King of Thorns (1 Cor. 1:18-25)

Introduction: Crowns Identify the Status of Royalty

Seeing the crown jewels in London. Conveyor belt that moves people along because otherwise it would clog up. People were enamoured with the elgance and value of the crafted precious metals and stones. We say the Queen’s own sceptors, necklaces, rings, lip rings, belly button studs, tierras, and crowns. The high value of the jewlery is a symbol of the high status of the one who wears it.

The more extravagant the crown, the more value and status is ascribed to the one wearing it.

The crown reveals what the wearer represents and how they will rule.

But the only crown that Jesus wore when he walked on earth, was a crown made from thorns. A crown meant to mock him.

Why would Jesus wear such a crown?

Paul helps us understand in 1 Cor. 1:18-25.

Begin at 1:17.

Context

The context is an address concerning the division in the congregation. Paul is trying to overcome an attitude that places one above the other on the basis of certain respected credentials alone.

Paul is not against credentials or training. He elsewhere says that only few should aspire to be Elders (pastors and teachers).

The issue is that some worldly thinking was replacing spiritual thinking inside the Corinthian church.

It is literally, “wisdom of word” (1:17) (Mark Taylor).

“the phrase refers to the sophisticated and cultured speech of those of high status.” Taylor, Mark. 1 Corinthians. Ed. E. Ray Clendenen. Vol. 28. Nashville, TN: B&H Publishing Group, 2014. Print. The New American Commentary.

The Corinthians lived in a culture that was highly sexualized, esteeemed certain delivery of argumentation (maybe a debater; the “motivational speaker” of our popular culture).

They were motivated by status-seeking, which one could obtain if one operated in the right kind of speech (and this can change culture to culture - what is status speech today in Pentecostal circles?).

“...Corinthians sought to enhance their status by association with wise rhetors...” (Mark Taylor).

And the Corinthians brought their intituive ideas about what makes something great and powerful and esteemed into the church. And they assessed and evaulated one another based on comparing pegigree, and spiritual manifestations, by valuing and esteeming what the culture esteemed as great, and not seeing things from God’s point of view.

They wanted to link themselves to particular people with status: Paul, Apollos, Jesus. Each group was the one with more status. But Paul says this is foolishness, and evidence of their being unspiritual.

They were acting “unspiritual” and immature as Paul says later.

So, to confront the incursion of worldly, unspiritual, death-giving values into the church, Paul says that he instead came not to bring division or tier-making or levels of esteem, not with “eloquent wisdom” (methods that would check the right boxes to impress others into almost automatic acceptance of Paul.

1 Corinthians 1:17 (NRSV)

For Christ did not send me to baptize but to proclaim the gospel, and not with eloquent wisdom, so that the cross of Christ might not be emptied of its power.

Instead, Paul came with a message that would not impress but that would cause people to most likley reject him and his message, at least at first hearing.

This is a terrible marketing strategy (both Paul and Jesus were bad at this).

His message, both in word and deeds, was the “mesage of the cross.”

1 Corinthians 1:18–25 NRSV

For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.” Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, God decided, through the foolishness of our proclamation, to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks desire wisdom, but we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength.

The cross is a revelation of God’s nature and character.

Thsi si emphasized by the “wise” not knowing God through the typical means of understanding.

There is no need for a special school or training. God reveals himself and invites respons of trust and allegiance.

If wo go with what makes sense in the short term in this age, we will view the long term as foolish.

Now we see through dark glass (1 Co 13 - For we know only in part, and we prophesy only in part; but when the complete comes, the partial will come to an end. When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I…” )

Paul invites the Corinthians to see from the point of view of the future, the new creation, new heaven and earth. After God has made all things right.

The point: a human view will always be short-term. We need to trust God’s longer term wisdom. That is the right side of history.

Slavery. Coercion. Bullying. Domination. These will all be shown to be foolinsh in the long term.

1 Corinthians Exegesis and Exposition

But “wisdom here has more to do with social status and influence than it does with a particular theological position” (Pickett 1997: 54).

The world’s wisdom is tied to gaining and preserving status by coercive words and power (1 Cor. 19-23).

Rhetoric and wise speech doesn’t refer to those who have gone to school, etc., as sometimes Pentecostals and revivalists are prone to argue.

The issue is practical oratory skills that are used to persuade, and manipulate to the self-serving ends of the orator. Elevating one’s status.

It was not oratory simply to persuade adn win over, but oratory that broaught acclaim to the speaker. Speaking that gained acclaim. Paul is undercutting that value entirely (David Garland).

So, it’s not that Paul wasn’t coherent. It was that he is dismantling seeking celebrity status as part of Christian values.

Wisdom in 1:17 - 2:16 is the Corinthians way of knowing (Thiselton).

ISA 29:13-14

13 The Lord said:

Because these people draw near with their mouths

and honor me with their lips,

while their hearts are far from me,

and their worship of me is a human commandment learned by rote;

14 so I will again do

amazing things with this people,

shocking and amazing.

The wisdom of their wise shall perish,

and the discernment of the discerning shall be hidden.

