For the word 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 the cleverness of the clever I will set aside."
Where is the wise man? 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 through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. For indeed Jews ask for signs and Greeks search for wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.
My thoughts -
The cross isn't the way I would have done it, I can tell you that right now. If I were Jesus I wouldn't have put myself in that position. I'm not saying those that were mocking him were right, but the did have a point. He had the power to save the whole world but wouldn't save himself.
Me, I'd have done a miracle. Something flashy. Something awesome. Something that just sort of screams LORD AND SAVIOUR. I'd have gotten their attention. They'd have never forgotten.
That makes sense, doesn't it? I mean, from a human perspective. Get a crowd. Do something amazing. Prove yourself beyond a shadow of a doubt. Rake in the followers. And the best part is, since you're God, you don't ever have to die. Don't you think people would be impressed after a few thousand years when you're still alive, still performing miracles, still raising the dead, and still teaching in deep, beautiful, albeit a little confusing, parables?
Maybe I can't pass myself off as a wise human, but I am certain that human wisdom would have come up with a different way of being the Messiah. Maybe more political power. Maybe an army. Definitely more flash. Definitely not dying as a criminal, executed by the state, with only a handful of followers and most of your own people hating you. We humans may not be much but we can do better than that, right?
That's the foolishness of the cross. But forget just the cross, incarnation itself is a rather foolish idea. Jesus was/is God Almighty, Creator and Sustainer of the Universe. We can't even comprehend that power. But human frailty we understand. People get hurt. People get sick. People get old. People die. God is eternal, all knowing and all powerful. People are not. Why trade Divine Power for human frailty. It just doesn't make sense. It's foolishness.
And yet this foolishness was God's plan for reconciliation with us fallen people. This foolishness is far greater than the wisest of us could ever accomplish. We were powerless. We were helpless. We were mired in sin and rebellion. We could not save ourselves. So God, in God's limitless power, became weak. God became one of us. And God, as one of us, paved a way that leads us back to God.
In foolish, perfect love Christ was born, Christ died, Christ was resurrected, and Christ ascended into heaven paving a path for us to do the same. It seems, from a human perspective, foolish. That kind of love, that kind of sacrifice, it seems so ridiculous. There had to be a better way. Surely all of that wasn't necessary. Besides, how can anyone love one's enemies enough to die for them? That's crazy. That's foolishness.
And yet we preach the foolishness of Christ crucified. It's ridiculous. It's crazy. It's a scandal. And it's the only way we can be reconciled to our Creator who loves us enough to, despite being life itself, die for us.
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