For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being savedit is the power of God. For it is written:
“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.”
Where is the wise person? Where is the teacher of the law? Where is the philosopher 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 know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength. (1 Corinthians 1:18-25 NIV)
“Christianity is foolish.” Do you hear people talk like that? Here’s an example: “The word god is for me nothing more than the expression and product of human weakness.” In other words, God is the invention of weak human beings. Know who said that? Albert Einstein. Huh, he was pretty smart, wasn’t he? Here’s another quote: “The whole history of the Gospels is so defective and doubtful that it seems vain to attempt to enquire into it.” In other words, the Gospels—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John—are filled with utter foolishness. Know who said that? Thomas Jefferson. He took his Bible and cut out all the miracles like Jesus rising from the dead. “That’s foolish!”
Why would he say that? Why do intelligent people often look at Christianity and say, “That’s foolish!”? Well, think about what the Bible teaches. The Bible teaches that all people are by nature sinful from the moment we are conceived. Let’s be honest: How does that sound today? Foolish. The Bible teaches that God entered into the womb of the virgin Mary to be born as a human being. How does that sound today? Foolish. The Bible teaches that God saved the world by getting executed on a cross. How does that sound today? Foolish. The Bible teaches that after being dead for three days, Jesus rose from the dead. How does that sound today? Foolish.
I mean, we’re beyond all that today, aren’t we? Maybe people long ago needed religion stuff. We’ve progressed beyond that, right? We don’t need legends and myths anymore. We can take care of ourselves just fine. (It’s hard to even talk this way. Isn’t it ridiculous what we human beings think about ourselves?) Just look at all the great things that we’re accomplishing. We have wifi! We have cell phones. We have cars that can drive themselves. We even invented football! Sin? God saving people? Come on! That’s foolish, isn’t it? What do we need God for?
Do you hear people talk like that? Do you ever think like that? To start today, I want you to realize that those thoughts aren’t new at all. Oh, the cell phones and self-driving cars are pretty new. But the idea that human beings have moved on from the foolishness of God is not a new idea. That’s 2,000 years old. Listen to what Paul wrote: “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.” Already 2,000 years ago, the message of Jesus dying on the cross for the sins of the world elicited two completely different reactions from people. To those who were perishing? Who didn’t believe? Foolishness! To those who are being saved? Who believe? The power of God!
That’s just how God planned it. God has decided that people are not saved through wisdom, but through believing in Jesus. Paul quotes a verse from the Old Testament prophet Isaiah: “For it is written: ‘I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.’” You can’t know God by your wisdom. In fact, God purposefully saved the world in a way that was contrary to human wisdom. In a way that seems foolish. Because it’s not through wisdom that we’re saved. It’s through faith. It’s through believing in the message of the cross. If the “wisest” people reject Christianity, don’t be surprised. It’s not about intelligence. It’s about faith.
This is hard to believe. Isn’t it easy to be swayed by what other people think and say? It’s hard to hear all the “wise” people say how foolish Christianity is. I don’t like that! “Are they right?” But here’s a good question: Who really is wise? Paul writes, “Where is the wise person? Where is the teacher of the law? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?” Isn’t it ironic that we human beings set our own standards for wisdom—which are always changing—and then we boast about how wise we are according to our own standards? Is that really wisdom? Not to God. “Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?”
According to our human wisdom today, when there is a body growing inside a human being, and that little body has a human heart and human hands and a human mind, what is that body most certainly not? A human being. It’s just a fetus. That’s wisdom! Aren’t we intelligent? God says, “No! That’s foolishness!” According to our human wisdom today, all life on earth developed over billions of years from just one tiny organism that came alive on its own on a planet that formed itself. Isn’t that brilliant? Everybody who’s wise believes evolution. Know what God says? “That’s foolishness!” According to our human wisdom today, marriage is an old-fashioned, repressive tradition. Life is so much better when you don’t have to commit to anyone. Free sex! Children don’t need mothers and fathers. We don’t really need children anyway. Families are so last century. That’s wisdom! Know what God says? “That’s foolishness!”
“Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?” Can you sense this unreconcilable conflict between human wisdom and God’s wisdom? Here’s the greatest example: “It doesn’t matter what you believe, as long as you’re a good person. Just be kind. That’s what life is all about.” Right? In other words, whom don’t we need at all? God. We can do it ourselves! What don’t we need at all? Forgiveness. For what? We’re good! That’s wisdom. At least, that’s human wisdom.
Know what God says? “That’s foolishness!” God has a different plan: “For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe.” Hear that again: “God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe.” Jesus himself once said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children” (Matthew 11:25). If we want to be saved, we need to trust like a child in God’s foolishness. God isn’t looking for wisdom. He’s looking for faith.
Understand the difference? “God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe.” Salvation doesn’t come to those who are good. Salvation is God’s gift to those who believe God’s foolish message. What’s that foolishness? “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus” (Romans 3:23-24). Life doesn’t depend on how wise or good you are. It depends on Jesus, who died on the cross for the sins of the world. “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 problem is that we always want something more. “Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom…” The Jews in Bible times were always looking for signs—for miracles. They would say to Jesus, “Teacher, we want to see a miraculous sign from you” (Matthew 12:38). In other words, “Do something more!” That desire has never gone away. How often do we look up to God and think, “Show me a sign!” In our city, Oral Roberts based his ministry on miraculous signs. “This is what it’s all about! We need so much more than Jesus’ cross. Show us a sign!”
On the other hand, the Greeks were always looking for wisdom. You’ve heard the names of some famous Greek philosophers: Socrates, Plato, Aristotle… A Greek historian said that on every street in Greece were so-called wise men, who each had his own solutions to the world’s problems. Sound familiar? On every talk show, on every blog, there are so-called wise men and women who have the solutions to the world’s problems. I bet you do too! Yet, the Bible? “That doesn’t make sense. Let’s cut out these parts, like Thomas Jefferson did.” We know better, right?
Listen to Paul’s answer: “Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified.” What’s at the heart of Christianity? Jesus’ cross. In the next chapter, Paul writes, “For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2). Jesus saved us by dying. That sounds so upside-down, doesn’t it? But God’s foolish message is so beautiful. Jesus died for us. Jesus forgave us. The cross is what it’s all about! The Bible encourages us to test what we hear. How do we know if a “Christian” message is really from God? Here’s what true Christianity is all about: “We preach Christ crucified…”
“A stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles…” The very thing that saves also causes people to stumble. The Jews were expecting a triumphant Messiah who would be a great political leader and free the Jews from the Romans and make Israel great again. So when Jesus died on a cross, they said, “That’s it? No thanks.” It sure seems like Christians are looking for a triumphant political leader who’s going to defeat our enemies and make us powerful… Watch out! If that’s the Savior you’re looking for, the cross of Jesus will make you stumble. “That’s it? No thanks.”
“We preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles…” Paul once had the chance to preach in the wisest city of all: Athens. He gave a sermon to all the leading people of the city. It went pretty well, until he mentioned one thing. Do you know when they cut him off? Jesus’ resurrection. The moment Paul mentioned Jesus rising from the dead, “some of them sneered…” (Acts 17:32). That was it. “Rise from the dead? That’s foolishness!” How do we say it today in America? YOLO. You know what that means, right? “You Only Live Once. This world is all there is. Resurrection? Eternal life? Come on. That’s foolish!” Or is it?
“We preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.” Jesus is actually everything that everyone is looking for! If you are looking for signs and wonders, Jesus is the power of God! He showed that time and time throughout his ministry. Jesus turned water into wine and calmed storms and raised himself from the dead! If you are looking for wisdom, Jesus is the wisdom of God. He showed that through his teaching throughout his ministry. Loving your neighbor, putting first the kingdom of God, living in humility and faith. “I am the way, the truth, and the life, no one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).
“For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.” Practice saying this: “I’m a fool.” If a fool means believing in Jesus, I’m a fool. If a fool means worshiping the God who died for me, I’m a fool. If a fool means admitting that I’m sinful and cannot save myself, I’m a fool. If a fool means clinging to the cross of Christ, I’m a fool. “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.” God loves you! God saved you! How can you know? The cross of Jesus. We preach Christ crucified. Never be ashamed of the foolishness of the cross.
(To listen to this sermon on my Upside-Down Savior podcast, please click HERE. To watch this sermon on my Upside-Down Savior YouTube channel, please click on the link below.)
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