The folly of God

Friday May 7, 2021

We preach a crucified Messiah. 1 Corinthians 1.23

I had decided to know nothing among you other than Jesus Christ, and Jesus Christ crucified. 1 Corinthians 2. 2

The folly of God

If there is anything extraordinary in the history of the world, it is the immense development taken by Christianity. That it spread throughout the Roman Empire so quickly, before reaching the whole earth, seems incredible. Much more, if we consider that the substance of the gospel is this : a man overwhelmed with insults, mockery, beatings, was nailed to a cross near Jerusalem, and this man was the Son of God sacrificing for the salvation of the world.

Let us imagine the opposition that the proclamation of the Gospel had to meet with people who were certainly not simple-minded : religious Jews, on the one hand, Greeks trained in philosophy, on the other. Hearing this extraordinary preaching : "Jesus Christ, Son of God, died on the cross for our sins, and rose again", many declared : "What folly !"

Well, this madness triumphed over obstacles. It is the very demonstration of its divine value. "Christ crucified,... the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the folly of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men" (1 Corinthians 1:23-25).

Jesus had illustrated this with the example of the bonze serpent that Moses had placed on top of a pole in the desert ; one only had to look at him to be healed of the deadly snake bite. What did he symbolize ? Jesus crucified. "The Son of man must be lifted up (on the cross), so that whoever believes in him may not perish, but have everlasting life" (John 3:14,15).

Source (The Good Seed)