The Power of the Cross
Sunday Sermon
Rev. Dr. Michael H. Koplitz
1 Cor 1:20-24
In Jesus’ day, eastern people looked for a sign of some sort to tell them that God was doing something huge for them. The three magi who traveled from Persia to Bethlehem saw a special star in the eastern sky, and they knew that the Messiah of the LORD was born. When Moses was at the Red Sea, and it seemed like the people were about to be exterminated, the LORD came and showed them a sign by parting the Red Sea.
On the other hand, Western people used their wisdom and philosophy to determine if God was working in their lives. Aristotle, Plato, and Socrates developed Greek philosophy. The people were taught that they had to explain a God event through wisdom and deep thought. A question for you is how do you determine what a God event is? When you see something that looks impossible, do you immediately attribute it to God working in your life, or do you look for an explanation?
Why do so many people today have difficulty accepting God? Perhaps a possible explanation is that our schools teach that everything that happens must have a cause or effect because of something. Sometimes we have to accept that science and philosophy cannot explain everything that happens. We do not know all the processes that work in the world nor how everything works in God’s creation. Sometimes you have to have faith that the world will unfold in a way that God controls. It is God who established the laws of nature. There are many things that we still have to learn.
As Christians, we preach something that both the ancient eastern and western people had trouble grasping. Our friend Paul explained to both eastern and western people what Christ crucified on the cross means to humanity. As Paul traveled throughout the Roman world, he was ready to explain the critical event in human history to people who were not as receptive to the idea as we are today. I am sure that you accept that Jesus on the cross was a turning point in human history. Indeed knowing that Jesus died on the cross for our salvation is something we openly admit. For the people whom Paul was telling the message of salvation, they would have had a lot of trouble with the concept.
How does a man dying on a cross offer salvation? What a great question, and it is one that I had. It is a difficult concept to explain because it makes no sense from the point of view of wisdom. Death on a cross in Roman times was a sign of shame, failure, and dishonorable defeat. Jesus preached the fantastic message of love, grace, and peace. He told people and us today to repent our sins and place our faith and trust in God. He traveled in Galilee and Judea, demonstrating that God loves us. He pondered why people would not accept this simple formula.
Jesus preached and healed people for three years. Many people adopted the opposition to His new teaching. However, many did not accept the message. When Jesus was brought before Herod Antipas, Herod asked Jesus to produce a sign. Jesus did not create the sign; rather, the Roman government did. It was death on a cross. Also, it was not a sign.
The idea of Jesus’ death on a cross for us sounds crazy to the ears of people in Jesus’ day. A cross was a horrible death. It was humiliating. It was brutal. It was a death reserved for people who grievously broke the law. Jesus was a man of peace. He said to love your enemy and help them when you can. He spoke about everyone in the world being a member of the Kingdom of Heaven and the same spiritual family. He showed God’s love to everyone he met.
But he died on a cross. Christianity preaches that Jesus’ death on the cross was a turning point in history. Salvation and forgiveness for sins became available to all of us. Paul went out into the Roman world to preach this very odd-sounding and new philosophy. To many people today, it is odd. But wait a minute. Are we out there preaching about Jesus the Christ crucified for the forgiveness of sin and eternal life with God? Ask yourself that fundamental question. Are you preaching Christ crucified? You do not have to be a certified or trained preacher to do this. YOU CAN DO THIS.
We are talking about the very foundation of the Christian religion. Jesus, the Messiah of God, was crucified for the sins of the world. If you are not preaching this, telling non-believers about this truth, you should not be surprised that our membership and attendance in the church are dropping like a lead weight. Paul preached Christ crucified wherever he went. He was not concerned that there were people who were going to reject the message. He was not worried by what people thought of him. None of that mattered. To Paul, his only purpose after meeting Jesus was to preach Christ crucified to as many people as he could. The hardship of travel and the wrath of some towns did not stop him. He risked his life several times to preach Christ crucified. Since Paul did it in his lifetime, Jesus expect us to preach Christ crucified now. So, are you out in the world preaching Christ crucified?
Let us take a moment to ask why Christ crucified is a stumbling block to many people to develop faith in Jesus? To be blunt, it does not make sense when it is viewed with western thinking. The wisdom and education we received in school do not allow for Christ crucified to be more than just folly. Let me repeat the big question is how does Jesus dying on the cross save us from sin?
