Fools Talk: Embracing the Scandal of Christianity

God's Wisdom in the Foolishness of a Crucified Savior (1:18-25)

In verse 18 Paul says that, “the word of the Cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to those who are being saved it is the power of God.”

The Folly of What God Uses to Save

If you look at v.17, Paul tells us that the power of God to save is foolish to me

Paul says that the cross breads one of two responses: (1) You think that it is foolishness. Or (2) You think it is the power of God on display.

Let’s look at both of these responses in more detail:

Foolishness

The Folly of the Cross

The cross was for criminals.

One scholar wrote,

The cross was humiliating.

The cross was terrifying.

The Gospel of Matthew captures Jesus’ emotional state just before he was crucified.

36 Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, “Sit here, while I go over there and pray.” 37 And taking with him nPeter and othe two sons of Zebedee, he began to be sorrowful and troubled. 38 Then he said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and qwatch4 with me.” 39 And going a little farther he fell on his face rand prayed, saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let sthis cup pass from me; tnevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.” 40 And he came to the disciples and found them sleeping. And he said to Peter, “So, could you not watch with me one hour? 41 qWatch and upray that you vmay not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” 42 Again, for the second time, he went away and prayed, “My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, wyour will be done.” 43 And again he came and found them sleeping, for xtheir eyes were heavy. 44 So, leaving them again, he went away and prayed for ythe third time, saying the same words again. 45 Then he came to the disciples and said to them, “Sleep and take your rest later on.5 See, zthe hour is at hand, and athe Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. 46 Rise, let us be going; see, my betrayer is at hand.”

m For ver. 36–46, see ;

e [See ver. 30 above]

38 Then he said to them, p“My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and qwatch4 with me.” 39 And going a little farther he fell on his face rand prayed, saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let sthis cup pass from me; tnevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.”

38 Then he said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch with me.” 39 And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.”

n ch. 17:1

o ch. 4:21

p [, ; ]

q See ch. 24:42

The cross killed Jesus.

4 Or keep awake; also verses 40, 41

r

s See ch. 20:22

q See ch. 24:42

t ver. 42; ; ;

q [See ver. 38 above]

u

v ch. 6:13

4 Or keep awake; also verses 40, 41

w ver. 39; See ch. 6:10

x

y []

5 Or Are you still sleeping and taking your rest?

r

z , ; ; ; [ver. 18; ]

a ch. 17:22; 20:18

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), .

s See ch. 20:22

The cross killed Jesus.

t ver. 42; ; ;

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), .The cross killed Jesus.

The message of the cross is scandalous and offensive to people who do not believe in Jesus. It is scandalous because

The Power and Wisdom of God in the Cross

2. The Power and Wisdom of God in the Cross

Jesus willingly became a criminal so that we might become innocent before God.

The purpose of the cross was

Jesus was humiliated on the cross so that we might be exalted as sons and daughters of God.

Jesus suffered the terror of the cross so that we might not face the consequences of sin and death.

Jesus died on the cross so that death would lose its power over us.

God’s Wisdom in a Foolish Message (2:20-25)

God has made the world’s wisdom foolish (v. 20)

The world would have anticipated something completely different than how God accomplished the work of salvation.

Paul even uses two different examples in v.22: He says, “For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified.”

There are two types of people who dont understand the message of the Gospel: those who seek signs and those who seek wisdom.

What these two people have in common is that they are setting the standard for what grounds are necessary for them to be saved.

Another way to say it…they think that they know better than God.

They were interested in the natural world…they wanted to be able to explain how one was saved by being about to

We do the same thing when we doubt the Gospel message. At times, we too

Romans 1:16

God’s Wisdom in Choosing Foolish People (1:26-31)