When we want to persuade someone to accept an idea or thought of ours, we generally would want to give the smartest, most intellectual, and intelligent arguments in our favor. When heading into a debate, each team seeks to have the most well thought out and intelligent material. They also want to have the wisest people on their team. In our Scripture for today we read what the Apostle Paul says God feels is important for His message to the world, and who He picks. Let’s take a look.
When we think of all of God’s characteristics, one of them is that He is omniscient, He has all knowledge, He knows everything. He knows everything about science, medicine, psychology, philosophy, business, everything. We might think that when God wants to get a message of His across to mankind, that He would put it in the most intellectual package, delivered by the greatest of orators and scholars. Yet how did God bring His message of salvation to people? It was the message of the cross, a gruesome method of execution, not in any brilliant philosophical and intellectual preaching (vs. 18).
When people think of the cross today, they might think of a nice piece of jewelry, or an ornamental object in a church or on top of a steeple. Yet when we really consider what a cross is, it was an ancient method of execution. It would be soaked in blood, and was a tortuous way to die. Those put to death that way were generally criminals or enemies of the government. Somebody who died upon a cross would not be looked upon as anyone to admire or follow, but as a failure, someone who didn’t succeed, someone who was put to death.
The intellectuals of the days of the very early Church did not understand why, when trying to persuade people to follow Jesus, they would talk about something as shameful as the cross! Jesus, and His death on the cross, was considered foolish by the intellectuals of Paul’s day, particularly the Greek scholars. They thought that a man who had died as a lowly criminal could not possibly be God incarnate (vs. 20-25). And the death of Jesus on the cross was a stumbling block to the Jews because they were expecting a conquering king who would restore Israel. They did not want a Savior who would forgive sins through the sacrifice of Himself.
However, that was the message God used to achieve victory and life for all who believe. God took something shameful and weak, specifically Jesus’ death on a cross, and made it the foundation of wisdom and power. We see the same feeling in intellectuals and so-called sophisticated society people today. They do not want to hear about a bloody, gruesome execution of someone, and then think they can be persuaded to accept that as God’s method of salvation. The message of Jesus’ death on the cross sounds foolish to the world. The message of the cross makes no sense to the lost, because Satan has blinded their eyes to the truth (II Corinthians 4:4).
God chooses foolish and weak things to show His majesty (vs. 27). That way all power will be of God, and not ourselves (II Corinthians 4:7). God’s way of thinking is not like the world’s way (Isaiah 29:14). God’s view of wisdom and strength are often the reverse of our own. Human wisdom is foolishness to the Lord, while God’s wisdom looks like foolishness to the world. The people that God often chooses to get His work done are not usually the ones the world would pick (vs. 26-29). From the world’s point of view, the twelve apostles were not great or special. Most were fishermen or common laborers. None were scholars. Paul was a great scholar, yet he did not preach scholarly sermons. Instead, he chose to preach only about the cross of Calvary, just the opposite of what intellectuals then or today would choose. God does not choose us for our wealth, social status, intelligence, or any other qualities. We are saved because of God’s grace, not our merit.
In closing, we see that God chose both messengers and a message, that of the cross, which the world would not choose. What message are we sending out to the world? It needs to be the message of the cross, and nothing else, as the cross is the power of God. It was there that our sin debt was paid. We need to speak of the cross because it is God’s method which saves sinners. The message of the cross and empty tomb say that we can be saved.
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