Bible scholar and pastor N.T. Wright
retells the following story about an archbishop hearing confessions of sin from
three hardened teenagers in the Church. All three boys were trying to make a
joke out of it, so they met with the archbishop and confessed to a long list of
ridiculous and grievous sins they had not committed. It was all a joke.
Seeing through their bad practical
joke, the archbishop played along with the first two, who ran out of the Church
laughing. But then he listened carefully to the third prankster, and before he
got away, told the young man, “Okay, you have confessed these sins.
Now I want you to do something to
show your repentance. I want you to walk up to the far end of the Church, and I
want you to look at the picture of Jesus hanging on the cross, and I want you
to look at his face and say, ‘You did all that for me, and I don’t care that
much.’ And I want you to do that three times.” The boy went up to the front,
looked at the picture of Jesus, and said, “You did all that for me, and I don’t
care that much.”
He said it again, but then he couldn’t
say it the third time because he broke down in tears. And the archbishop
telling the story said that I know that story because I was that young man.
There is something about the cross. Something about Jesus dying there for us
leaps over all the theoretical discussions, all the possibilities of how we
explain it this way or that way, and it grasps us. When we are captured by it, somehow,
we sense that the love of God grabs us.”[1]
We are journeying through the
letters to the Corinthian Church. We saw the importance of Belonging to Christ,
how spiritual unity is achieved, and its manifestation in our world today. In
our study, Paul exposes the futility of human strength and wisdom and how they
are no match to the Power of The Cross. He also shows us where we came
from, who we are now in Christ.
Is it possible for someone who
vehemently opposed the message of the cross and persecuted Christians to become
a passionate preacher of that same message? Yes! That was the back story of the
Apostle Paul. He knew firsthand the cross’s power as it has changed his life on
the Road of Damascus. Based on that experience, he confounds the wisdom of the world.
When we say the power of the cross, we are not referring to a mere object but
the one who died on it.
I
GOD’S WISDOM & WORLDS WISDOM
Vs. 18-21, “The message of the cross
is foolish to those who are headed for destruction! But we who are being saved
know it is the very power of God. As the Scriptures say, “I will destroy the
wisdom of the wise and discard the intelligence of the intelligent.”
So where does this leave the
philosophers, the scholars, and the world’s brilliant debaters? God has made
the wisdom of this world look foolish.” These verses flow from verse 17, where
Paul admits that he did not use eloquent words to preach, lest they minimize the
power of the cross. He affirmed the fact that salvation could not be achieved
by worldly wisdom.
Paul used an O.T. quotation to show how
God dismisses the wisdom of this world. God sent His prophet Isaiah with a
clear message to expose the shallow worship of His people. “And so, the Lord
says, “These people say they are mine. They honor me with their lips, but their
hearts are far from me. And their worship of me is nothing but man-made rules
learned by rote. Because of
this, I will once again astound these hypocrites with amazing wonders. The
wisdom of the wise will pass away, and the intelligence of the intelligent will
disappear.” Isaiah 29:13-14. God humbles those who consider themselves wiser and
stronger in their own eyes.
Job thought he could challenge God
by asking tough questions about human suffering. God appeared to him in a
whirlwind and challenged Job with 77 mind-blowing questions about the affairs
of the universe. In return, Job had nothing much to say except mumble a few
words.
Job 42:1-6, “I know that you can do
anything, and no one can stop you…It is I, and I was talking about things I
knew nothing about, things far too wonderful for me. I had only heard about you
before, but now I have seen you with my own eyes. I take back everything I said,
and I sit in dust and ashes to show my repentance.” Even the world’s top philosophers,
scholars, and debaters, when God confronts them, can be dumbfounded at God’s
wisdom.
II
THE FOLLY OF THE CROSS
The
Apostle Paul began his argument with these words. Vs. 18, “The message of the cross
is foolish to those who are headed for destruction! But we who are being saved
know it is the very power of God.” He identifies two groups that were heading
for destruction at that time. Vs.22-23,
“It is foolish to the Jews, who ask for signs from heaven. And it is foolish to
the Greeks, who seek human wisdom. So, when we preach that Christ was
crucified, the Jews are offended, and the Gentiles say it’s all nonsense.”
First, let us look at the message of the cross.
