1 Corinthians 2.8: None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 

Paul endeavors to disengage the gospel and the centrality of the cross from Greek notions of wisdom… The Corinthians were already starting to co-opt the message of the Gospel and the cross to the cultural understandings of the day… and as they did so they inevitably minimized the centrality of the cross because the cross did not make sense, sound wise, nor was it a message that would resonate in the minds of the people they wanted to reach– the rich, the powerful, and the wise…

Could it be that the Corinthians were the first seeker-driven church? Could it also be that they were enjoying a certain amount of success but with that success created consequences that began to alter the very Gospel they were seeking to draw people towards with a culturally-sensitive message? The result being that they were de-emphasizing the cross because it did not connect? I can’t help but wonder if I have somehow made the same compromises over the years?

There is no Gospel apart from the cross on which Jesus died. It is the foundation of our faith… if there is no cross there is no unconditional grace, there can be no pardon for sins, and there can be no promise of transformation. Take away the cross and you rob the mystery and magic of the incarnation of its power, intimacy, magic, and mystery. While it may be tempting for every generation to minimize the cross for various reasons, the reality is that the cost is too great. Minimize the cross and we all become losers; God grows distant; the Church loses its message of unity and welcome (because Jesus died for everyone); we lose the hope of healing; the promise of change; and the guarantee of a forever life with God. Minimize the cross and we will lose the comfort and assurance that the darkness is where God is… minimize the Cross and the “cross-less Jesus” we present no longer embraces us with His love; awes us by His strength; frees us with His mercy; or dignifies us with His call. A cross-less Jesus cannot save, will not pardon, overcome evil with judgement, or prevail against injustice with righteousness. A cross-less Jesus is not the Prince of Peace, the Lamb of God, the Lion of Judah, the Son of David, or the Son of God… A cross-less Jesus has no Kingdom to bring, no people to save, no capacity to forgive, and no death that can pardon.

Paul is right… it might sound wise to minimize the cross but it will end up as nothing short of foolishness for this simple fact: if the wisdom of God could be understood through the framework of the world’s wisdom Jesus would never have been crucified in the first place…

… may I never be embarrassed by the cross of Jesus…