The Folly of the Cross

God’s Power and Wisdom are found in the proclamation of a Crucified Messiah, not in displays of supernatural power or political might.

The Kingdom of God will not be implemented through political, economic, or military power, or for that matter, through super revivals characterized by awesome supernatural displays. Statements in the New Testament and the examples of Jesus and his Apostles point us elsewhere. Righteousness, holiness, and Christ’s sovereignty can only be advanced through the proclamation of the “Word of the Cross.”

Supernatural miracles are a means to an end in specific circumstances. God delights in meeting human needs. However, “signs and wonders” are not the goal of preaching the Gospel. The Devil’s religious and political agents also use “signs and wonders” to deceive “if possible, the elect,” and Satan’s servants include false prophets, the “Man of Anarchy,” “false apostles,” and the “Beast from the Earth.”

[Photo by Yannick Pulver on Unsplash]

In Christ’s ministry, miraculous signs did not cause more than a few of his contemporaries to respond positively to his message. He performed healings, exorcised demons, and even raised the dead, impressing the crowds.

Nevertheless, only the demons exorcised by Jesus recognized him as the “Son of God.” Before his crucifixion, and despite his miraculous deeds, even his disciples could not understand who he was. For example, after he calmed a violent storm, the twelve disciples could only ask, “Who is this man?”

On the verge of understanding his identity, Peter declared that Jesus was the Messiah, the Son of God, but his new insight evaporated when Christ explained what it meant to be God’s Anointed One: Betrayal, Suffering, and Death. Peter then rebuked Jesus with Satan’s own words. The role of the ‘Suffering Servant of Yahweh’ was unacceptable to Peter and the rest of the disciples, but also a dire threat to the Devil and his kingdom.

In the Gospel of Mark, the only human who recognizes Jesus as God’s “Son” before his resurrection is the Roman centurion in charge of his execution (Truly, this man was the Son of God!”). Only in his unjust death is God’s Son revealed and recognized, not in his many miraculous deeds - (Mark 15:39).

In the Gospel of John, Jesus declared that when he was “lifted up, then you will know that I am the One.” Not his miracles, but his crucifixion was the center of his redemptive act. The “Son of Man” was “glorified” on Calvary, not when he calmed the storm on the Sea of Galilee or expelled demons.

Despite the powerful miracles done by him, Jesus died alone on the Cross. He was rejected by the Jewish nation, abandoned by his friends, and crushed by Rome’s might. Christ instructed his disciples not to take up the sword or Caesar’s scepter, but to embrace the Cross daily and follow in his footsteps.

When Satan offered him political power, Jesus refused it. He summons his followers to something radically different than the ways of this world. We are called to a life of self-sacrificial service for God's Kingdom and the needs of others. In short, we must follow the path that leads to Golgotha:

• “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles dominate them, and their great ones tyrannize them. Not so shall it be among you: but whosoever would become great among you shall be your servant, and whosoever would be first among you shall be your slave; even as the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.”

Jesus received the exalted position he now holds only after paying a great price. He took on the “form of a slave, and he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Therefore, God highly exalted him.” The ‘Suffering Servant’ did not conquer evil by oppressing or killing his enemies, but by laying down his life for them.

CHRIST CRUCIFIED

The Book of Revelation is instructive for would-be disciples of Jesus. John introduced himself as a “fellow participant” with the Seven Churches in the “Tribulation and the Kingdom and the Perseverance of Jesus.” One definite article or “THE” modifies all three nouns. Each is a part of a single whole. To live for the Kingdom is to know “tribulation.”

The Seven Churches were summoned to “overcome” by persevering through trials, rejecting deceptions, and undergoing persecution, not by escaping trials and tribulations. We reign with Jesus, but first, we must overcome in the same manner he did. Thus, we conquer by “following the Lamb wherever he goes.” We “overcome” Satan “by the blood of the Lamb, the word of our testimony, and because we love not our lives unto death” - (Revelation 3:21, 12:11).

The Apostle Paul declared that the proclamation of “Christ crucified” was scandalous to Jews and folly to Greeks. The idea that God achieved victory over sin, death, and Satan through the unjust death of a politically powerless man contradicts the philosophies and political ideologies of this age. Yet Paul called the “Cross of Christ” God’s power and wisdom. Only the “spiritually minded” man comprehends this.

When Paul was criticized by certain “super-apostles” who pointed to their letters of recommendation and the miraculous signs that accompanied their preaching, the Apostle gave a long list of what he had suffered for the Gospel. His willingness to endure hardship validated his apostleship, not written credentials or supernatural powers.

Though Paul experienced the “third heaven,” something few others could claim, that vision was of far less value than what the Apostle learned through severe trials - “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made complete in weakness. Most gladly, therefore, will I rather glory in my weaknesses so the power of Christ may rest upon me” – (2 Corinthians 12:9).

“Christ crucified” is something we do not understand except by revelation from the Spirit of God, an example we, as carnal men, prefer not to follow. Yet the message of Jesus is found in his teachings and revealed in his self-denying service for others, especially in his sacrificial death on the Roman Cross.

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SEE ALSO:

• Unwanted, Hated, Rejected - (Jesus is revealed as the Savior of Mankind in his sufferings and self-sacrificial death for others, including his enemies)

• Recognizing Jesus - (In Mark, only at his death did the Roman centurion who was present at his execution recognize who Jesus was – Mark 10:45)

• My Rights or His Cross - (Following Jesus means a life of self-denial and service, and a willingness to suffer persecution and loss for his sake)

• La Folie de la Croix - (La Puissance et la Sagesse de Dieu se trouvent dans la proclamation d'un Messie crucifié, et non dans des démonstrations de pouvoir surnaturel ou politique)