Paradox – e.g. a murderous priest, an evil child of God, a malicious man of God, etc. These phrases seem absurd, right? They seem so because they are formed with a combination of contradictory words or ideas. The term Murderous, obviously, contradicts the term priest by far. Likewise, the term evil contradicts the term child of God. And the term malicious contracts the term man of God. Therefore we call such phrases paradoxes – where the term paradox means contrary to expectations, existing beliefs, or perceived opinion. Paradoxes, though seemingly absurd, make a lot of sense and when they are well investigated, they are found to be true. Certain Biblical passages of historic events are paradoxical; better yet, they verify paradoxes such as a murderous priest, an evil child of God, etc. Examples:
- And the chief priests and scribes sought how they might kill him [Jesus]; for they feared the people. Luke 22:2
- And the Pharisees went forth, and straightway took counsel with the Herodians against him [Jesus], how they might destroy him. Mark 3:6
- Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him [Jesus], because he not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God. John 5:18
- After these things Jesus walked in Galilee: for he would not walk in Jewry, because the Jews sought to kill him. John 7:1
- Now the chief priests, and elders, and all the council, sought false witness against Jesus, to put him to death; Matthew 26:59
- After two days was the feast of the Passover, and of unleavened bread: and the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might take him [Jesus] by craft, and put him [Jesus] to death. Mark 14:1
- 53 Then from that day forth they [Pharisees and priests] took counsel together for to put him to death. John 11: 53
Did you take notice of the persons mentioned in the verses above? The names are the priests, the elders, the scribes, the Pharisees, the Jews, and Jesus. As it is obvious in the verses above, the priests, the scribes, the Pharisees, and the Jews collaborated well to play antagonism against Jesus.
The priests, including the chief priests and the high priest, were descendants of Aaron, consecrated by God for only the priestly office. Theirs were the offering of sacrifices, making atonement for the people (Ex 28:1), etc. in the Jewish system of worship. And they were to appear holy before God.
The Pharisees were a sect of Jews renowned for their strict observance of the Jewish customs and the Law of Moses and were teachers of the same, who also put up a pretense of being very holy.
The scribes were a group of learned Jews who were entrusted with the job of preserving the Scripture. They would copy and recopy the Scriptures meticulously.
The priests, the Pharisees, and the scribes are religious leaders who are expected to be nothing short of holy – holy before the Lord. And they were to be living examples of the virtues taught by the law of Moses. However, we see the opposite of this expectation. These religious leaders are callous men who would suppress and take out anyone who teaches the truth. In the days of Jesus, these religious leaders actually appeared holy on the outside. But on the inside, they were evil and, in secrecy, they plotted to kill (Luke 22:2), bribed (Matthew 26:14-16), plotted to deceive the people (Matthew 28:12-15), etc., making them a paradox.
Generally, the Jews regard themselves as keepers of the law and boast about being the children of God. To put it briefly, the Jews and their religious leaders, the scribes, the Pharisees, the priests, etc. were the religious people at that time; men who thought they knew the one true God. However, these were the same religious people who sought every available means to put Jesus to death for no good reason. They hated Jesus so much and their every intent towards Him was lethal all the time.
Why were these religious people that hateful and evil? Isaiah the prophet was led by the Spirit to answer such a question, and Jesus reechoed it in Matthew 15:8, saying,
“Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honor me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men:” Isaiah 29:13
Paradox in Christianity
Even in this Christian era, there are a lot of paradoxes. Professing Christians who have neglected the word of God and are living in sin create paradoxes all the time. Once I was listening to a man of God preaching and along the line, he used the term ‘a sinning Christian‘, which, of course, means a Christian who is habitually sinful. A sinning Christian is a paradox. The term sinning and the term Christian are opposing ideas, making the phrase an example of a paradox. A Christian ought not to be sinful for it is written,
No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God. 1 John 3:9 NIV
There are other paradoxes such as a fornicating Christian, a corrupt Christian, a lying Christian, a deceitful Christian, an adulterous Christian, a homosexual Christian, a lesbian Christian, an unforgiving Christian, a wicked Christian, a false prophet, a fake pastor, etc. All these paradoxes come to be because some professing Christians, members, and church leaders alike, are still living in much the same sins as the unbelievers and sinners. If you find any professing Christian who identifies with these paradoxes or whose life is paradoxical, you can be sure that he has apostatized from the faith and he is an apostate.
Christianity and salvation would not make any sense to unbelievers until Christians distinguish themselves in deeds from the unbelievers; hence the need to walk in obedience to our faith, living up to the teachings of the Bible.