The second half of 1 Corinthians 1 reminds me of getting married. I was first among my close friends to tie the knot. I married someone I really loved being with, and I remember my single buddy asking why I could not go out with him like the old days. He thought I was being held back by my new bride. I explained that I have chosen something much better. My new life now included a permanent bond and new identity. The unity of marriage replaced self-centered carousing. Today’s lesson is about looking beyond ourselves. The apostle Paul continues his letter to the church in Corinth. They were mostly gentiles, living in the midst of hedonism and the state-mandated worship of Roman gods. He writes: “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.” What was the message of the cross in the first Century? Crucifixion was a humiliating, torturous death meant to shame the condemned. It served as a brutal public warning to others not to imitate the acts of rebellion against Rome. Resisting the will of the Emperor was forbidden, not to mention very unhealthy. Paul asks, “Where is the wise person? Where is the teacher of the law? Where is the philosopher of this age?” These questions run much deeper than they first appear. Each had ceded their lofty belief to a corrupt government power. They looked away while the innocent died, with the hope they would remain unoppressed. The followers of Christ continued to risk their lives to proclaim lasting freedom.
Paul was both a Roman citizen and a Jewish scholar. He had rights and education far beyond most members of that society. He studied the “wisdom of the world” and chose the “wisdom of God”. The personal forgiveness that he preached was scorned by the proud. He continues; the “Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom”. The Jews were looking for Messiah, the Son of David, a warrior-king to overthrow Rome politically. The Greeks were looking for a clever philosophy that would exalt the pleasure of the privileged. Into this setting, Paul declared: “we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles.” The Cross meant defeat to the Jew and disqualification to the Gentiles. To both, it meant utter weakness. Often, in weakness we truly seek answers.
But Paul names another group: “those whom God has called”. This group includes both Jew and Gentile. The cross offers redemption to each individual, regardless of class or party. To those that will listen, Paul will preach “Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.” Paul declares: “For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.” Paul first went to the Jewish Temple in every city he visited. He was rejected by the leaders when he spoke of salvation through faith. He was stoned when he preached once and for all atonement through the Lamb of God. He writes to believers: “think of what you were when you were called.” He states the obvious, “not many were influential; not many were… noble.” Jesus came to fulfill the requirements of the law and set the captives free. Paul says that “God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.” When we look down on anyone, we are forgetting our own weaknesses. The message of the cross is that all have sinned and fall short of perfection, but God made a way. Forgiveness is attained through the sacrifice of the Savior “so that no one may boast before Him.” He concludes: “Jesus Christ… is our righteousness, holiness and redemption… Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.” My friend, politicians will not save you and religions will not save you. Freedom is found in a permanent bond with the Holy Spirit.