Jesus died on the cross for you
When I first came to you, dear brothers and sisters, I didn’t use lofty words and impressive wisdom to tell you God’s secret plan. For I decided that while I was with you I would forget everything except Jesus Christ, the one who was crucified. 1 Corinthians 2:1-2
For the apostle Paul, the cross of Christ lay right at the heart of his message. Take away the cross and he had no good news to share. But he also recognised that it was a really difficult message to pass on. As a Jew he was eager to preach the cross to his own people, but they found the whole idea deeply offensive. Their scriptures told them that anyone who hung from a tree was cursed by God (see Deuteronomy 21:23). When he shared the message with non-Jews their reaction was that it was all nonsense. How could someone being killed be a sign of power and victory? They just didn’t get it. But none of this put Paul off. He was absolutely convinced that the message of the cross was both wise and powerful.
Paul was so eager that the cross should be the focus of his message that he was happy that his preaching was unimpressive. He described himself as having been timid and trembling when he first got to Corinth, and said that his message and preaching were very plain (vv3-4). He was glad about this because if he had been impressive and persuasive in his preaching, people might have been swayed by his oratory. He was eager that people should only be touched by the power of God and not by any clever use of words or presentation.
The heart of the good news hasn’t changed. It is still the cross, and the fact that Jesus showed his perfect love for us by dying in that most terrible way. Sinless as he was, he was willing to take our sin upon him, so that we might be set free. There are many wonderful things that we will want to share with other people. We want them to know about God’s love and peace. We want them to know that he is a God of justice and truth. We want them to know that he longs to fill them with his Holy Spirit. But right at the heart of all that we say must be the clear presentation that Jesus died on the cross, and that this is still the wisdom and power of God.
QUESTION
What is your response to the fact that Jesus died on the cross for you?
PRAYER
Loving God, thank you for your perfect love and for the way in which you showed it through Jesus’ death on the cross. Amen
Flowers – courtesy St Colman’s, Dunmurry