1 Corinthians 1:22-25 
Third Sunday in Lent

March 15, 2009

1 Corinthians 1:22-25 (New International Version)

²²Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, ²³but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, ²⁴but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. ²⁵For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength.

We Preach Christ Crucified!

I. Because he is the power of God

II. Because he is the wisdom of God

Several weeks ago your called and elected leaders and their spouses held a ministry or leadership workshop. In that workshop we discussed the various blessings we enjoy as a congregation as well as some the challenges we face today. After eating lunch together we met for over two hours sharing information and giving input. At the end of our service today you will be receiving an initial report from our chairman, Mr. Steven Pett, about that meeting.

Although some of the unique blessings we share may surprise you, many of the challenges we face will not. Low Church attendance, a growing deficit, a large number of members who have been absent from God’s house for a long time are nothing new. But your leaders recognize that we are at a critical juncture, and we need to address these things in a more comprehensive way. But how? Those are the things your leaders will be working in the coming weeks and they will need all of us to help in meeting those challenges.

If we were to ask the apostle Paul what he would do to address the challenges of low attendance, a growing deficit, and members straying from the Lord, what do suppose he would say? We don’t have to wonder about what Paul would say! He tells us in the epistle reading for today. The answer to all these questions and challenges we face is this PREACH CHRIST CRUCIFIED! I. Because he is the power of God, II. He is is the wisdom of God.

As with many of the congregations Paul served, the one in Corinth consisted both of Jews and Gentiles. In this reading Paul talks about the challenge each group faced in coming to grips with the message of Christ crucified. He first talks about the skeptical and arrogant nature of his fellow Jews. They demanded signs, miracles. We heard about one of those demands in the gospel reading. Jesus cleared the Temple of money changers and then the Jews demanded a sign from him to prove he had authority to do that. And Jesus’ response was that his resurrection would be a sign. But Jesus had already given them many other signs too! He had healed the sick, fed the hungry, and raised the dead to life. But they wouldn’t believe in him, especially when he started talking about being their redeemer. You see, the Jews didn’t believe they needed a redeemer from sin, and so they weren’t interested in words. They wanted actions. They wanted signs. What they wanted was a mighty earthly king who would establish and earthly kingdom, not a criminal dead on a cross who talked about heaven. And so they took offense at him.

One doesn’t have to be Jewish to be offended at the message of the cross. It’s part of our sinful nature. For example, have we ever thought to ourselves,” If only God would send some miracle, if only God would send someone back from the dead, then there would be change. Yes, God do something because we want heaven here on earth, and we want it now.” But Paul makes it very clear that that is not the way it works in the kingdom of God. Yes, Jews and the sinful heart want some powerful sign from God, but God works through a message that is so simple, yet it is so powerful. It’s the message of Christ crucified which is the power of God.” What does that mean? Well. Consider these questions: “Do you have the power to keep God’s Law perfectly? Do you have power to make peace with God whom you have offended by your sins? Do you have power to come to faith on your own? Do have power to raise yourself from the dead? Do you have the power to get yourself to heaven?” The answer to all these questions is obvious! That’s why important to preach Christ crucified, because what we could not do with all of our power God was able to accomplish through Christ. Christ offered to God a perfect life of obedience. Christ was able to offer the sacrifice to take away our sins. And it’s by the message of Christ crucified alone that God saves us and through which Holy Spirit takes our hearts that were dead in unbelief and makes them alive through faith in Christ Jesus. It is the message of Christ crucified alone that motivates us and empowers us to live Christian lives of service to God and to others. It is this message of Christ alone that empowers us to forgive even as God has forgiven us. It is this message alone that gives us the faith by which we know we will rise from the dead and live forever. The message of Christ crucified is still the power of God. Do you see what that means for us as a Christian congregation as we consider the challenges we face? Sometimes in our desperation to get results and get them now, we might be tempted to think that the message about Jesus just isn’t good enough, as though it doesn’t have much power to accomplish much. But what is it that gives us faith and increases it? What is it that comforts us with the good news that we are forgiven of all of our sins? How are people led to be more faithful in attendance at church and communion? How are hearts touched so that they are generous in honoring the Lord with wealth? Where do families find the strength to forgive when there is a falling out? How is it possible to bring people to saving faith in Jesus when all the while they have been worshiping pieces of wood or stone or the spirits of their ancestors? How will sinners like us find strength to close our eyes in death with confidence that we will be in heaven? The message of Christ and him crucified is the only power that can do these things. So as we go about facing our challenges, let’s not rely on our power or seek some miraculous sign from heaven. It’s all about applying this powerful message to hearts and lives one sinner at a time.

II. As we think about the message of the cross being God’s power we need to remember that it is also God’s wisdom. Recall that Paul was writing to people who lived in a society that was very much interested in wisdom. The Greeks were known for that. They sought wisdom. Do you recall what happened when Paul preached among the Greeks who sought wisdom? When Paul preached in Athens about Jesus, they listened and were interested in what he was saying. But when he started talking about how Jesus died for the sins of the world and then rose from the dead they laughed at Paul and thought he was just a crazy fool! That’s why Paul wrote, “Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.’

What was Paul getting at when he called Jesus “the wisdom of God?” He means this: Man in all of his wisdom, scientific knowledge, and Harvard degrees could never have figured out a way to pay for his sins, conquer death, and make it possible for mortal men to live in the presence of a holy God forever. But what man couldn’t figure out with all his wisdom nor accomplish with all of his strength, God did through a little baby born in Bethlehem. Think of how “foolish” this plan seems to our human minds. The Son of God would leave the glory of heaven, be born of a vigor of lowly estate, live himself in poverty, go around doing good for others, and then die for sins he did not commit. To the world that is foolish! But it is God’s wisdom because through what Jesus did, God provides righteousness for the unrighteous, holiness for the unholy, redemption for those help captive to sin, and life for those who deserve death. That’s how Jesus is the wisdom of God. The world may laugh at this wisdom, or be offended by it, or even try to silence it. But thanks be to God for the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength and the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom.

When I sat at the council meeting the other night and talked about the challenges we face, I was amazed at the collective wisdom of the men who were sitting around that table. Among the men who serve on our church council there are wise men; men with bachelor degrees and masters degrees; men who are administrators and teachers in grade schools, in high schools, and on the college level; successful business men, engineers, and financiers. In a worldly sense, we have wise men serving on our council. But they have an even greater wisdom--Christ crucified! In that saving wisdom they know that spacious parking lots, nice buildings, friendly members, and good potlucks are all important things that a congregation needs. But they also know that not one of those can bring a sinner to heaven. Only the message of Christ and him crucified can do that. He is the wisdom of God!

We began by talking about the challenges we face as a congregation. What would say is the greatest challenge we face as Christians? Death is, either our own or that of a loved one. Peal calls it our “last enemy.” How can we meet that challenge or conquer it? The message of Jesus Christ and him crucified! If that’s the message we want to hear when dying, let’s be faithful in hearing and sharing it while living! Christ crucified is still the power and wisdom of God!