Christ Crucified

The Text

“For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, 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 the cleverness of the clever I will set aside.’ Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was well-pleased, through the foolishness of the message preached, to save those who believe. For indeed, Jews ask for signs and Greeks search for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to gentiles folly, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.” - 1 Corinthians 1:18-24

Exposition

Here we are looking at one of the most powerful summaries of the gospel and the challenges that it presents to us.

To begin with, we see how the wisdom of God is foolishness to the world. Paul shows us two ways in which the world fails to receive Christ, who is the wisdom of God: that “the Jews ask for signs and Greeks search for wisdom.”

When Christ came to earth, there were many different expectations of who the messiah would be and what He would do. The religious folk of Christ’s day thought that He would overthrow the rule of the Roman Empire and lead the Jewish people in war against their oppressors. Certainly, nobody was expecting the Savior of the world to give himself over to death on a criminal’s cross. As a result, Jesus was constantly tested and pestered about how and when He would defeat the Romans. But political intrigue was not the purpose of Jesus’ ministry, and Christ rebuked the Pharisees when they asked to see a sign proving His power. “An evil and adulterous generation eagerly seeks for a sign; and a sign will not be given it, except the sign of Jonah” (Matthew 16:4). The error of these hypocrites was that they had decided in their hearts how God would prove Himself, and so they were blind to the sign that God was actually giving. This is why Paul makes mention of the Jews here in his letter to the Corinthians, to warn both them and us about this sinful tendency to foolishly demand that Yahweh prove Himself when He has already given a sign, the sign of the cross.

Paul also challenges his secular audience here, calling out their sin in addition to the sins of the religious. Paul had witnessed the folly of the gentile’s idolatry up close when he was in Athens standing before the Areopagus (see Acts 17). There, he was sneered at for his proclamation of the gospel. The Greek philosophers’ search for the truth had led them to all the wrong places and bickering and confusion reigned supreme in the academies of ancient Greece. The sin of the Greeks was not a lack of religion, for Paul observed that they were “very religious in all respects” (Acts 17:22). No, the gentile’s error was that their faith was misplaced. Because of an inflated view of their own wisdom, secular thinkers of that day thought they could define God and attain to an understanding of Him with nothing but their wits. And so the secular too, in their search for wisdom, prove to be fools for missing the truth of God where it was revealed, bleeding to death upon the cross.

So what is the solution to these destructive errors? Paul makes it abundantly clear. “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” (v. 23). The cross trips up the religious because it shatters their understanding of what God’s kingdom is and calls them to die to themselves. The cross is folly to the secularist because it flies in the face of fallen man’s intuition. The intellectual (facility) capability of the world cannot hope to comprehend God, and through the cross, God has made the wisdom of Marx, Rousseau, Darwin, and any other philosopher you could name mere absurdity.

Application

Now, the beauty of this text is that it is not merely descriptive of two social groups living 2,000 years ago, but it speaks to us today. Friends, God’s word is alive and breathing, and as I have read about the Jew and the Greek, coming to understand their foolishness, I have seen my own sin and stand convicted.

Firstly, concerning the Jew; Have I not tested God? Turned my nose up at His way and insisted upon my own? More times than I care to count! Like Gideon with his fleece, I am a master skeptic, foolishly demanding a sign: “Lord, if you want me to do x, then do y.” Oh, how I could fill in that blank with any number of sinful desires that I had set my heart on! When I insist on my own way and ignore the council of God to get what I want, when I scorn what God has given in order to demand what He has not, and when I try to define the rules of engagement with God, I follow in the detestable footsteps of the Pharisees.

And what is more, I find no comfort in comparing myself with the gentile either! Have I taken pride in my intellect? Have I been fonder of my own understanding than God’s word? Unfortunately, yes! Every well-crafted plan I concoct to make myself look good before God, every Bible-truth I ignore because it challenges my understanding and humbles me, and every doubt about God that I rationalize late at night leave me no better off than the wandering philosopher and his frustrated musings.

Yet again, what is the solution? How can I leave behind my skepticism and overthinking? The answer, plain and simple, again is Christ. The cross stands as a sign of God’s love for us, a love that proved itself even to the point of death. It wasn’t the sign that we asked for, but it is the sign that our sinful hearts deeply need. The cross shows us that we cannot make ourselves right before God by any effort of our own, and this leaves all the teachings of men, which say we can work our way to God, empty of meaning and proven false. And the cross, which frustrates the religious and confounds the scholar, is strength and wisdom to all of us who are called, regardless of what camp we previously belonged to.

Thus, if you, dear reader, are like me, and you wrestle with doubt and criticism, or are puffed up with pride and vanity, then there is good news for you! Repent and turn to Christ and His word every day. Take your doubts and frustrations to the lord in prayer. Spend time in the word daily, letting it shape you and humble you. I cannot tell you how many times I have opened up my Bible and my pride has been cut down to size by the truth of God’s word, or my doubts have been alleviated by the promises of God.

The End of the Matter

Acknowledge your weakness and rely instead on Jesus’ strength. Abandon your folly and embrace the wisdom of the Son. The gospel is not a one-time deal, and we need constant reminders of these truths because we easily forget them. And when you inevitably stumble, be of good cheer, for the one who started a good work in you will be faithful to complete it (Philippians 1:6). Then, we will be able to join with the saints in making our boasts in the Lord and not in ourselves.