1 Corinthians 1:18:
“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."
To the world today, and to the world of every age, the message of the cross is foolish indeed. Its message is rejected by the lost world.
The message of the cross is, first of all, the power of GOD. The Greek word for power is dunamis, which is where we get our word, dynamite. It is also the word in Greek for miracle. The message of the cross, in other words, is as powerful as dynamite and is the greatest of all miracles. Why? Because it is the only event that has ever defeated the most powerful and most unavoidable force on earth, and that is death. What is more powerful than death? What is the one thing that money can never defeat? That politics can never overcome? That awaits us all, no matter who or how powerful we are? -Death!
The empty tomb proves that the message of the cross is the power of GOD. But the empty tomb could not happen until JESUS died on the cross. That is the foolish message at the heart of why the cross matters to us, the foolish message of the cross, the power of GOD and the wisdom of GOD. -Is more needed than simply the message of the cross? Nothing more is needed. CHRIST crucified is everything. It is all that is needed. It is not just the power of GOD, but also the wisdom of GOD. But the only way to begin to see it is to become fools again.
Today, you and I are being invited, through this foolish message, to become fools again. And to humbly let ourselves be taught and led by the simple Word of GOD, the message of the cross, the power of GOD and the wisdom of GOD. —The message of the cross – CHRIST crucified – is where the power of GOD and the wisdom of GOD is to be found. It is where salvation is to be found. It is where eternal life is to be found. And there is no power or wisdom greater, in all the world, than what is found in the cross of CHRIST. And blessed are all who believe and trust in the message of the cross, the most beautiful message of all. Thanks be to GOD! Amen.