I don’t know if you have noticed, but our society has become more and more saturated with knowledge, more so than any other generation before it. Most children, by the age of 8 or 9 know more about computers than their parents. Currently more new information is being created and revised on Web sites in less than a week than was available on the entire World Wide Web during its formative years. We live in a time where people don’t want to hear about simplicities or religion; they’re far too complex for that, right? This morning I want to speak to you about this foolish Gospel that we promote and preach about. Why is it important that our message doesn’t change in this ever changing world? Why is the old rugged cross still central in a world of mega structures and information super highways?
Paul was writing this letter to the believers in Corinth which was about 50 miles west of Athens. It was a city known for its wealth, its luxurious lifestyles and the immoral and vicious habits of the people. It had a large mixed population of mostly Greeks and Jews as well as Romans. It was to this enlightened city that Paul brought this message of the gospel which seemed simplistic and crude. Paul writes this passage to the believers to encourage them to continue on and remember the seemingly foolish message of the cross.
The Jews (vs. 22a, 23a)
The Jews, especially in Paul’s day, represented a group of people who were waiting for this great deliverer. Someone who was going to come and pronounce himself ruler, be of royal blood, wipe out Roman rule and lead the Hebrew nation. Imagine you had been waiting for this person your whole life. Your mother and father would tell you stories before going to bed about this deliverer that would come and free all your people. This guy would have been almost mythical in proportion, like Hercules or something. Then you here stirrings of this one they called the Messiah. This is the person you have been waiting for all your life, this great conquering hero and you watch as they beat him, nail him to a cross and crucify him. This obviously was not the Messiah, he didn’t meet their expectations. He didn’t show the phenomenal cosmic power proof they were looking for. To mention that He was the deliverer was offensive
This was the mindset of the Jewish people, which helps us to see that there is still a large portion of the population who would not accept this type of Saviour. These people want to see the mighty conqueror, like Arnold, who will do mighty and wonderful things and then they will believe. They have their own concept of what the Messiah and once they see proof of that then they will accept. To them our message is offensive, as if Jesus could have possibly been the Saviour of the world, he proved to be a man just like everyone else.
The Greeks (vs. 22b, 23b)
Oh those smart, philosophical, learned and brilliant Greeks. In this time of history they were known for debating and spending time contemplating the complexities of life. They were recognized as being sophisticated and scholarly with their own conclusions on how the world worked. They were praised their own ability to reason and come up with a logical explanation for problems. They were taught to strive for education, philosophy, love the finer things of life, and do whatever makes you happy. They enjoyed life and lived for the moment. It is easy to see how Christ did not fit into this world view. It meant changing everything they had loved and lived for. More importantly it meant submitting to a line of thinking which they didn’t come up with. They wouldn’t be able to take any credit for it. They liked their ideas better.
It shouldn’t be too difficult to see that many people walking the streets of our city have pretty much the same mentality. Loving pleasures and elevating their own conclusions about life and how the world really works. Education and science has replaced the need for religion. It is better to believe what works best for you and do whatever makes you feel good. For example…
ILL. A few years ago the topic of the day on an Oprah Winfrey show was "Having Affairs With Married Men". She had brought together several people who were having affairs to get their comments on how they felt about it.
One lady responded very positively, saying that her affair with a married man had been a long-standing affair, & she was very happy in it.
Then someone raised the question of morality. Instantly, the woman took offence. "Wait a minute," she said. "I’m a Christian, but I want everyone to know that my personal life & my religion don’t interfere with one another."
Then she went on to say, "I believe in a God who wants me to be happy. And if this man makes me happy, then God approves of the relationship."
That’s an amazing belief; I wonder where she found it, because it’s not in the Bible. But that kind of thinking is not new at all. It has been around for a long time. Paul was dealing with it back then in Corinth and it is something we face every day in our schools and workplaces. Evolution, big bang, and genetic homosexuality are all commonly held human ideas that are totally unproven, but somehow they are easier to believe than the cross because humans, in their finite knowledge, came up with these ideas.
The Christian (vs. 24-29)
Some of you might be saying, “Yeah, I have thought those same things, Christianity seems a little silly in the face of modern science.” All we have is a 2000 year old message of a sinless man dying on a cross for the sins of the world. The Jewish idea of their Messiah seemed like one who would really get people’s attention and show the whole world the power of God. Even the Greeks of Paul’s day and the science and educators of today seem to have proof that things are not as the Bible said. What they have to say seems to make sense and isn’t as simplistic as the cross. So why did God make our message so foolish in the eyes of the world? A message of a simple Saviour that asks us to accept Him through faith.
God chose the cross because it was something that meant vindication for the Jews and power for the Greeks. It proved to the Jews that he wasn’t the mighty Saviour they had in mind and it proved to the thinkers of the day that He was just a fragile man who fell to man made government and procedure. The one thing that they thought gave them victory over this Jesus was all a part of God’s plan. God made fools of them all that day. That cross brought victory and made victory available to anyone who would accept. It became for you and I power because death lost its sting and sin’s grip was gone. No man can boast in what happened at the cross that day. God’s plan was fulfilled and relationship with Him was restored for those who believe. Christ became our wisdom, our redemption, our sanctification and our righteousness that day. The cross became a symbol of God’s power, not his weakness.
Conclusion
Michael Bird, a minister in Australia, tells about a well-known American preacher who gave some advice to an Australian congregation. He said, “Don’t tell people about the cross, it doesn’t work. That’s why the Franklin Graham crusades are no longer effective. Just tell them that God loves them & has a plan for them.”
The crux of his advice was that “The message of a crucified Jew is ridiculous to the modern mind... So move on to something better. A crucified Messiah is stupid, but promise them prosperity, give them emotional experiences, provide them with self-esteem – then you’ll fill the pews.”
For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are on the path of destruction, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written, "I WILL DESTROY THE WISDOM OF THE WISE, AND DISCARD THEIR MOST BRILLIANT IDEAS." So where does this leave the philosophers, the scholars, and the world’s brilliant debaters? God has made them all look foolish and has shown their wisdom to be useless nonsense. Since God in his wisdom saw to it that the world would never find him through human wisdom, God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe.
Jesus doesn’t have to measure up to a mighty warrior and give proof of His deity, even though He did and our message doesn’t have to measure up to science, even though it does. No, this foolish gospel message stands on it’s own as the power to set captives free, break chains of bondage, bind up the broken hearted, bring light to those lost in the darkness, and give hope for the future. This is something that we, in our human wisdom, could never do. We must set our pride aside and accept it in humility because God, by his grace and mercy, sent His Son to fulfil a plan of salvation for His children. We must keep sharing this Foolish Gospel message to a world that desperately needs to hear it.
If you are here this morning and you have been waiting for God to give you some proof before you believe, you are going to wait a long time. God doesn’t serve our wants and desires, we need to come and serve Him.
If you are here this morning and you just won’t believe in God because you are happy with your own ideas of then you will never experience the freedom, wholeness and hope that only the cross can bring.
