“For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to those who are being saved, it is the power of God.” This is one of those riveting verses that was instrumental in galvanising the Reformation in the 16th century, and this whole passage really ought to jump off the page at us today and fill us with joy in our salvation through the cross of Jesus Christ. Yet it is not immediately clear exactly what Paul means. I want to take a closer look with you this morning at this highly compressed passage which nevertheless packs such a mighty punch.
First of all: What is this message of the cross? This is just such a highly appropriate question for us to explore as we travel through Lent. The message of the cross...
Let’s start by looking at what Paul means by the words ‘the cross’ – which comes over as a sort of short-hand expression. The message of the cross.....
Jesus has spent some three years in a ministry of teaching, healing and exorcism, in which he has confronted every kind of sin, and disease, and human failing - every kind of malicious opposition and threat – and indeed confronted Satan himself; and has shown such authority, discernment and command that on each occasion he has been victorious. But all the time, that ministry has been leading towards a climax – a final show-down between the forces of good and evil.
And that climax comes quite suddenly as Jesus is forcibly arrested, led away to a trial on trumped-up charges in what we would describe as a kangaroo court, handed over to the Roman authorities who find that the easiest way to keep the peace is to condemn him to death by crucifixion. It would seem that this is a classic case of the triumph of injustice and cruelty – indeed the triumph of all the powers of evil, personified in the New Testament in Satan himself.
But what is not apparent at the time, either to his followers let alone all the powers arraigned against him, is that – in his suffering and death – Jesus, representing us all – is absorbing all our sin and wrong-doing, which is to be buried with him for ever, while he himself rises victorious from the grave to offer us all a new life. And that forgiveness of sin and offer of new life is now the good news which is offered freely to all who turn to the risen Jesus and put their trust in him. This is the ‘message of the cross’. Not easy to grasp, certainly, and full of mystery and awe. But as God himself helps us to glimpse by faith its life-changing impact, we discover in our own lives that it is a message of forgiveness and hope and freedom.
Now Paul goes on to say, (not surprisingly), that to those who see no particular need for forgiveness and are perfectly happy in their own way of life, this makes no sense at all. Paul’s word for their reaction is that the message of the cross is simply ‘foolishness’. It confounds all reason and common-sense. Is it not obvious that – as usual – the well meaning efforts of a good man have been ground into the dust. Evil has triumphed and we just have to face facts and accept that the world is full of such manifold injustice.
But to those whose eyes have been opened and have perceived the reality beneath the surface, God’s love and power have actually triumphed and the powers of darkness have been decisively defeated.
To ordinary human eyes, the cross was a disaster and confirms all our fears about a meaningless world in which the strongest triumph using whatever means they choose. That is the received worldly wisdom.
But the good news of the Gospel always confounds worldly wisdom. In human terms, the Gospel is always a paradox. Jesus had taught us all along that, if you want to find life, you have to give it away. It is the poor in spirit who find true riches. Above all, true victory is not achieved by human force, but by selfless and self-giving love. To believe that, and put it into practice, is the key to true life, freedom and fulfilment. Christ himself, therefore – declares Paul – is the power of God and the wisdom of God. And the proof of it lies in the cross and the resurrection. It is only love and self-sacrifice which will ultimately triumph over sin and evil. God’s power does not express itself in worldly force, but through the power of love to change lives.
Now this is not to say that we meekly allow manifest evil to trample the poor and innocent, while we stand by and hope that somehow love will win out. There is a time to be angry and a time to fight the forces of evil, and in our Gospel reading we find Jesus both angry and violent in his cleansing of the temple. Sometimes I believe we should be more angry than we are when we see wrong prevail. The ravages of disease should make us sufficiently angry to give every support to the battle for a cure. The evil and cruelty that we humans are capable of inflicting on one another must be forced into the open - exposed and opposed. We must fight to ensure that – sooner or later – those who perpetrate barbarity and death are brought to justice.
But ultimately only the cross is the bench-mark of the final victory over sin and death. And this is because the root of the problem does not lie in people’s actions, but in the depths of their hearts. That is where the critical change has to happen. You don’t change people’s hearts by meeting violence with violence. You change people’s hearts through prayer and the power of love.
There’s no time to recount examples this morning – of which there are hundreds. But I remember vividly the testimony of a town under gang rule where violence and death were everyday occurrences. And a small group of Christians moved in and begun to pray and become a community that had the cross at the centre of its message. And miraculously the life of that town changed because people’s hearts and attitudes were wonderfully changed by the power of God. The message of the cross was revealed as the power of God.
On the other hand, whenever an institution – particularly a religious institution – tries to impose its own will by force, it may force everyone into line, but - in doing so - it automatically becomes a mirror-image of the Kingdom of God, and therefore, by definition, demonic. Whereas true authority and true royal power are exemplified by loving and faithful service to others – Jesus, the Master, kneeling to wash the disciples’ feet and dying on the cross for your sins and
mine. This is true royalty – the only kind of royalty in God’s kingdom which He recognises. (And, just to say at this point, a description of true royalty wonderfully exemplified at this point in our history, by our own Queen, who has dedicated herself so entirely to this model of Christian service).
The world is divided, so Paul tells us here, between those who live by this world’s rules and standards, where might is right and if you can’t beat them, you have to join them. They are the ones who have got it wrong, and are on the road which blindingly leads them to destruction. And, on the other side, are those whose eyes have been opened by the grace of God, and come to the foot of the cross seeking forgiveness and new life, and find that their lives are now filled with hope and a new strength – not in worldly power and ambition – but filled with outgoing love lived out in the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. Those whose attitudes and actions live out God’s words through the Old Testament prophet Zechariah (4:6): “Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, says the Lord of hosts.”
As we travel with Jesus on the road both to the cross and the resurrection, we need to discover where God’s power and God’s wisdom are truly to be found. And that lies in the cross of Jesus, where (as Paul says) Christ is for us the power of God and the wisdom of God.” “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing. But to those who are being saved, it is the power of God.” Robert
Discussion
1. What do you understand by the ‘message of the cross’? Why is it ‘foolishness’ to normal human values? And what does it mean to say that people are ‘perishing’?
2. Can you think of experiences – either personal or ones which you have read about – where prayer and God’s power have changed lives/situations in a particular and positive way?
3. ’Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom’. Can you think of modern equivalents?
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