The Power of the Cross

Perhaps no other text states so explicitly as 1 Corinthians what the cross means to the believer and to the unbeliever. When one thinks about it, it is rather ironic to talk about victory when what appears to be certain defeat takes place. This is why Paul says that to the Jew, the cross is a stumbling block and to the Greek it is the source of a philosophical discussion.

For the Jew the cross stands in stark contrast to all expectations. They didn’t need a sacrificial lamb. They needed a militant leader. They didn’t need to change. God needed to change the situation. They didn’t need forgiveness. They needed political freedom. The cross became a stumbling block for them because it represented everything they thought they didn’t need.

Sometimes we can approach the cross believing we need one thing when we really need something else. We think we need our problems to end. The cross says we need to trust God to handle it in his time. We think we need prosperity. The cross says look at the poor carpenter and learn to be obedient with what you have. The cross can become a stumbling block or trap for us because the cross means something different from what we want it to mean.

For the Greeks the cross was simply another philosophical discussion. The cross became an object to talk about and dissect. The cross became a mere symbol. Like all other philosophies, this one was to be debated, discussed, and squeezed for every morsel of intellectual pursuit. But salvation—no. When I was in high school, I participated in debate. Frankly, I had no interest in it, but was selected because the teacher didn’t want to go to the forensic meet without some representation. The folks in debate take their role very seriously. I didn’t. While I cannot remember the topic, I do remember that I found myself arguing a point that I didn’t agree with. And perhaps worst of all the topic made no difference. Caught up in the competitiveness of the moment, you had to score points. The material no longer mattered. I could have easily argued either side. The point was to present your argument in a logical fashion. This is what the Greeks did with the cross. Just a point to argue. Just a side to think about, but nothing to produce a change.

Paul says for those who want to understand, the cross is power. The power of God to change lives; the power of God to forgive sin; the power of God to bring about a bridge between us and him. The cross breaks all molds; it destroys all preconceptions about God; it wipes away all false expectations. The cross is the ultimate paradox—victory in what appears to be complete defeat. Thanks be to God that he broke the chain of sin. Let’s honor God this week with a life which realizes that he is powerful enough indeed to deal with our sin and to set us free.

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