Attitudes
toward the Cross
1 Cor. 1:23-24
June 6,
2010
This is a continuation of the lesson on the “called out”
people taught on the above mentioned date.
It is part of the 2nd point, “Called into Fellowship”. Here Paul mentions three different attitudes
toward the Cross.
1. Some stumble at the cross
(23a)
This was the attitude of the Jews, because they could
not see that a man dying on a cross was a sign of strength but rather a sign of
weakness. Jewish history was filled with
miraculous events, from the Exodus which we have recently studied to the days of
Elijah and Elisha.
When Jesus was ministering on earth, the Jewish leaders repeatedly asked
Him to perform a sign from heaven; but He refused.
The Jews were looking for a knight in shinning armor
riding on a big white horse wheedling a big sword, coming as the mighty
conqueror and defeating all their enemies.
They wanted their earthly kingdom back.
Look to Acts 1:6 to see
just how strong that feeling was.
Somewhere they seemed to have missed Psalm 22 and Isaiah 53.
For this reason, they stumbled at the cross. The Gospel of Christ is “the power of God
unto salvation” (Romans 1:16) and there is NO Gospel without the
cross.
2. Some laugh at the Cross
(23b)
This was the response of the Greeks. To them, the cross was foolishness. The Greeks emphasized wisdom; we still study
the profound writings of the Greek philosophers today. They saw NO wisdom in the cross, for they
looked at the cross from the human point of view. Had they seen it from God’s viewpoint, they
would have discerned the wisdom of God’s great plan of Salvation.
Paul called on three men to bear witness: the wise (the
expert), the scribe (the interpreter and writer), and the disputer (the
philosopher and debater). He asked them
one question: “Through your studies into man’s wisdom, have you come to know God
in a personal way?” All of them answered
“NO”! These are the ones who laughed at
the cross and thought it to be foolishness.
So Paul quoted Isaiah 29:
14 in 1 Corinlthians 1:19, thereby proving that
God has written a big “Zero” over the wisdom o f men. Study Paul’s address on Mar’s Hill. If your
wisdom does not bring you to Jesus and experience salvation, it is
worthless.
3. Some believed and experienced the power
and the wisdom of the cross (v. 24)
Paul did NOT
alter his message when he turned from a Jewish audience to a Greek one; he
preached Christ crucified. Verse 21
calls it “the foolishness of preaching”.
This does NOT mean that the act of preaching is foolish, but rather the
content of the message. The NIV says it
like this: “Through the foolishness of what was preached”, and that is a correct
translation.
Those who have been called by God’s grace and who have
responded by faith, realize that Christ is God’s power and God’s wisdom. Not the Christ of the manger, or the temple,
or the marketplace – but the Christ of the Cross. It is in the death of Christ that God has
revealed the foolishness of man’s wisdom and the weakness of man’s
power.
We are called into fellowship because of our union with
Jesus: He died for us; we were baptized in His name; we are identified with His
cross. What a wonderful basis for
spiritual unity!
The next lesson will be point #3, Called to Glorify
God (vv. 26-31)