God has always operated this way (so the OT quote). The cross is simply the best example of God working in ways that seem “foolish” to humans. But he is not impressed by what impresses humans. He is no respector of persons (James), whether due to wealth or social status. This is basic Christianity.

1 Corinthians Exegesis and Exposition

This is not an isolated proof text. The “wisdom of the wise” refers in Isaiah to political shrewdness, and Paul applies it generically to every form of human wisdom that exalts its own cleverness, but the point is the same (Fee 1987: 70; Wilk 1998: 246; R. Collins 1999: 91; Thiselton 2000: 161). All human schemes that fail to take God into account will run aground (Isa. 30:1–2). Isaiah mocks the failed machinations of the worldly-wise Jerusalem politicians who sought to ensure Israel’s safety.

Jews hearts seek a sign (22). Yet despite all they’d been given, they didn’t believe Jesus’ miracles and teaching.

“To the Jews a stumbling-block.” From a Jewish point of view, God had cursed a crucified person forever. Even a mere reference to such a person was offensive to a religiously sensitive Jew (compare Deut. 21:23; Gal. 3:13; 5:11). Indeed, calling a crucified man the Christ, that is, the Messiah, was the height of spiritual insensitivity.

Kistemaker, Simon J., and William Hendriksen. Exposition of the First Epistle to the Corinthians. Vol. 18. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1953–2001. Print. New Testament Commentary.

1 Corinthians Exegesis and Exposition

They get a “sign from above in the cross,” but they defame it as blasphemy.

Greeks seek wisdom (22). Greeks mean those influences by Greek language, philosophy, and culture (Simon Kistemaker).

“And to Gentiles foolishness.” For the Gentiles, the idea of proclaiming a message about a person who was nailed to a cross was utter foolishness. A person crucified by Roman authorities usually was a criminal slave.

Kistemaker, Simon J., and William Hendriksen. Exposition of the First Epistle to the Corinthians. Vol. 18. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1953–2001. Print. New Testament Commentary.

What is socially impressive to us today, the equivalent of “wisdom of words”?

Maybe not oratory, but celebrity, showmanship, wealth, entertainment, pragmatic know-how. All of these gain you significant status in North American Christianity.

All of this is worldly wisdom, according to Paul.

The opposite, the folloish way, is the cross.

Crucifixion was humilation by the powerful.

Jesus is the crucified Messaiah.

Jesus is the king of thorns.

He wore a crown of thorns as the Roman soldiers mocked him.

Why does Jesus submit to wearing a crown of thorns?

Because Jesus reveals most truly what God is like.

No Jewish person would even have associated their God, creator or the universe, with such humilaition. The message of the cross is a stumbling block to the Jews. They trip over this idea in their minds, and have trouble getting past it.

It’s why Peter and the disciples could not accept the idea that Jesus’ mission would end in humilation and death. Mark 8.

It’s why most Jews in Paul’s day rejected the mesage of Jesus. God’s Messiah would not be humiliated but would conquer, and wield unstoppable military power, conquering the Roman oppressors.

No Greek King or Roman Emperor would even have willingly submitted to wearing a corwn of thorns.

No dictator in world history would have submitted to such humiliation and disgrace.

Even Muslims today deny that Jesus was crucified. Why? Because they believe Jesus was a prophet of Allah. And Allah would neve allow a representative to be humiliated, any more than he would allow himself to be humilated.

Jesus pictured as a donkey. Picture.

Several commentators note that Paul is not attacking wisdom, but wisdom attached to social status (Garland). Which means he is attacking fundamentally seeking social status and honor in contrast to the cross. The cross is the opposite of seeking social status. It is, to the world, the way of fools.

1 Corinthians Exegesis and Exposition

Cicero (Pro Rabirio Perduellionis Reo 5.16) decries the crucifixion of a Roman citizen, exclaiming, “The very word ‘cross’ should be far removed not only from the person of a Roman citizen but from his thoughts, his eyes and his ears.”

1 Corinthians Exegesis and Exposition

Scripture brands anyone hanged on a tree as accursed of God (Deut. 21:23).

We think the smart thing to do is to operate one way. A way that gets things done, but that causes division and hurts people. A way that looks just like the way the world often operates. A way that Rome operated. Bully and crush people to get things done for our advantage. That is wisdom.

Wisdom in Greek culture is that which impresses. That which points to the deep truth of the universe, which will help live successfully and fulfil our purpose. And this way includes belief that the gods, if they exist, cannot be thwarted by human effort. The way if power and success demonstrates the gods are with us.

"Crucifixion was not merely a punishment. It was a means to achieving dominance: a dominance felt as a dread in the guts of the subdued. Terror of power was the index of power. That was how it had always been, and always would be. It was the way of the world." "Dominion: How the Christian Revolution Remade the World" by Tom Holland

The crucified Christ is the model for Christian values and behaviour.

1 Corinthians Exegesis and Exposition

What makes the story of the cross even more offensive to humans is that it is not simply the foundation of human redemption but is also to become the way of life for believers.

1 Corinthians Exegesis and Exposition

This wisdom of the world seeks its own advantage no matter how much it hurts others; the wisdom of the cross serves others with no regard to personal cost (cf. 6:8).

