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.

A visitor to Palestine was in a small town museum when he saw a skull labeled as that of St. Paul. The next day he was in another town at another museum when he saw a different skull identified as the skull of St. Paul. Confused, he went to the museum keeper and asked “Which one is it?” The keeper replied, “Both–this one was his skull when he was a young man!”

We hear of things everyday that we would call foolish. We are constantly warned with the old adage, “Don’t be a fool!” And even though all of us do things every day that are foolish, none of us want to be identified as a fool. Our text says “the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing.” The word used in original Greek New Testament for “foolishness” is the same word from which we get the English word MORON. In other words, people in the world, those outside of faith, think it is “moronic” for us to believe that something good came out of someone dying on a cross.

The wisdom of God, far superior to any and all of man’s wisdom, confounds and confuses the world. God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things– He chose the cross. There was no more despicable means of death at that time than crucifixion. The Romans recognized this, and passed a law saying that no Roman citizen could be subjected to such cruelty. Only those who were not Romans could be crucified. It was this heinous form of execution that God used to accomplish the payment for sin, all sin, sacrificing the spotless Lamb of God in our place. The cross of Christ, no matter how foolish and moronic it appears to those outside of faith, is the wisdom that saves. The preaching of the cross is what we need and what the world needs, because by this message comes forgiveness and salvation.

“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.” (1 Corinthians 1:23-24)

Some think it foolish to take comfort in an instrument of execution, yet that is exactly what Christians do. We proudly display crosses, which represent one of the cruelest forms of execution of all time. They range from crude to ornate. There are innumerable designs of crosses that we wear as jewelry. And our text today speaks of the cross as “foolishness.” Is it?  If it is merely an object of art, something made to look aesthetically pleasing, then it is foolish. A lot of people wear crosses as jewelry, but nothing in their lives indicates they know who Jesus is or what He did for them. For them, the cross is just plain foolishness. It has no meaning whatsoever.

But God’s Word tells us the cross has meaning. Paul speaks of the message of the cross, which, for those who are being saved, is far from foolishness. Instead, it is the wisdom and power of God. You know what took place on that cross. You know that Christ paid for the sins of all men when he died on that piece of wood. You have faith in the work of redemption that took place there. So for you, the cross is anything but foolish.

In the cross of Christ I glory, Tow’ring over the wrecks of time.
All the light of sacred story  Gathers round its head sublime

When the woes of life o’ertake me, Hopes deceive and fears annoy,
Never shall the cross forsake me;  Lo, it gleams with peace and joy.

We will be thinking about this in our devotions the rest of this week.