Sermon – 1 Corinthians 1: 18-31 - Jesus was Crucified for our Salvation

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

Sermon – 1 Corinthians 1: 18-31 - Jesus was Crucified for our Salvation

Pitts Creek and Beaver Dam Churches

Lent 3

March 11, 2012

Here we are at the third Sunday of Lent. We have been with the early church trying to figure out what Jesus' suffering and death really meant. The early church had asked the question, “Why did Jesus have to suffer and die such a humiliating death on a cross?” Peter told persecuted churches that Jesus suffered to enter our suffering to bring us to God. Paul told the church of Rome that Jesus was lifted up on a cross to justify us, to straighten, plane and sand us smooth so that we can fit together with God and with each other. And today we will read as Paul tells the church in Corinth that Jesus died on the cross to empower the church. We will get to all this, but first let's pray.

“Grant unto us, O Lord, to be occupied in the mysteries of thy heavenly wisdom, with true progress in piety, to thy glory and our own edification. Amen.” (John Calvin)

It was the winter of 56 AD. Paul was in Ephesus, and he received some troubling news from Corinth. Paul knew the Corinthian church well. He had established it five years before and spent several years there helping it get started before leaving to resume his missionary travels. Paul had come to Corinthian in response to a dream he had of someone urging him to come to Macedonia. He had responded to this dream and arrived in Corinth around 50 AD where he met Priscilla and Aquila who were Christians from Rome working in the leather industry. He experienced numerous problems there and so probably wasn't surprised that divisions remained. So Paul sent Timothy to Corinth to find out what's happening and report back.

When Timothy returned he delivered a discouraging report to Paul. First, people were complaining about Paul's preaching. Paul was not a particularly good preacher. He wasn't very charismatic. Maybe it was his accent or clothes. But when compared to the philosophers and debaters in Corinth, Paul's style left a lot to be desired. There was a faction that wanted someone like Apollos, a great speaker, to come to Corinth for the church. But this wasn't the only problem. Another faction in the church questioned Paul's background. Paul just wasn't one of the twelve. Paul hadn't been a follower of Jesus before his death. And in fact Paul had been a persecutor of the early church. Paul didn't even know Jesus until that episode on the Damascus road when he encountered Jesus in a flash of light. Paul just didn't have the right credentials. And so a faction wanted someone like Peter to come to the church.

All of this had to be hard for Paul to hear. He had worked so hard to bring the church to Christ and still it was divided. But Timothy had even more bad news for Paul. People in Corinth were questioning Paul's primary teaching. They were concerned that Paul had put the cross at the center of their faith. Paul had insisted that the leader of the church was the resurrected Jesus Christ who had died on a cross. The Gentile Christians in Corinth thought that this belief in a crucified savior was foolish. You had to be mad to worship someone who died on a cross because crucifixion was the most shameful way to die. The Romans had picked up crucifixion from the Persians. It was a way to humiliate any political opponent. Crosses were setup just outside the city gate to that all your friends and family could see you suffer and thus be deterred from ever opposing the Emperor. The Son of God would never let something like this happen. He would never die a shameful death on a cross. So they questioned Paul's central teaching and their faith was tottering. The Jewish Christians in Corinth also had problems with Paul's teachings on the cross. It was inconceivable to them that the Messiah would die on a tree. The Hebrew scripture cleared stated that anyone who died on a tree was cursed. So anyone who died on a cross was also cursed. Why would God allow the Messiah to be cursed. It didn't make any sense. Paul's whole teaching on the cross was being questioned.

Differences plague the church today as well. We find ourselves arguing about theology and biblical interpretation. This week New Castle Presbytery debated an idea that we should split into two presbyteries one theat believed one way on certain issues and one that believed the other way. People were passionate on both sides believing the other to be foolish. The idea that we should be united in Christ ultimately prevailed, but our differences remain and we are left struggling to discern God will for us.

Paul knew that he had to respond to the Corinthian church before disagreements turned into divisions and the possible the death of the church. A letter was needed, maybe also a visit, maybe more that one. So he began writing what we know today as First Corinthians and here is part of what he said to the church.

1 Corinthians 1:18-31 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 man? Where is the scholar? 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 miraculous 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 man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength. ²⁶ Brothers, 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 He 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 him who boasts boast in the Lord."

So, according Paul, God chose crucifixion as the manner of Jesus' death intentionally. He chose what was foolish, what was shameful, what was cursed to demonstrate his great power. God can take what is foolish, what is shameful, what is cursed and transform it into a blessing. And this is really good news for the Corinthians because many of them were foolish, many of them were filled with shame, many of them were cursed, but in Jesus Christ they were all transformed to new life. All of this is the great paradox of our faith. God uses the foolish, the shameful, and the cursed to transform the foolish, the shamed and cursed to new life in Jesus Christ.

Today as in the first century we value wisdom. Wisdom is the opposite of foolishness and we treasure it greatly. We spend a lot of time and money on education. We think that if we obtain enough knowledge we will become wise. And we depend on this wisdom to improve our lives. But no matter how much wisdom we have received we find that it is not enough. We try to wise, but over and over again we do foolish things. And when we act foolishly we find ourselves filled with shame and feeling cursed. I think this is one reason why people leave churches. They hope to find wisdom by coming to church. They hope that through this wisdom they will lead a better life. But then they do something foolish. Maybe they cheat on their spouse. Maybe their drinking has gotten out of control and relationships hurt. They feel foolish for what they have done, and experience shame coming to church. We love them and reach out to them, but they leave feeling cursed and we see them no more.

Jesus died a foolish, shameful and cursed death on a cross to find us in our foolishness, shame and curse. Wherever we are, whatever we have done, nothing is so foolish, nothing is so shameful, nothing is so cursed as to separate us from God's love in Jesus Christ. So if you have a disease, or if you have gone through a divorce, or if you have gone bankrupt, or if you have been addicted to drugs or alcohol or prescription drugs, if you have experience foolishness, shame and curse in any way Jesus died on a cross for you with the promise of God's power to transform you. So I invite you who are foolish, filled with shame, or experiencing a curse to experience the power of God through the death of Jesus Christ because Jesus has come into your foolishness, your shame, your cursed life to save you and bring you to new life.

So if someone says to you that you are a moron for believing that God died on a cross, or if someone tells you that it is stupid to believe that your God died a shameful death, or if someone argues that Jesus' death on a cross shows that he was not the messiah because he was cursed then you can respond by telling them that God is so powerful that he transforms the foolish, the shamed and cursed to shame the wise so that we realize that wisdom is not our ultimate goal. What we really want and really need is faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ which brings us to new life. Faith is far more important than wisdom.

Father in heaven, we thank you for using the foolish, the shameful and the cursed to bless us. Help us to grow our faith in Jesus Christ so that by your power we may received the promised new life in Christ. This we pray in his glorious name. Amen.