and I have to tell you that I was a little taken aback. “I played the lottery this past week,” is how the conversation began. “And guess how many numbers I got right?” Before I could say anything, he answered the question for me. “One,” is what he told me. And then he went on to tell me that no matter how much he plays the lottery, he never seems to get more than one number drawn.
I guess in his own way he was trying to reassure me that as a Baptist preacher, I’m not missing anything by not playing the lottery. But, of course, I already knew that. I knew that a person has about as much of a chance being struck by lightning than winning anything in the lottery; actually, the odds are greater that you’ll be struck by lightning than you’ll win the lottery. And yet day after day, people rush to buy their tickets, hoping against hope that one day they’ll strike it rich.
I don’t mean this sermon to be an indictment of the lottery, though I do want to go on record as being opposed to it, because I consider it to be a silly and unjust way to fund government services. And though many would argue to the contrary, I am not swayed in the least by the chief apology of lottery proponents – that life itself is a gamble, and there is no such thing in this world as a “sure thing.”
I beg to differ. On one hand, I would in no way protest the point of view that life involves a measure of risk; in fact, I would heartily embrace it. Think about how much people tend to miss by never getting out of their “comfort zones” and by never putting themselves in a place where only the grace of God can bail them out. I always think of the parable of the talents, where the servants of the rich man are given talents to invest, and the only servant who gets criticized is the servant who went and buried what his master gave him.
But on the other hand, when I take a risk, I want to know that the odds are in my favor. If I make an investment, I want to know that the history of that investment indicates a good probability of a decent return. If I take off in a particular direction, I want to know that there’s a good chance that I will make it to my destination. If I trust myself to another person, I want to know that the person to whom I trust myself will in all likelihood not betray my trust or abuse my devotion. After all, Jesus also told a story about people who build a tower, but not before they count the costs of building it, lest they get in too far over their heads.
So, if life is a gamble, are there reasonable risks; and, more importantly, is there such a thing as a “sure thing?”
That’s something of the question that John deals with in this passage that is before us this morning. The eleventh chapter of John’s gospel is the chapter that contains the story of the raising of Lazarus. You remember that story. Lazarus and his sisters, Mary and Martha, were good friends of Jesus. Lazarus had become ill, and though his sisters had sent for Jesus, Jesus couldn’t get to their home in Bethany soon enough to save him. Lazarus died and was buried. But because Jesus was (and is) the Resurrection and the Life, he brought forth Lazarus from the grave with a miracle that no one had ever done before.
Needless to say, that miracle created quite a stir in the city; so much so that the chief priests and the Pharisees, the religious leaders of Jesus’ day, felt that something had to be done to control the enthusiasm that Jesus was generating, lest Rome, the ruling power, exert its authority, taking matters into their own hands and coming down on the people. Too much was at stake. The risks were too great.
Our text focuses on the gathering of the Sanhedrin, the ruling religious council, which as John explains, was led by the high priest Caiaphas. The whole scene reminds me of a Baptist business meeting that’s gotten out of hand. Anxieties were escalating, as one by one, individuals expressed their fears over the stir that this Jesus was creating with all of his miracles and amazing signs. What were they to do with Jesus, especially in light of how so many were believing in him?
It was Caiaphas who sought to quell the controversy. “We’ll kill him,” was Caiaphas’ solution. “You nitwits; don’t you realize that it’s better for one man to die than for the whole nation to perish?” Don’t you see; Caiaphas was simply weighing the odds and minimizing his risks. “Get rid of the source of the annoyance and our problem will be solved.” “One person or the whole nation? This is a no-brainer.”
Little did Caiaphas know what truth he was proclaiming – a liberating truth, a transforming truth. “For God so loved the world that He gave His Only Begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Caiaphas was intending to speak words of expediency and political interest, but for those who have ears to hear, the words of the high priest pointed to Jesus as the one who would be lifted up on the cross for the salvation of the world. The odds are in our favor; the death of God’s Son means life to all who believe in him. Indeed, there is no other way to experience forgiveness of sin and fullness of life outside of trusting in the cross of Jesus. That’s why I’ve come to be perplexed at the growing reluctance of Christians to lift high the cross of Jesus, almost as if the cross is a source of embarrassment, sort of like an out-of-style scarf or tie.
