Jesus Christ and Him Crucified
1 Corinthians 1:23-24
We preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to the Jews and foolishness to the Gentiles.
Matthew ,-- Luke states that Christ was born of a virgin
John -- said that he turned water into wine
John told of Jesus Healing of the royal official's son
These are just three of the 40 miracles of Jesus recorded in the word of God.
But we are not here to talk about how great our Lord and Savor is but instead we are going to talk about Jesus Christ and him crucified.
Without the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, we would have no hope of any kind.
It is no wonder then, that for Paul, like all the writers of the New Testament, the cross of Christ represented salvation itself.
In his letter to the believers in Corinth, he recalled how he had preached Christ’s death:
“For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.”
Paul took great joy in proclaiming this message.
He understood the secret of the cross.
Earlier he wrote, “We preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God” (1 Corinthians 1:23-24).
What makes this so amazing is that Paul did not always hold this position.
He had once been opposed to Christ and His message.
To put it plainly, Paul had been an insolent, self-righteous, religious bigot.
He sought to destroy anyone who believed the message of the cross.
However, all this changed one day as he journeyed to Damascus.
The Bible Acts 9:1-18 tells us that on that journey he came into direct contact with the crucified and resurrected Jesus.
This encounter forever changed Paul’s life and thinking.
He was converted.
The one who had sought to destroy the message of the cross and all associated with it, now sought to proclaim its message!
This is what happens when you yourself turn to Christ and he turns your life around.
Or in other words when Jesus being Crucified changed the direction your soul will be traveling.
What did all this mean for Paul?
For him, it was the beginning of a lifetime of suffering on behalf of the crucified and resurrected Jesus.
However, like the
meaning in his own sufferings (see 2 other apostles, he rejoiced,
that they had been considered worthy to suffer shame for His name.
Paul wrote in his letter to the Philippians,
That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death.
He also understood that the suffering of Jesus on the cross is played out in the lives of all God’s people.
In Philippians, he also wrote, “For to you it has been granted for Christ’s sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake.
The gospel –
the good news of eternal life and spiritual glory –
is based on suffering and shame.
However, the message of Jesus’ shameful death should inspire us to ever greater love for Him and His Church.
We should desire nothing more than to preach, both by words and deeds, Jesus Christ and Him crucified.
As the writer of Hebrews told believers of his day,
Let us fix our eyes on Jesus,
the author and perfecter of faith,
who for the joy set before Him endured the cross,
despising the shame,
and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
All this have I said to Say that is because of
JESUS AND HIM CRUSIFIED
Everything in your life that has been changed is because of
JESUS AND HIM CRUSIFIED
Every healing is because of
JESUS CHRIST AND HIM CRUSIFIED
Every child that was born to you
Every debit paid
Every tear dropped
Every pan taken away
Every sin cast into the deepest sea
Paid for by
JESUS
On the Cross
If I came and preached anything other than
JESUS CHRIST AND HIM CRUSIFIED
THEN YOU WOULD BE FOOLISH IN YOUR WORSHIP
YOU WOULD BE CARELESS IN YOUR PRAYERS
And everything you encountered would be a stumbling block for you BUT
JESUS CHRIST AND HIM CRUSIFIED
SAYS AND DID IT ALL.
