© 2004 by Jerry L. Croasmun
© 2004 by Jerry L. Croasmun
"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."
The Apostle Paul in writing to the church at Corinth states, "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." He further explains in verses 22 to 24, "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."The message of the cross is that Jesus the Christ died for our sins. Paul in Romans 5:8 states, "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." The message of the cross is the ultimate love story. It is through His shed blood that we are now justified and it is only through Him that we are saved from wrath. (See Romans 5:9). Peter in his first epistle, chapter 3 and verse 8, wrote, "For Christ also suffered once for sins, the Just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit." So, the cross, which to most, is an instrument of death, yet to those who believe in Christ, it is an instrument of love and life eternal.
The message of the cross was pre-determined before the foundations of the world. God's plan required a perfect sacrifice to redeem mankind unto Himself. In I Corinthians 15:3-5 we read, "Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He was seen again by Cephas [Peter], then by the twelve." The plan was according to the Scriptures.
In Acts 4:27-28 we read, "For truly against Your holy Servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the [Jewish] people of Israel, were gathered together to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose determined before to be done." According to God's plan, Jesus had to die. Pilate in John 19:10 said to Jesus, "Do You not know that I have power to crucify You, and power to release You?" Jesus answered in verse 11, "You could have no power at all against Me unless it had been given you from above."
The message of the cross, in a nutshell, is, "Christ died for us because He loves us." In John 3:16-17 we read, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life; for God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved."
In Ephesians 5:2 we read, "And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma." The message of Christ crucified is available to both Jews and Greeks and is both "the power of God and the wisdom of God." (See I Corinthians 1:24).
Yes, it seems almost mind-boggling to think that Christ freely gave His life for us. In I John 3:16 we read, "By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us." I truly believe it was not the nails that held Jesus on the tree [cross], but rather it was His love for you and I.
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