Sunday Night-The Wisdom of The Cross
Place: BLCC
Date: 4/9/17
Text: 1 Corinthians 1.18-25
CT: The wise seek the foolishness of the cross.
FAS: Historian Garret Fagan summarizes how the Romans—the culture encountered by the early church—viewed the values of strength and weakness:
Ideas of universal human dignity were almost all but nonexistent and large swathes of the population were seen as … inherently worthless. Weak members of society were objects not of compassion but of derision. More than most, Romans lionized strength over weakness, victory over defeat, dominion over obedience. Losers paid a harsh price and got what they deserved, and [resisters] were to be ruthlessly handled … Roman politics became a ruthless game of total winners and abject losers … The drive to dominate and not be forced to bow before a rival was paramount.
LS: Is it any wonder why the Greco-Roman world (and our world today) can't understand what Paul called "the foolishness of the cross"?
The crucifixion of Jesus occurred in 1st century Judea, most probably between the years 30 and 33 AD. Jesus' crucifixion is described in the four canonical gospels, referred to in the New Testament epistles, attested to by other ancient sources, and is established as a historical event confirmed by non-Christian sources,] although, among historians, there is no consensus on the precise details of what exactly occurred.
According to the canonical gospels, Jesus, the Christ, was arrested, tried, and sentenced by Pontius Pilate to be scourged, and finally crucified by the Romans. Jesus was stripped of his clothing and offered wine mixed with gall to drink, before being crucified. He was then hung between two convicted thieves and according to Mark's Gospel, died some six hours later. During this time, the soldiers affixed a sign to the top of the cross stating "Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews". They then divided his garments among them, but cast lots for his seamless robe. After Jesus' death they pierced his side with a spear to be certain that he had died. The Bible describes seven statements that Jesus made while he was on the cross, as well as several supernatural events that occurred.
Collectively referred to as the Passion, Jesus' suffering and redemptive death by crucifixion are the central aspects of Christian theology concerning the doctrines of salvation and atonement.
Luke 23.44-46. 44 It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, 45 for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. 46 Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” When he had said this, he breathed his last.
In John. It is finished
In Mark and Matthew-My God Why have thou forsaken me.
Why aren’t they all the same, some will say?
It was a time of terror for many and a time of confusion. People would have seen and viewed different vantage points. The fact that they are different actually makes it easier to believe the gospels.
They weren’t rigged by a central group.
Many people experienced and gave accounts of what took place. We have eye witnesses to the event.
The crucifixion took place. It was definitely in all four gospels as well as in non-Christian literature that was anti-Jesus.
It is spoke of many times in the epistles. Yet even back then the majority of people saw the cross as foolish. But the Apostle Paul saw it much differently. He spoke of the cross as the only real source of true wisdom there was. He said it like this.
1 Corinthians 1.18-25, 18 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19 For it is written:
“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise;
the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.”
20 Where is the wise person? Where is the teacher of the law? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21 For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe.
22 Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom,
23 but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles,
24 but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.
25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.
Crucifixion was not only a horrible death but it was the most shameful death. People who were crucified were usually left for days to die and even left longer to be a deterrent to any one considering a life of crime or dissenting from the government. It was actually illegal to crucify a Roman citizen.
To most the idea that God would reveal himself on a cross was beyond any kind of comprehension. Paul is making the point that man’s wisdom cannot be mixed with the revealed message.
The Jews looked for dramatic signs that would reveal who Jesus was. Yet Jesus had already nipped that in the bud in Matthew 12.38-42.
38 Then some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law said to him, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from you.”
39 He answered, “A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40 For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 41 The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now something greater than Jonah is here. 42 The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon’s wisdom, and now something greater than Solomon is here.
What Jesus was about to do was far greater than what Jonah had done. They didn’t understand. They wanted miracles instead.
The Greeks found many aspects of Christ’s death as foolish. Think about it. To the educated the idea of a suffering messiah being the reason for a way to God without any human action was preposterous.