Paul said that God’s ways might look foolish to us. Christ crucified to outsiders of the faith will say yes to the cross. It seems ridiculous to mere human minds. However, it was God’s way. The simple explanation to the unbeliever and free to use this illustration as often as possible is that the punishment for sin was death before Jesus died on the cross. The committed sin may not cause immediate death. Ah ha, the unbeliever says. But then you must tell the unbeliever that death means a disconnection from God. If a person dies without repenting for their sin, they are on the road to Hell, and they cannot do anything about it when the body dies.
Tell the unbeliever that their spirit will leave their body and will journey to God’s court. The LORD will have a list of all their sins committed that were not repented. According to the Bible, the LORD will have no choice but to condemn the sinner to Hell. Once in the depths of Hell with its fire and punishment, they will never leave. Therefore, repentance for sin is imperative. Repentance means not committing the sin again. It also means that some retribution is done. In ancient days retribution was a life.
But humans love to sin. If every sinner was killed on the spot, then the human race would have died out thousands of years ago. So God created a system for the release of sin. The sin was transferred from the mortal sinner onto an animal. The animal became the sinner. The animal was then sacrificed to God so that a life was given for the forgiveness of sin.
When Jesus died on the cross, He became the cosmic sacrifice for all sins. God changed the way humans were able to be forgiven for sin. For us today, we can come before the cross of Christ and pray for Jesus to take away our sins. Only God can forgive sin. Jesus being God, is able to forgive our sins. From the cross, he looks down upon us and washes us clean by his blood poured out on the cross.
The Roman torture device became the device of salvation. Only God could make that happen. Jesus was destined to die on the cross to offer forgiveness of sin to us. Salvation came to us through Jesus’ death. This is not a sign, nor is it wisdom. It is God working His way in the world.
The people at Christ’s cross got to experience something that I hope that we can experience today. What was that, you ask? They experienced the holiness of God. The believers in Jesus’ message were there. They were astonished that a man of peace who came to bless the world was being killed like a common criminal. At Jesus’ death, those people experienced the holiness of God. They experienced God on a personal level. It must have been an exciting moment in history.
We can experience the holiness of God today. How do you ask? By coming to Christ’s cross. By looking at the cross and imagining Jesus hanging on it, for your and my salvation and forgiveness of sins, we can see the ways of God’s grace. Look at the large cross that we have in the front corner of God’s sanctuary. Stare at it for a moment. (PAUSE) Now imagine Jesus hanging on the cross. He was put there because of human sin. He went willingly to the cross because He loves us. He suffered the pain of that death and the humiliation that came as He walked that cross through the streets of Jerusalem.
He did this for us. Not for himself. He did this for us.
While you see Jesus on the cross, thank him for his willingness to die in this manner for us. Also, you have another responsibility to do while viewing Christ on the cross. Ask Jesus to reveal to you any sin that you need to attend to. We do many things in life that are sinful, and we do not know that they were sinful. For example, you may have said some words to another person that hurt their feelings, and they never told you about it. Sin must be illuminated so that we can see it. The darkness of Satan will try to hide sin from you because he wants you in Hell. You are believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. So, look at that cross and ask Jesus to illuminate your unrepented sin. Once you see the sin, you must do something to rectify it and repent.
Jesus said in the Revelation if sin is not acknowledged, then when we reach the court of God, He will not be on our side defending us. I want Jesus to be at my right side when I am in God’s court. I am sure that you want Jesus to be with you when you reach that point.
Christ crucified demonstrates God’s grace and love for us. The cross should not be seen as a device of punishment but rather as an instrument of grace. Christ crucified radiates God’s power of forgiveness through faithful discipleship to Jesus and repentance of sins.
Christ crucified offers us spiritual health. A person who is filled with sin requires a spiritual doctor. Christ crucified is that spiritual doctor. No matter what sin you may have committed, Christ crucified will heal you. Giving your soul over to Jesus to become a devoted disciple will enable God to heal your broken spirit. You will be able to repent and rid yourself of the sins of a lifetime. Your heart will be opened to receive Christ’s love and grace.
Why do we preach Christ crucified? We learn from this preaching the horribleness of sin, and we know we want to be rid of it. It is a doctrine that reveals the realities of God’s love and grace for us. The Gospel of Jesus offers us the infinite compassion of God for us. We preach this doctrine for ourselves to be in the light of God and bask in His love. We preach this doctrine to help the lost sheep find their way to the love of God. If the love and grace of God through Jesus Christ permeates the souls of all the people of this world, the need for war and killing will end. The world of people loving one another is an objective that Jesus wanted. Jesus loves us so much that he went to the cross to die for us.
Will you go out and preach Christ crucified?