1 Corinthians Exegesis and Exposition

Paul’s preaching not only proclaims that this is what God did but also demands that the listener become joined to Christ in his humiliation and death.

Tom Holland: "To be a Christian is to believe that God became man and suffered a death as terrible as any mortal has ever suffered. This is why the cross, that ancient implement of torture, remains what it has always been: the fitting symbol of the Christian revolution. It is the audacity of it—the audacity of finding in a twisted and defeated corpse the glory of the creator of the universe—that serves to explain, more surely than anything else, the sheer strangeness of Christianity, and of the civilisation to which it gave birth." "Dominion: How the Christian Revolution Remade the World" by Tom Holland - The crucified Christ is the counter-intuitive revelation of God’s power and wisdom.

God turns the tables (Mark Taylor) on what is truly wisdom, and how to use power.

Paul calls us to “have the mind of Christ” (2:16).

ILL: It once was thought that bloodletting was a wise way of curing all manner of ailments. It made sense. The body is made of four humors, and we get ill when one gets out of balance. Letting some blood helps balance things to bring the body into harmonious state. What foolishness! from our perspective. Don't you know that you're injuring the person further? Making them weaker? They might have an infection or a virus or some other disease! They need all the strength that have. Don't bleed the sick person! From our larger perspective, wiser perspective, that way that was accepted as wise appears foolish. But if you'd suggested this hundreds of years ago, you would have been labelled the fool. God has far more wisdom that we do. He knows the truth about all things. He knows that in larger perspective, in the long game, what seems foolish when it comes to how to get power and how to use wisdom, is actually the wise way. And what seems wise is, in the long game, foolishness. He asks us to think with a longer-term future orientation.

The long game is in Paul’s mind, since he refers to wisdom “ of this age” vs. God’s wisdom, which is from the age to come. The future age of salvation (18).

1 Corinthians Exegesis and Exposition

Paul’s main point is that the message of the cross puts all human pretensions to shame and upends the traditions and cultural values of both Jews and Greeks—and, we might add, of the Romans as well.

1 Corinthians Exegesis and Exposition

The perfect tense ἐσταυρωμένον (estaurōmenon) indicates that he remains the crucified one

What does this mean?

The tables have turned. What was expected to be “wise” in the normal way of doing things turns out to be foolish.

Brushing teeth before or after breakfast? Seems wise to do it after, but turns out it’s wiser to do it prior, since it creates a coating on your teeth. Now whose wise? Who’s the captain now?

How easily the Corinthians had allowed worldly thinking to get into their church amd it was tearing them apart.

Status seeking, building an image, a brand at any cost, rather than putting others before themselves.

The world seeks power and wisdom (Taylor; Fee). Of a particular sort. The cross reveals this to be a foolish pursuit.

God chooses a different way of doing things.

What does this not mean?

Not accepting abuse in household or by employer.

But neither does it mean using our power to humilate or harm.

Christians care about the abused, the downtrodden, and the weak.

Thsi is what Marx and Nietzche hated about Christianity. They thought that what was needed was more power to control. The weak are to be disposed of.

The cross always revealed that God was on the side of the humilated, the oppressed, the broken. And that he was going to make things right.

Jesus comes and allows himself to be crucified to pay our sin debt, yes. But this text mentions nothing about that.

The cross exposes our intutive ideas about power, coercion, and how to get things done, as usually being entirely opposed to the character of God.

We serve a crucified saviour.

Resurrected and ruling yes.

But with the character of one willing to undergo humiliation.

The cross forever changes our understanding of God and power. Of good and evil.

Might does not make right, in the long run.

That theme is repeated over and over in the NT.

And it is what Paul is trying to get across to the Corinthians.

Why are you worried about who belongs to the most esteemed group?

Why are you concerned with elevating your reputation above others?

That way of thinking and acting is contrary to the one we claim to serve, the crucified Christ.

The values shaped by the crucified Christ have in many ways historically shaped western culture. Whether one claims to be Christian or not.

Baby girls’ skeletoons in Antioch.

Bodies strewn about left murdered by retreating Russian soldiers.

Why do those mental images bother us?

That would not have bothered the ancient Roman Emperor or many Roman citizens.

Tom Holland (not Spiderman) quote.

The next time someone is in need, remember, we serve the crucified Messiah.

The next time we are tempted to coerce, lie, and place image or brand about treating humans with dignity, remember the crucified Messiah.

The next time we face misunderstanding or hurt, and want to take matters into our own hands, and get revenge. Remember the crucified Messiah.

To those of us being saved, those who have responded to Jesus’ call, the cross serves as our model of wisdom and power.

The New Revised Standard Version Christ the Power and Wisdom of God

24 but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 For God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength.

It will not appear coherent to those who want to coerce and bully. Not coherent to Marx, Freud, Putin, and the abusers.

But for those impacted by Jesus and his Holy Spirit, it makes total sense.

It’s a long road. It will involve self-sacrifice.

It’s long view.

But in the end it is the way truly coherent with the coming new creation in which all things will be made right.

That’s what it means to view the cross as the power and wisdom of God.

That’s what it means when we confess Jesus as our king, the one who wore a crown of thorns.