Scripture reading: John 2:13-22.

Sermon text: 1 Corinthians 1:18-25.

“Foolishness.” Some people are known for it; others are known for their inability to tolerate it. No one expects foolishness from wise people, especially from highly educated wise people.

How, then, can we explain someone like St. Paul — a man considered so intelligent he was invited to speak to Athens’ most intelligent philosophers — coming to the Corinthians and preaching something so foolish as salvation through a crucifixion? Why, then, would St. Paul continue from the account of the crucifixion to describe something so improbable as a resurrection?

Even most of the Greek philosophers in Athens refused to listen when St. Paul explained the resurrection of Jesus, but some believed his message. The Corinthians, too, heard St. Paul’s story of Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection. While many found the story completely improbable — foolish, even — those who believed found they experienced something they couldn’t explain: Peace with their Creator and power they never dreamed possible.

This power resulted from the greatest display of weakness God has ever shown. When Jesus, the Son of God, hung on a cross, He seemed the weakest of humans. The Roman Empire had crushed every foolish attempt at Jewish independence since Pompey pacified the warring Jewish factions in 63 B.C. When the crowds proclaimed Jesus as their king during His entry into Jerusalem, they sealed His fate with the Jewish rulers and the Romans. The Jews should have known it was foolish to think Jesus would free them from Roman occupation.

Yet, Jesus’ crucifixion resulted in God’s greatest demonstration of power. Jesus’ resurrection destroyed death’s power over humanity and gave humanity hope over our greatest enemy. What seemed a foolish tale to most of St. Paul’s listeners still seems foolish to most people today. However, the historical reality of Jesus’ resurrection brings true power to those who believe and confess Him as Lord of their lives.

If the “word of the cross” — the gospel of Jesus Christ — is “the power of God,” what does this mean? Why did St. Paul emphasize the cross to the Greeks when he knew most of them would fail to comprehend its mystery?

We must remember that Corinth, like Athens, prided itself on its philosophical attitudes. Like most Greeks, the Corinthians spent countless hours debating philosophy and religion. The Greeks considered themselves among the most intelligent of the ancient peoples, and with good reason. The word “philosophy” comes from the Greek language, where it means literally, “love of wisdom.” Alexander the Great had spread Greek thought throughout the world with his conquests over 300 years earlier. Wealthy Romans used Greek tutors to train their sons. In the first century A.D., more people spoke Greek in the Roman Empire than Latin, the Romans’ native tongue.

Of all the ancients, the Greeks invested the most time in intellectual pursuits. The Greeks developed much of the mathematics studied in schools today. Socrates introduced the Socratic method of teaching, where the teacher instructs students through relentless questioning. Socrates’ student, Plato, is still studied both in philosophy and in political science. Aristotle developed the rules of logic used in numerous fields.

Edith Hamilton, an American educator of the 19th and 20th centuries, once said that “The fundamental fact about the Greek was that he had to use his mind. The ancient priests had said, ‘Thus far and no farther. We set the limits of thought.’ The Greek said, ‘All things are to be examined and called into question. There are no limits set on thought.’”  Any college student in a college worth the money will spend at least some time reading about Greek philosophy.

The Greeks had spent centuries pondering the true questions of life: “How did the universe get here?” “Why are humans here?” “What is our purpose in life?” Some of their philosophers came so close to the truths of Scripture that some scholars think the Greeks may have read Moses’ books. (See Eusebius’ Preparation of the Gospel for a discussion of Plato’s interaction with Moses.)

St. Paul came to Corinth directly from Athens, where he debated the philosophers both in the agora (the Greek marketplace) and at the Areopagus. In addition to his exhaustive knowledge of Scripture, St. Paul knew his Greek philosophy, quoting 2 Greek philosophers from each of philosophy’s major periods (Epimenides from the Pre-Socratic era and Aerates from the Post-Socratic era) in his speech recorded in Acts 17.

St. Paul had also seen the results of his time in Athens. While some Athenians accepted the gospel, others had scoffed at the thought of a resurrection. People today seem to forget that the ancients knew the basic facts we know today, including the reality that the dead stay dead. The Greeks thought that St. Paul’s insistence on Jesus’ resurrection ranked among the most foolish things they’d heard in their history.

Therefore, when he arrived in Corinth and began working among the Corinthians, St. Paul knew he should take a different approach from his time in Athens. He would use no secular philosophy here. The Corinthians’ intellectual pride dictated another approach. Among the Corinthians, St. Paul preached only “Christ crucified.”

This approach would have seemed counterproductive to most examiners of the situation. The Jews in Corinth resembled the Jews of Jesus’ day; they constantly demanded “signs” (i.e. miracles) that would prove Jesus’ identity. While St. Paul did perform miracles in his ministry, he performed precious few. Any Jew expecting a miracle on demand usually left disappointed.