Some years ago, I heard the story of a group of tourists who were touring the elegant new sanctuary of a large, prestigious church here in America. An unusual formation of illuminated crosses dominated the chancel décor. When someone in the group commented on the formation, the guide who was giving the tour answered, “Yes, it is unusual, but as far as I can tell, those crosses have no significance here in our church.” I hope she didn’t mean it like it sounded; odds are that she didn’t, but you never know.
I say that because of how the cross of Jesus is a constant reminder that we are “lost.” By that, I mean that the cross is a blaring symbol of how we are incapable in our own power of making things work in this world. We try, but we fail. We strain to be at our best, and we inevitably come up short. The cross reminds us that we are not God and that we are mere mortals; that the odds of our being able to fend for ourselves is not in our favor. And that is a reality that many in this world would rather not have to face.
But when you come to a place in life, where you finally realize that you don’t have a leg to stand on and that there’s no other source of hope for your future, when you find every other source of support to have been knocked out from under you, suddenly you see the cross for what God intended it to be – a symbol of presence, power, and promise.
That’s what happened for Gracia Burnham. Do you remember that name? Gracia and her husband Martin were missionaries in the Philippines, when on their 18th wedding anniversary, they were taken captive by the Abu Sayyaf rebels. At one point their captors marched them past a Christian chapel. “There used to be a cross there, but we destroyed it” one of the rebels said proudly to the missionary couple. “We hate the cross; any time we see a cross we destroy it if we can.” When the Burnhams tried to explain the significance of the cross to their captors, their efforts fail on deaf ears. “I don’t want anybody paying for my sin,” said one of the rebels. “I’ll do my own paying.”
Could he do that? Could anyone actually do enough to pay for his sins? The odds say “No.” In the cross of Christ, God has done for us what none of us could ever do for himself. In the cross of Christ, one person died that all who believe in him might have everlasting life.
How about you? Are you tired of trying to make your own way? Have you become weary of giving your best only to realize that your best is not and never will be good enough? Are you ready to embrace Jesus and to trust your life to him so that when he gives it back, it will hold more than you ever dreamed possible?
John Worth is a Lutheran pastor in Wisconsin. He tells of a play he remembers seeing as a child. The plot of the play centered around a submarine that was trapped on the bottom of the ocean. The crew tried their best to extricate themselves from the situation but to no avail.
Desperate, they decided that if there was a body floating on the sea, with a note in its pocket describing their situation, it might be found and they might be rescued. The odds of that happening wouldn’t be great, but what else could they do?
They decided to cast lots to see who would pay the ultimate price by being ejected through the torpedo tube, bringing death to that individual, but offering the slimmest hope to the rest of the crew. The lot fell to a young sailor, but in his fear he refused the assignment. As you would imagine, a big argument ensued, until finally an older sailor stepped up for the assignment. And as Worth recounts the story, the play ends with the young sailor abandoned by his crewmates in a leaking compartment of the sub, while in the background is heard the sound of the human torpedo being ejected.
“You no-nothings; don’t you realize that it’s better for you that one man die for the people than the whole nation perish?” Indeed it was; and the glory of the gospel is that the one man shouldered his cross and with it the sins of the world that we might not perish but have everlasting life.
So, what is your lucky number? Everybody has one. Some say “six;” others say “seven” or “three” or some other number.
Why don’t you try “one?” One Lord. One faith. One baptism. One God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. One man who died that the whole nation might not perish.
Try staking your life on that number and on the Only Begotten Son of God who is the ultimate and definitive representative of it, and you will be amazed at how in the course of life’s lottery it always comes up, even when it is crucified, and how it gives all who embrace it abundant life, both now and forevermore.