The Foolishness of the Cross

18 For 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. 19 For it is written:

“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise;
    the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.”

20 Where is the wise person? Where is the teacher of the law? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21 For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. 22 Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, 24 but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.

26 Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 28 God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, 29 so that no one may boast before him. 30 It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. 31 Therefore, as it is written: “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.”

It is no secret that I am a huge football fan so that means that later this afternoon is the pinnacle of my football fandom.  And no one can deny the added greatness of the Super Bowl commercials as an awesome supplement to the game itself.  So as a football fan, I have been involved in all things Super Bowl which means I have listened to most of the talking heads that regard themselves as football experts through ESPN, sports-talk radio, twitter, and my Facebook newsfeed.  I have listened to or read about many who think they have accurately predicted the outcome of the big game today.  These “experts” think they are extremely wise when it comes to the game of football.  In their minds, they think they know enough about football and the two teams playing today to make a bold prediction about the outcome.  The truth is, they have absolutely no idea just how the game will go today.  They can predict that Peyton Manning will be too good for the Seattle defense to stop.  On the other hand, some predict that Seattle’s defense and the Legion of Boom will just be too much Manning and his wide receivers to handle.  So many “experts”, and yet, many of them will look foolish whatever the outcome of the game.  I am sure that many of you also have some sort of prediction of how the game will go, or at least how you would like the game to go, but if we were to explain our prediction to these experts, I am sure we would get laughed under the table.  These experts would think that we have no idea of what we are saying and that we are not wise enough to make an accurate prediction about the game.  None of these experts would really take to heart our prediction.  As we continue our study of Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, we will see that there were those during Paul’s time that feel Christianity too, is foolish.  

During the time Paul is writing this letter, many people thought that Christianity was not worth studying.  Many thinkers and philosophers of the time felt that Christianity did not have a strong voice because it was aimed at those who were average and uneducated.  Those thinkers and philosophers believed that the ministry of Christ was aimed at the meek and lowly and would never gain traction because of it’s simple and humble nature.  Many argued that Christianity would never make it because those who were educated, both Greek and Jew, could never believe that the Son of Man would simply die on the cross for such lowly people.  Many of those of noble birth and self-proclaimed deep thinkers did not think that Jesus’ teachings could apply to them.  Mostly because they did not like what Jesus preached.  They felt that they were better than the average Joe and could not imagine God lowering Himself to the standards of the average person.  And this is exactly why Christianity struggled for nearly 300 years after the death of Christ.   When Paul says that God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise and the weak things of the world to shame the strong, he is getting slammed by those who feel that they are better than the average person walking in the streets with commoners.  Earlier, I said that there were many during Paul’s time that felt that Christianity is foolish but as we are continuing down a path where Christianity and culture are slowly separating, I think the same could be said for us today.  Last week, I talked a lot of about the relevancy of Christianity in today’s world and I think it is safe to say that we are fighting many of the same battles that Paul is taking on in our scripture this morning.  For the most part, I think it is ok that our culture/society is separating from Christianity.  When broken down, our faith should really separate us from the world in the sense that Christ’s teachings are not of this world.  It is much easier for us to share our faith and to evangelize others if we can easily tie our faith to the teachings of the world but the two are so totally different.  And now, the struggle to remain relevant has become even more difficult when thinking about our faith in this manner.

How can we remain relevant if I am suggesting that we take something that seems foreign to our society and try to get others to believe that the son of God hung on a cross 2000 years ago to take away your sin.  Paul struggled to make Christ relevant in the world he lived in just as we do today.  Christianity enjoyed a long stretch of dominance in society after the Emperor Constantine made it his and his kingdom’s religion in about 325 AD.  That dominance is fading away and here again, this is not necessarily a bad thing.  As Christians we want to make our society more like Christianity but the opposite is what happens.  We are more likely to make Christianity fit into the parameters of society instead of the other way around.  Our culture has watered down Christianity over the course of time and the separation gives us the opportunity to get back to the building blocks of our faith.  Everyday, more and more of the world is telling us that it is foolish to believe in God and to think Jesus took our sin away.  And yet here you are this morning.  For some of us, coming to church has become habit or routine and that means it has become a part of who you are but how do we continue to spread the message of Christ in a world where doubts about his actions run rampid?  How do us average folk continue to spread the love found in the cross to a world where such love seems foolish?  So many  “experts” tell us that we are wrong.  They tell us that there is no way that God can care about us and not care about a starving child, therefore this so called God of love cannot exist.  This is where our faith must step in and show the world that God does care about that starving child by actively helping those in need as much as we possibly can.  For most of our lives it has been fairly simple to be Christian because there are remnants of Christianity found in our society but this is changing.  As time goes on, it will be more and more difficult to maintain our faith because society will tell us that we are wrong.  The cross will become more and more foolish to those who do not believe.  We must be people of faith who, through our gifts given to us by God, continue to show the world that “the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.”  In creating us as creatures of freedom to choose what we believe, God knew there would be struggles found in that freedom but we must remember what Paul says, “... God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.”  With this freedom comes a choice: do we follow the foolishness of the cross? Or, do we give into the pressures of society?

Our faith in God may seem foolish to some and this can cause us struggle and doubt that faith but I am here to encourage you to keep living your life according to that faith.  I want you to know that you should struggle with your faith because when you do, then your thoughts are continually on God.  The only way to show a doubting world that God does exist, and more than merely exist, He loves, is to live a life that continually reflects that love.  As you walk in this world, you should be a light to which many are drawn.  People should look at your struggles and blessings and not help but to acknowledge that God is a part of your life.  Let the “experts” think what they will, let them think you are foolish, but remember the  redemptive power of God.  In verse 21, Paul says that God humanity the opportunity to get to know Him through their own wisdom and they were not able to find Him.  And verse 18 says that “,,, 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.”  Those who do not believe may very well think that the cross is foolish but we have been commissioned by God to do our best to show them otherwise by living lives that undeniably belong to God.  I would like to close this morning with a quote from a biblical commentator:

Christianity has given those who had no respect, their self respect; it gave those who no life, life eternal; it told people that, even if they did not matter to anyone else, they still mattered intensely to God; It told people who, in the eyes of the world were worthless, that, in the eyes of God they were worth the death of his only Son.  Christianity was, and still is, the most uplifting thing in the whole universe.

Let the experts say what they will but know that Christianity has the ability to make a difference in the lives of those who believe if given that chance.  Amen.