April 14
“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,” 1 Corinthians 1:18.
The message of the cross includes everything that Jesus did for the salvation of all people. It is a message of forgiveness, as is expressed in the Savior’s First Word from the cross: “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do,” Luke 23:34. The message of forgiveness is the heart and core of Christianity. Whether you are reading the Old Testament or the New Testament, the Good News is always a message of forgiveness.
In the first Gospel promise recorded in the Book of Genesis, we are told that the Seed of the woman will crush the serpent’s head. Moses foretold that the virgin-born Jesus would destroy the devil’s power. The message of the cross is summarized by the prophet Isaiah with the words, “He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities . . . and the Lord laid on Him the iniquity of us all,” Isaiah 53:5-6. The message of the cross is also expressed in the words of the psalmist, “They pierced My hands and My feet,” Psalm 22:16.
The New Testament, from beginning to end, centers around the message of the cross. It is beautifully summarized in the Gospel according to St. John with one verse that has been called the Gospel in a nutshell: “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life,” John 3:16. To the congregation in Corinth, the apostle Paul wrote, “God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation . . . (God) made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him,” 2 Corinthians 5:19, 21.
The message of the cross is regarded as being foolishness by the unbelieving people in the world. In the verses following the text that is quoted at the beginning of this devotion, Paul wrote, “Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God,” 1 Corinthians 1:20-24.
We are saved by the power of God’s Word in the Gospel, as the apostle expressed it: “I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified,” 1 Corinthians 2:2. The message of the cross is the foundation on which the Christian’s faith rests. “No other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ,” 1 Corinthians 3:11. It is the Holy Spirit who calls us to believe in Jesus as God’s Son and our Savior. Paul wrote, “He called you by our Gospel,” 2 Thessalonians 2:14. Later in his Epistle to the Corinthians, Paul wrote, “No one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit,” 1 Corinthians 12:3.
Let us then hold fast in faith to Christ as God’s Son and our Savior, who on the cross at Calvary suffered and died to redeem us from sin, death, and the power of the devil. Let us stand up and speak up with the apostle: “I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes,” Romans 1:16.
In the cross of Christ I glory, Tow’ring o’er the wrecks of time,
All the light of sacred story, Gathers round its head sublime.
When the woes of life o’er-take me, Hopes deceive, and fears annoy,
Never shall the Cross forsake me; Lo, it glows with peace and joy. Amen.