The Greeks, on the other hand, sought wisdom as they had for centuries. Most intelligent people expect reasoned arguments that prove decisively the point at hand. The Corinthians expected St. Paul to produce logical proof that Jesus was indeed the Son of God.

Instead, St. Paul preached only “Christ crucified.” To the Greeks, this seemed as “folly” or “foolishness.” The English translations of the Scriptures tone down the Greek word used here; the word literally means “moronic.” Few intelligent people have the patience to spare on sub-intelligent people or on sub-intelligent ideas.

The Jews, expecting a sign from St. Paul, certainly didn’t expect him to point to a crucifixion. Their law plainly stated, “a hanged man is cursed by God” (Deuteronomy 21:22-23). The thought of God using a Man who hung on a cross offended the Jews.

How did St. Paul respond to these charges of foolishness and curses? “the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” Yes, those “perishing” would scoff at the crucifixion and resurrection; but those “who are being saved” (literally a past passive participle) experienced the “power of God” in the cross.

Why would God do this? Why would He choose this way to redeem humanity from sin? Why would He not redeem us in a way that made sense to us?

I love what C.S. Lewis says of Christianity in Mere Christianity, where he states: “Reality, in fact, is usually something you could not have guessed. That is one of the reasons why I believe Christianity. It is a religion you could not have guessed… It is not the sort of thing anyone would have made up. It has just that queer twist about it that real things have” (Mere Christianity, “The Invasion”).

This best describes the reason God chose to use Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection for our salvation. If a human could reason his way to salvation, he could boast of his wisdom and intelligence. If salvation were accessible through intellect alone, the Greeks would have achieved it. Salvation does not come from our efforts, but results from God’s sacrifice of His only begotten Son to atone for our sins.

This is the gospel; this is the truth of Christianity. All have sinned, and eternal separation from God our Creator results from sin. Jesus, the only begotten divine Son of God, died to pay for our sins. Then, to remove the penalty of sin, Jesus rose from the grave to give us the promise that all who believe in Him will one day rise as well. Jesus wasn’t the only human that will ever rise from the dead. Practically every civilization believed in a life after death. Christianity teaches that all will rise one day and face judgment for their sins. Those who have believed in Jesus’ resurrection, confessing Him as Lord of their lives, will live forever in new bodies that will never age, suffer disease, or face death.

This sounds great to most people, but it leaves open a question: What about now? Does Christianity give us any hope today, in this life?

I believe St. Paul gives us great hope in the phrase, “the power of God.” This promise tells us much about what we can expect in this life.

First, the power of God gives us hope because we experience the presence of the Holy Spirit of God at our conversion. Jesus had promised “another Comforter” who would come to His disciples after His ascension into heaven that would “teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you” (John 14:26). All Christians receive the Holy Spirit at conversion to guide us in life and direct us in the decisions we make throughout life.

The power of God also helps us in a way very relevant in our state this week. When we examine Jesus’ last words on the cross — as we will on Good Friday — we cannot ignore a powerful phrase: “Father, forgive them” (Luke 23:24). Each week, when we pray the Lord’s Prayer (the “Our Father”), we pray for God to “forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.”

This week, Alabama mourned the murder of 10 of our citizens in Samson. The murderer apparently kept a list of people who had “wronged” him in life and targeted them before taking his own life. Grudges and dwelling on perceived wrongs will always eat at those who refuse to forgive others.

Christians must follow Jesus’ example of forgiveness. We must forgive all who wrong us. I’ll not lie; this is impossible for most of us unless the power of God helps us to forgive others. I can say, from personal experience, that forgiving others becomes easier as it is practiced.

Lastly, the power of God give us comfort in the sufferings of life. Christians believe that every answered prayer demonstrates the power of God. We pray for healings weekly in our church; we’re praying for the safety of troops overseas; we’re praying that God will guide our nations’ leaders and give them wisdom in the decisions they make.

However, we still recognize that life brings suffering. Acceptance of Jesus as Lord does not exempt Christians from the sufferings of life. Disease, violence, and persecution affect Christians as much as affect other humans. God does not exempt us from suffering; instead, Scripture teaches us that God can use suffering to guide us in life and prepare us for a glorious eternity.

In all, the crucifixion may have resembled weakness, but it demonstrated the immense power of God. Only God could overcome death, humanity’s worst enemy. Only a death could atone for our sins. The death of the Son of God, Jesus Christ, redeemed us from sin, while His glorious resurrection conquered death for us. “The foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.” Trust in the power of God to redeem you, sustain and comfort you, and in time take you to an eternity beyond our imagining.