by Mitchell Skelton 1 Corinthians 1:18–31

Once there was a little girl who always wore a bright, shiny cross around her neck that she proudly displayed for all to see. One day she was approached by a man who said to her, “Little girl, don’t you know that the cross Jesus died on wasn’t beautiful like the one you are wearing? It was an ugly, wooden thing.” At this the little girl smartly replied, “Yes, I know. But don’t you know that whatever Jesus touches, he changes?”/1

When Paul wrote 1 Corinthians the church in Corinth was in a sad condition. Among their many problems were division, pride, idolatry and sexual immorality. Paul’s remedy for their pitiful state was redirecting them to the cross. He brought to remembrance “the message of the cross” which is the power of God.

“For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (1 Cor. 1:18).

The Greek word translated ‘message’ in this verse is ‘logos,’ which actually means ‘word.’ While some bible versions translate this phrase as “the preaching of the cross” it is more accurately translated, “the word or message of the cross.” Paul often changed his method of preaching (1 Cor. 9:22). Yet he never changed the message (Gal. 1:8), because there is only one message (1 Cor. 2:2).

The Foolishness of the Cross

The cross hinders some people. They cannot let themselves believe that God actually became human and gave himself to die in such a demeaning fashion. The message of the cross is lost in such men. The ‘wisdom’ of man seeks to conform God to their image. “Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom” (1 Cor. 1:22).

The Jews of Christ’s day missed the message of the cross because Jesus did not fit into their image of the Messiah (John 1:10–11). Still today, many miss the message of the cross because they try to make God fit into their image of him.

The ‘wisdom’ of man also seeks to complicate the message of the cross. The simplicity of the gospel has been corrupted by man’s wisdom. Many have lost the ‘Berean Spirit’ (Acts 17:21) of examining the scriptures and instead try to wrap the scriptures around their own ‘wisdom.’ However, the ‘wisdom’ of man fails when confronted with the cross. “But we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, 1 Cor. 1:23–25).

The Power of the Cross

A well-known preacher once gave the following advice to a group of Australian churches concerning their approach to evangelism:

“Don’t tell people about the cross, it doesn’t work. Too many evangelistic efforts fail because they focus too much on the cross. Just tell them God loves them and has a plan for them.” He continued, “The message of a crucified Jew is ridiculous to the modern mind. So move onto something better. A crucified Messiah is stupid, but promise them prosperity, give them emotional experiences, provide them with self–esteem and then you’ll fill the pews.”/2

Avoiding the cross and catering to people’s external needs might indeed “fill the pews,” but they will be pews filled with people still dying in their sins. Without the cross, the bible is just another neat story book. Without the cross, Christianity is no more than a self–help seminar. It was in the cross that God displayed his wisdom and power.

“I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes” (Rom. 1:16).

Christ’s work on the cross is the means of our salvation. “It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God, that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption” (1 Cor. 1:30).

The world says that it is not rational to believe that a virgin can give birth to a child. The world says that it is not rational that an all–powerful God left his home in heaven to become human. The world says that it is not rational that God would allow His Son to suffer the shame, scorn and death of the cross. The world says that it is not rational for a man who has been dead and buried for three days to come back to life.

The message of the cross says, “You see at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:6–8).

/1 Illustration taken from Melvin Newland @ sermoncentral.com /2 Ibid.