Wisdom Or Nonsense?

It’s the same way with the people that wandered around with Jesus.

They heard him speak. They saw the miracles. They partook of the bread. But the switch hadn’t been turned on inside of them. Who flips the switch that enables us to believe? Do we do it ourselves? No. God flips the switch within us.

If God doesn’t flip the switch within a man or a woman, the message of the gospel is offensive. It doesn’t matter how much preaching or how many miracles an untouched person witnesses. This is the person who, at the end of the day, can be disappointed and walk away from the Lord.

Look at this passage in John 6 again. Jesus says he chose his disciples, including one who was a devil.

Judas Iscariot was with Jesus everyday. He was the one in charge of the money for the group. How could he be so close to Jesus and not believe? Because he wasn’t enabled by the Father to believe. It was like a light switch that hadn’t been turned on. And if the switch isn’t turned on, you will continue to walk in darkness. You will continue to take offense at the message of the Gospel. You will be just like hardheaded Pharaoh. Or devilish Judas.

The reality is the things that the things of God offend the people of this world.

In John 6 we see a couple of things that identify us as Christians…

- We eat the body of Christ.

- We drink the blood of Christ.

This is confusing to the world. This is offensive to the world. It conjures up images of vampire movies. But no one can understand the things of God – unless God enables them to understand it.

1 Corinthians 1:18-25

18The 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. 19As the Scriptures say,

“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise

and discard the intelligence of the intelligent.”e

20So where does this leave the philosophers, the scholars, and the world’s brilliant debaters? God has made the wisdom of this world look foolish. 21Since God in his wisdom saw to it that the world would never know him through human wisdom, he has used our foolish preaching to save those who believe. 22It is foolish to the Jews, who ask for signs from heaven. And it is foolish to the Greeks, who seek human wisdom. 23So when we preach that Christ was crucified, the Jews are offended and the Gentiles say it’s all nonsense.

24But to those called by God to salvation, both Jews and Gentiles,f Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25This foolish plan of God is wiser than the wisest of human plans, and God’s weakness is stronger than the greatest of human strength.

People get so caught up in the material, that spiritual things look like foolishness.

It’s true that salvation is available for everyone. But we are blind and deaf to the message of God unless he first opens our eyes and ears.

Let’s take a second look at the story of Pharaoh and Moses. In the eyes of the world, Pharaoh held all of the cards. Who was Moses? Some dirty guy who came in from the fields with a group of unhappy slaves.