Mountain of Myrrh

Foolishness to the Wise

"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. For it is written: 'I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, And bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.' Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men."
- (1 Corinthians 1:18-25)

Centuries before Paul wrote this passage, God drew an unmistakable contrast between His wisdom and ours in Isaiah 55:9, “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts.” God, in His omniscience and eternity, has a vastly different perspective on the scope of history than any mere man ever had. Humanity can concoct intricate philosophies, to be certain—we have spent ages holed away in our little ivory towers, striving to achieve some sort of understanding of the world around us, laboring incessantly to ascribe meaning to our existence in that world. But God, the One to whom wisdom belongs (Daniel 2:20), has an entirely different view of the big picture—after all, He’s the one who orchestrated it! Here in 1 Corinthians, Paul zeroes in on what is perhaps the most glaring example of this diversion of viewpoints: the cross.

For those of us in the western world who have grown up in church, or have at least visited once or twice, the idea of the cross is so commonplace in our culture that it’s easy to take it for granted. Not many people really consider it. It’s just what happened; we acknowledge that it had to happen (although few pursue the question of why), and it has truthfully almost become cliché. Nothing about it seems foolish to us, because we have been so inundated with the concept, devoid of passion, that it seems normal and “just the way it had to be.” Jesus was born in a stable, died on a cross, rose again and went to heaven—we memorize the storyline, yet miss the substance. However, if we look at the cross for more than just a passing moment, it quickly becomes apparent that God’s choice of redemption was anything but the obvious logical route.

We see this in 1 Corinthians as Paul specifically calls the cross a stumbling block to the Jews and foolishness to the Greeks (who were the predominant Gentile people group of that area). In the day of Jesus’ first coming, the Jews were looking for the Messiah. They were well-read in the books of the Prophets—books which were bursting with descriptions of Messianic hope. They understood the scriptures that portrayed a Man who would come, who would trample Israel’s enemies and establish a new Jewish kingdom—one that would outshine even the past glory of Solomon’s empire. They were expecting a Man from God who would do great signs and wonders, overthrowing enemy nations in a blazing display of divine power. And in all these things, they were very right; Jesus will fulfill all these prophecies to a letter at His second coming. But His first coming, a coming in lowliness and gentleness, was simply not on the ancient Jews’ radar.

So when Jesus began His earthly ministry, showing great signs, healing the sick, and claiming status as the Son of God, many followed Him eagerly. This Man from Nazareth sure seemed to fit the bill as the long-promised Messiah, so much so that there was a time they wanted to make Him king by force (John 6:15). Surely this was the hour of their deliverance! Surely this was when the kingdom would be restored to them forever. Surely this was when the iron hand of the Roman government would be lifted from them. Surely this would not all end with the expected hero being beaten and killed by that same Roman government.

But that’s precisely what happened. It didn’t look like what they thought the Scriptures said—in fact, it looked like a complete bottoming out of promises they were banking on. They were hoping for deliverance from oppressive rule, and to some, it must have seemed like all this Man did was talk about His own death for forgiveness of sins. They were looking for a general to lead their charge, and God sent a Lamb being led to the slaughter. Many stumbled at this stumbling stone (Romans 9:22-23), and grew offended in their hearts at the One who is the very hope of Israel.

In contrast, the Greeks, or more generally, Gentiles, did not put much stock in Jewish prophecy. Neither were they looking for miraculous signs. Greek philosophers were dedicated to logically processing everything that crossed their path. (See Acts 17:21where they did nothing but sit around and discuss new philosophies!) The great philosophers of ancient Greece relied thoroughly on brainpower and reason to arrive at the solution to any problem they were addressed with. This was the people group that produced Alexander the Great, one of the most brilliant military strategists of history. They knew what it took to build a great empire, and they knew the elements that must be present in a world-class conqueror. Alexander, for instance, had all the ideal qualities; he was aggressive, calculated, and extremely well-resourced.

The logic is obvious. Kings aren’t born in stables. They are reared in the palace. Kings do not learn meager trades like carpentry; they concern themselves with much more important political matters. Kings lead vast armies against enemy nations—they most certainly do not die on crosses. But this King did—and to the Greeks, it just didn’t line up. It was foolishness.

And so we come to the great dividing line. According to worldly wisdom, Jesus looked foolish and weak on the cross—but in reality, He was shaking the very core of redemptive history, changing it forever. Man derided Him as incapable of saving even Himself, calling His sacrifice weakness—yet it was more powerful than all the armies of earth combined. Man, in all of his lofty philosophical reasoning, pointed a scoffing finger and called it foolishness—but in truth, it was the very wisdom of God. This was the sort of wisdom that inspired Paul’s outburst in Romans 11:33, “Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!” And for all of our self-importance, humanity simply couldn’t see it.

So indeed, where now is the wise? Where is the scribe? And where is the disputer of this age? What eternal benefit is there in spinning great logical debates and putting forth lofty arguments? God has proved all of our self-made wisdom to be the basest of foolishness before Him. Where we would have been maneuvering to climb political ladders, God, in the person of His Son, humbled Himself to the utter depths. Where we would have called for aggression and force, He came with meekness and gentleness. Where our natural strategy would have been to wage war, He silently surrendered His life into the hands of His enemies.

The most glorious thing is that it actually worked. He did what no mere man could ever have done—He reconciled God and man to one another. He conquered all sin, and even death itself, once and for all. All of mankind’s strivings towards God returned to us utterly fruitless and void. We could not become righteous in our own strength. We could not escape our eternal doom through any amount of wisdom or cunning. But God, in a single heroic act of weakness and of foolishness—six hours on a cross and three days in the earth—did what our own might and prowess never could accomplish. Fallen humanity was redeemed from sin, and a holy God became approachable to us. And thus, we see the words of Paul—the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

posted by Amanda @ 12:57 AM