It is the whole gospel. God’s
redemptive plan of sinners is demonstrated in the birth, works, crucifixion,
and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is the good news. Yet, it doesn’t sound
brilliant and accepting, and it is often perceived as a threat and offensive by
many. Why?
In the first century, the message of
the cross often evoked mixed reactions in listeners. For instance, on the Day
of Pentecost, when the apostle Peter held Jews accountable for their actions,
this was how some responded, Acts 2:36-38, “So let everyone in Israel know for
certain that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, to be both the Lord
and Messiah.”
Peter’s words pierced their hearts,
and they said to him and other apostles. Brothers, what should we do? Peter
replied, “Each of you must repent of your sins and turn to God and be baptized
in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins.” Many responded
positively. Three thousand Jews got saved in one day. That was the beginning of
the early Church.
But later on, when Stephen preached
a similar message saying, your ancestors “killed the ones who predicted the coming
of the Righteous One the Messiah whom you have betrayed and murdered. The
Jewish leaders were infuriated by Stephen’s accusation, and they shook their
fists at him in rage. Vs. 57, “Then they put their hands over their ears and
began shouting. They rushed at him and dragged him out of the city, and began
to stone him.
His accusers took off their coats
and laid them at the feet of a young man named Saul,” Acts 7:52-57. Interestingly
the same Saul now radically transformed by the Christ of the Cross took the
Jews and Gentiles to the task saying, the cross is foolish to the Jews and
unreasonable to the Greeks, but to those who are being saved is the very Power
of God.
Historically the cross and its
message have often been miss understood by people due to overzealous and
shameful acts of specific individuals in the name and for the sake of Christ. During
the High Middle Ages, the cross became connected with a series of religious
wars waged from Christian Europe to liberate the Holy Land from the grasp of
Muslim rulers. Those who chose to go and fight would wear a special garment,
marked with a cross, over their clothes.
In the late 11th century, these
Crusaders conquered Jerusalem in a bloody battle that did not spare women and
children in the effort to rid the city of “infidels.” The Crusades sparked
waves of active hostility toward European Jews, resulting in outbreaks of
violence against Jewish communities for centuries. In recent history, the cross
was taken up by activists demonstrating against social advances. As part of
their terror campaign, the Ku Klux Klan would often burn plain wooden crosses
at meetings or on the lawns of African Americans, Jews, or Catholics.
The cross has been a powerful sign
of divine love and salvation for all Christians. Tragically, the cross has also
been twisted into a vivid symbol of hatred and intolerance. Who can restore its
original meaning? It is left to those who have experienced the Power of the
Cross.
III
THE POWER OF THE CROSS
Vs. 24-25 “But to those called by
God to salvation, both Jews and Gentiles, Christ is the power of God and the
wisdom of God. This foolish plan of God is wiser than the wisest of human
plans, and God’s weakness is stronger than the greatest of human strength.”
In the world’s eyes, the Cross and
Christ dying on the cross looks foolish and weak. Little do they know that what
they consider a stupid God’s plan is wiser than the wisest human plans. The
weakness of God is stronger than the greatest of human strength. The Cross of
Christ that has been ridiculed becomes the Power of God to all those called by
God to salvation.
The mere symbol or image of the cross
has no power, and it cannot save. Hence, we don’t worship or bow down before an
image as some church traditions do. The power to save is in the person of
Christ who sacrificed His life on the cross so that we might live with Him.
Over the years, countless people have
tried to discredit the cross and wipe out the followers of Christ, but the cross
stood triumphantly every time. As of 2015, Christians the adherents of the cross
are approximately 2.3 billion, out of a total population of 7.5 billion.
The power of the cross is still grabbing
many Hindus, Jews, Muslims, people of all faiths into the fold of God. By 2050,
Christianity will be the first to reach 3 billion. More than 3.4 billion people
will be Christians then, according to the Gordon Conwell projections.
How has the power of the cross
changed your life? Those of us who are being saved are called to turn from our
selfish ways and take up our cross daily and follow Christ. Let’s not be
ashamed of the cross nor live like the enemies of the cross by uncontrolled
lifestyle. The Cross of Christ represents God’s love, forgiveness, and
acceptance of all people. Let’s not turn it into a vehicle of hatred and
violence. Let’s conduct ourselves in a manner worthy of the Cross of Jesus
Christ, our Lord, and Savior. Let us share the Good News with all people. Amen!