In this text today (1 Corinthians 1.18-25) the Apostle Paul points out three attitudes people had and have toward the cross.
1) Some stumble (v.23) This was the attitude of the Jews. They wanted signs and strength and the cross revealed only weakness to them. Jesus had purposely refused to do such signs and miracles for them we read.
They did not understand their own scripture that stated clearly the Messiah would have to suffer before entering His glory.
The idea of the church period was foreign to them.
They were strictly looking for power and great glory so they stumbled at the cross and its apparent weakness.
How could anybody put faith in an unemployed carpenter from Nazareth? Even though he died on the cross and in that death the wisdom of God shown through. The weakness of God (in the cross) is stronger than man.
2) Some just laugh. This was what the Greeks did. They were big on wisdom and deep thinking. They saw no wisdom in the cross because they looked at it only from a human point of view. Had they took the time and had the insight to look at it from God’s view of its way for salvation for all they may have got it.
The cross frustrated them. Just as Paul said they would be using Isaiah 29.14, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise;
the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.” Vs. 19
Paul knew the Greeks were intelligent yet their advanced knowledge did not enable them to find God and experience salvation.
Have we become so advanced in our knowledge and intelligence that we too are missing the real plan for our salvation?
3) Some did and do believe and experience the power and wisdom of the cross.
Paul did not water down what he was preaching. Verse 21 says God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe.
This does not mean what he was preaching was foolish. He was preaching wisdom. He was not preaching the Jesus of the manger, the Jesus of the temple, or the Jesus of the marketplace. No, Paul was preaching the Jesus of the cross. It was in the death of Jesus that God revealed the foolishness of man and the true weakness of man’s power.
When we are baptized and join in unity with Christ we also gain the power and yes wisdom of the cross.
Our text today shows how difficult it is to bring people to the gospel. To so many today it still seems foolish. Yes there would be great successes to come.
Acts 2.1-41 and the Day of Pentecost.
Or how about 1 Thess. 1.4-10. 4 Read. For we know, brothers and sisters loved by God, that he has chosen you, 5 because our gospel came to you not simply with words but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and deep conviction. 6 You know how we lived among you for your sake. You became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you welcomed the message in the midst of severe suffering with the joy given by the Holy Spirit. 7 And so you became a model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia. 8 The Lord’s message rang out from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia—your faith in God has become known everywhere. Therefore we do not need to say anything about it, 9 for they themselves report what kind of reception you gave us. They tell how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, 10 and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead—Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath.
Successes will still happen. I pray it continues to be like this at BLCC. The thing we must watch is to never try to remove the foolishness of the cross from the “foolishness” and wisdom of the cross.
Any attempt to make the cross more palatable to those listening to our message distorts the message to the point it carries no power.
Sadly, many will still reject God outright. (V.21) they are too wise to accept the foolishness.
Some will look in the wrong places expecting miracles and signs from God still today. Jesus was clear on that.
Some will simply try to make God into their own image of who they want him to be. Not possible. He is God our creator. We are the creation.
We are to follow Him and His Son.
God may give us signs but he will not do it on demand.
John 20.29-31, 29 Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
30 Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. 31 But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
Conclusion: We as the church must be careful to preach nothing less then cross-centered truth. We must include every bit of its foolishness.
We must point out that human sin and human accountability can only be dealt with through the cross. No other way.
We are not here to only serve ourselves and give people things to hear that makes them come to feel good about themselves. We must give the full brunt of what the cross is and does and why.
We must never neglect prayer, Bible study and repentance of sin to be more like the world.
We are not to be like the world.
The foolishness of the cross makes us different.
Bibliography:
Wiersbe, Warren; The Complete New Testament Commentary, Published by David Cook, Colorado Springs Colorado, print, 2007
Blomberg, Craig, The NIV Application Commentary 1 Corinthians, Zondervan, Grand Rapids MI. 1994 print
