A Crucified Savior?

4th Sunday in Lent, 3/10/13
1 Corinthians 1:18-25


A Crucified Savior?
I. That’s the most foolish thing I’ve ever heard!
II. That’s the wisest thing I’ve ever heard!


It doesn’t happen often. Two people look at the same thing and come to opposite opinions or conclusions.

For instance, you’re standing with a loved one in an art gallery before a famous abstract painting. Your loved one states, “It says so much to me.” You mutter under your breath, “Looks to me like it was painted by an unsupervised three-year-old.”

Last week Friday one side bemoaned the sequestration. The other rejoiced over the forced cuts in federal spending.

But perhaps opposite opinions are the deepest when it comes to the food we enjoy. Peanut butter on bologna. For some, it’s their choice of comfort food. For others, we can imagine that combination ever getting anywhere close to our mouths.

The Spirit-inspired Apostle Paul speaks to us this morning about opposite reactions to the message of a crucified Savior. He begins by stating, “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.” How amazing that Paul can summarize in so few words the most important reaction of all—our reaction to the message of a crucified Savior.

A crucified Savior? Let’s spend some time this morning examining both reactions to that question.

Part I.

Foolishness. On a daily basis we don’t have to look very diligently to find evidences of it. I recently heard the story of a local man whose lung capacity was compromised by decades of heavy smoking. For 24-hours a day he was on oxygen, the little tank his constant companion. His doctors warned him not to get anywhere close to an open flame, but he didn’t listen. As he lit his last cigarette, an explosion occurred which burned his house down and claimed his life. As tragic as it is, it’s still an account of utter foolishness.

The message of the cross isn’t an account of foolish behavior such as the one I just described. But many view it as foolishness to think that the death of Jesus could have any benefit for anyone, let alone the greatest benefit, our salvation.

And thus many would say, “A crucified Savior? That’s the most foolish thing I’ve ever heard!” Paul offers some examples of just such people. He writes, “Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles.” Let’s take a look at these two groups Paul mentions. First, the Jews. Recall what kind of Savior they were looking for. They wanted the Messiah to establish an earthly kingdom in which the Jews were the envy of the world. They wanted King David’s descendant to rule as David did and extend Jewish influence and control to their farthest limits.

In order to be sure this Messiah, this kingdom-establishing ruler, was genuine, they looked for signs. We would call them miracles. Indeed the Old Testament had promised that the Messiah would perform miracles—miracles of healing. But the Jews mistakenly thought that the coming of this Messiah would be accompanied by signs in the stars and planets above.

Furthest from Jewish minds was the concept that the Savior would suffer and die. They could not and would not entertain such an idea. A crucified Savior? That’s the most foolish thing I’ve ever heard.

Greeks weren’t much different. Paul selects Greeks as representative of all Gentiles. Recall what they were known for. Great thinkers such as Aristotle, Socrates and Plato. Even though all these men had died long ago, they were still famous in Jesus’ day. Those who considered themselves to be enlightened prized the goal of becoming like them. As Paul witnessed in Athens, men sat around all day listening to and debating philosophical ideas.

But this idea was foolishness to them: why would God want to become a man? How could Jesus be both God and man? The thought of it was preposterous to them. What’s more, a crucified Savior? That’s the most foolish thing I’ve ever heard.

But before we dismiss these two groups as hopelessly misguided, let’s recognize that their thinking is not so far from our own natural way of thinking. Think through this with me. We live in a world in which we’re taught that we get what we deserve. That works both ways. Break the rules, violate the laws, engage in risky or dangerous behavior and you get what you deserve.

But we’re also taught that the opposite is true. Hard work gets rewarded. So does loyalty. It seems as if every vendor from Kroger to Delta pleads to reward you for your loyalty to them. And so it’s not a huge leap to carry that thinking into our spiritual lives. We’ve kept our noses clean. We’re model citizens, at least for the most part. We strive to be good parents and honest employees. So what’s this crucified Savior all about? I don’t see the need.

And yet we’re still OK with Jesus coming to this earth to do good things for people. We like it when he helps the needy, uses a miracle to heal the sick, puts the proud Pharisees in their place. We enjoy hearing the accounts of his victories over evil. We even cheer him on. But crucified? Is that really necessary? It surely smacks of defeat, not glory. And we like to be on the glorious side of things. In fact, don’t we deserve to be? Look how loyal we are to him.

In fact, couldn’t we simply focus on all the loving things Jesus said? Wouldn’t our world be a better place if we would all just focus on being more like Jesus? Instead of putting people down by telling them they need a Savior who died for them, why don’t we stick to positive reinforcement and only reward them for the good that they do? Don’t tell me how bad I am (because I won’t agree with you anyway); tell me how good I am. And oh, by the way, a crucified Savior? That’s the most foolish thing I’ve ever heard.

Part II.

Tell me how good I am. Yeah, that works! Only until it doesn’t anymore. If I’m so good, then why are there times when I feel so ugly? If I’m so wonderful, then why do I have so much trouble with relationships? If I’m so good, then why do I find myself saying and doing what I hate?

It sounds like I could use some help. Indeed I could!

Someone to help me. Someone to help you. Have you longed for that lately? Maybe you’ve experienced it lately. There’s nothing quite like it. After days or months or perhaps years of pain and agony, to finally find someone who can help you is one of the most relieving experiences in life. It’s as if they’ve lifted the boulder off your chest. You can breathe again. You can live again.

Sometimes that help comes in the form of a rescue. We all enjoy those heart-warming stories of a rescue. It could be as simple as the rescue of a pet from mortal danger. It could be as serious as the rescue of a child from imminent death.

Maybe this idea of a crucified Savior, a rescue of eternal proportions, isn’t so foolish after all.

Indeed, it’s more than heart-warming to think that the holy God would think so much of you and me that he would rescue us. And that’s what he did. Paul calls that God’s wisdom. “God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who are perishing.” God’s wisdom saves. It rescues us.

That rescue came in the person of Jesus. We spoke a minute ago about how lovely and admirable Jesus was. The truth is, he was perfect, holy. And not simply to be an example of perfection for us, but actually to BE our perfection for us. He offered his perfect record before the holy law of God in exchange for our flawed, sinful record.

And then he took that sinful record to the cross with him and died as the punishment for our sins. The sinless Lamb of God sacrifices himself for the sins of the world. What saving wisdom! Instead of me suffering hell for my sins, Jesus suffers it for me!

But how can I be sure? First, because Jesus came here as my Brother, as your Brother. He took on our human flesh and blood to become one of us.

And yet he remained God. He was and still is true God. He proved it with his resurrection from the dead. What saving wisdom! True God becomes also true man and lives for us and then dies for us. How true this statement is, “The foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom.”

Over the millennia, sinful people have devised all sorts of ways of attaining life with God. But they really all boil down to one of two options: either I attain it myself or God gives it to me. Like you, I’m all for receiving it as a gift of God’s grace. A crucified Savior? Now that’s the wisest thing I’ve ever heard! Amen.