The Message of the Cross

For a Christian growing up two millennia after the Roman Empire, the cross doesn’t carry the same meaning as it did for a Roman citizen. When we sing about the cross, we are not thinking of the tool used for torture; we are thinking about the salvation that comes from it. Yet the cross was meant to be the cruelest of punishments during the Roman Empire’s reign. It was reserved for the worst of the worst criminals. It was one of the most painful deaths they could conjure up. This is why the Corinthians and so many others during Paul’s time had difficulty believing that salvation could come from the death of someone on a cross.

Divine Wisdom Versus Human Foolishness

The “wisdom” of this world strives for things that eternally don’t matter—status, money, popularity. This is all foolishness in God’s eyes. He knows that making our way up the ladder at work will not bring us closer to Him. In fact, it will most likely take us further away and make us feel no need for Him, leading to a life of self-sufficiency. That is why He chooses the seemingly foolish, weak, and basic things of the world—and why the seemingly foolish, weak, and basic things of the world choose Him. He is able to show His power and wisdom through those who allow Him full access to their hearts.

But for the Corinthians (and dare I say for many even now), it was seen as foolishness to follow a man who had been tortured on a cross. It didn’t make sense. How was that power, if He laid down His life voluntarily?

The means God has devised for the salvation of humanity appears to be folly to those who are blinded by human philosophy. Paul had come to Corinth, a place that prided itself on wisdom and cultural sophistication. The message of a man condemned to death on a cross who did so voluntarily to save His people sounds foolish to pagans and Jews alike. To the Greeks, it was foolish because it did not sound logical. To the Jews, it did not seem powerful. They were looking for a Messiah to save them from the Romans.

God’s message and gift are for all people, even those we feel are judging us as we share the gospel with them, those who scoff and make it seem as though they think our message is folly. The Holy Spirit can take that seed and grow it in the unbeliever, especially as they witness the faith of a true believer. They may see it as ridiculous, but they will definitely be watching to see if we truly believe what we say we believe.

I remember one time an unbeliever said to me, “I don’t need a teddy bear of a God to go cry to when things get tough.” But this same unbeliever, when his father died, came and asked more about my faith, where I thought his dad was, and whether he would ever see him again. The message of the cross—the love it symbolizes—is like a healing balm to those who suffer loss or pain. When a person is hurting or mourning, logic, intelligence, and theories do not meet the soul’s need. Even the most logical, intellectual mind can be open to the theme of the cross when faced with emotional pain, loss, or death.

The Power of the Cross

The Adult Bible Study Guide mentioned that the cross has the power to display the worst of humanity and the best of God. God juxtaposes the worst punishment that humanity could devise to show the best of Himself through it. That He would be willing to go through the torture reserved for the worst of criminals shows His true, loving character. It shows how much He loves us and wants to reconcile us to Himself in a way that would pay the restitution that sin required.

The means God has devised for the salvation of humanity appears to be folly to those who are blinded by human philosophy.

Paul wanted to make sure that he did not empty the cross of its power; that the message of the cross remained the center of his ministry. He didn’t want the attention; he wasn’t looking for fame. He says in 1 Corinthians 1:14, 15, “I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, lest anyone should say that I had baptized in my own name.” He goes on to say in verse 17 that he wasn’t sent by Christ to baptize but to preach the gospel, and that he didn’t want to do so too eloquently, so that people would be drawn to his eloquent preaching and thus empty the cross of its power. He wanted to win people over, not with the wisdom of his words, but through the power of the message of the cross.

Human wisdom should not obscure the message of the cross. Elaborate biblical discourses can sometimes point toward the speaker and how much they know or how eloquent they speak instead of pointing the hearer to God and His sacrifice for us. Paul most likely felt that influence and temptation in Greek philosophic society, but he wanted to show them something different.

It is easy to get drawn into arguing our point and supporting it biblically to show how much we know, or to prove our opponent wrong. We can also get caught up in baptism numbers. But when that is our sole focus, we are not tapping into the power of the cross not only to change hearts for baptism but to create more Jesus-loving disciples who want to do the same. Paul understood this, and over and over in his ministry he mentions it. He later says in 1 Corinthians 15:31, “I die daily.” He also says in Philippians 1:21, “For to me, to live is Christ.” He understood that his purpose was not to receive glory and accolades, but to uplift the cross of Christ.

Those Being Saved

The lesson points out that the opposite of foolishness is the power of God, not human wisdom. To those being saved, they have tapped into the power of God and are being saved by it. The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary says, “This power is demonstrated by the transformation of character that accompanies the sinner’s acceptance of the provisions of grace. . . . It is the application of the mighty power of God to the heart and life of the repentant, believing sinner, making of him a new creation.”[*]

To those who are perishing, they are perishing because the one thing that has power to save them appears like folly to them. They are bringing upon themselves destruction by rejecting what God has offered. It is self-inflicted. Whereas to the believer, we are being saved. This is past, present, and future tense. As the lesson said: “We are not saving ourselves. Our salvation has an external source.”

Paul tells us in Romans 6:23 that “the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Our salvation is a gift given by Jesus’ death on the cross.

Reconciliation Through the Cross

I am so thankful for the cross. I am thankful that the “foolishness” of God, the means He devised for the salvation of humanity, has provided a way to bridge the divide that sin created between humans and God. The cross is the instrument of reconciliation so that the divine plan that was laid out from the beginning may still take place. Even though we are not worthy and chose to go our own way, God was willing to sacrifice His Son. And Jesus was willing to die the death of the worst sinner on the cross so that we could be with Him again. I am so thankful for that gift, and I cannot wait to be able to kneel at Jesus’ scarred feet and say, “Thank You.”

[*] The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 6 (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Pub. Assn., 1956), p. 665.