1. Corinthians 1,18-25. 5. Trinity

1. Corinthians 1,18-25           3821 

5. Sonntag nach Trinitatis 050

Ulrich, Bishop of Augsburg, ✠ 973 

4. Juli 2021

1. O Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, who has given us Your holy Word, and has bountifully provided for all our temporal wants, we confess that we are unworthy of all these mercies, and that we have rather deserved punishment: But we beseech You, forgive us our sins, and prosper and bless us in our several callings, so that by Your strength we may be sustained and defended, now and forever, and so praise and glorify You eternally.  Amen. (Veit Dietrich) 

2. »For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written: I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the understanding of the intelligent I will reject. [Isaiah 29,14] Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? ²¹For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.«  

3. First century ad Greeks were fond of rhetoric (speaking and writing effectively); it was part of a solid Greek education that Quintilianus (ad 30-100) made popular with his quadradical approach: rhetoric, grammar, science and philosophy. The classic liberal arts university education follows a similar approach today with its trivium of rhetoric, dialectics (philosophy, logic, metaphysics and ethics) and grammar.

4. Paul tells the Corinthian Greek Christians that he did not amaze them with his wisdom and rhetoric, but simply proclaimed the gospel of Christ crucified and risen. Paul argues that reliance on one’s skill as a speaker can rob the cross of Christ of its power (Lockwood 64). He tells the Corinthians: no matter how well they dress up the word of the cross, the world will always find it unpalatable (Lockwood 64). The world likes glamour, success and image (Lockwood 64), and this is one reason why Hollywood stars and sport athletes continually draw the attention and admiration of our citizens.   

5. But the cross seems like foolishness to the world. In Paul’s day, only non-Roman criminals and obstinate slaves were crucified. To be crucified was humiliating, shameful and offensive. This is why Jesus’ apostles balk at Him saying He would suffer, be crucified and die. God forbid, the Messiah suffer such and dignity; they couldn’t comprehend it happening. The humiliation would be unbearable! The wise man and the scribe believe the Messiah would usher in and rule over a golden age were Judaism prospered and the Gentile idolatries would be cast aside by all. 

6. Not so, says Jesus, or perhaps not exactly like you hope and dream. There would be no ushering in a 2. Davidic Realm from Galilee through Judea. Roman control will not be toppled. There will be no day of vengeance upon the nations, but there will be a year of Yahweh favor upon both Jews and Gentiles (Isaiah 61,1-2) for Yahweh will cause righteousness and praise to sprout up before all the nations (Isaiah 61,11). This righteousness happens on the cross and through the cross. Where do we find God saving the world? A: through humiliation, suffering and death on the cross.  

7. The world thinks the cross is foolish. In Paul’s day, Jews sought truth by means of signs and Greeks such truth in wisdom. In the Gospels, the Jews constantly demand that Jesus prove His messianic claims by giving them a sign, that is, do something miraculous to back up Your claim. There were no lack of signs from Jesus: He healed the sick, cleansed lepers and raised the dead; each of these signs bore evidence that His messianic claims were true. Yet the Jewish religious leaders still wanted more, so Jesus said the sign I give you is that of Jonah, namely, I, Jesus, will be in the tomb for 3 days and 3 nights, and then I will come forth alive (Matthew 12,39-40). The sign that Jesus gives to those looking for such is His very death and resurrection.  

8. The Greeks wanted proof from wisdom, namely, an exemplary articulation of intellectual and rhetorical prowess. The Jews had a rich Scriptural foundation of Moses and the Prophets to draw upon, and the Greeks had centuries of profound philosophers to learn from. Herodotus exclaimed: All Greeks were zealous for every kind of learning (History 4,77). In Jesus’s and Paul’s day Epicurius (341-270 bc) and Zeno (334-262 bc) were important philosophers who 3 centuries earlier had given the Greek world Epicureanism and Stoicism. The Greeks examined and tested the wisdom of the gospel against that of their most revered philosophers. 

9. The cross is a stumbling block to Jews because it is a humiliation that does not live up to the impressive sign they expected of the Messiah. The cross is foolishness to the Greeks because it lacks the rhetoric of the great philosophers. But in reality, the cross is a powerful sign and the ultimate wisdom. The goal of Jesus as the Messiah is to save the world from all sin. The sign for that in Judaism were the animal sacrifices. On the cross, Jesus became the animal sacrifice as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1,29). Among his wise sayings, Herodotus once said: Great things are won by great dangers. There is no greater danger than submitting oneself to humiliation, suffering and death on the cross to redeem the world. Taking up the great danger of the cross, Jesus achieved a great thing – the world’s salvation. Thus Paul says: We preach Christ crucified for there we see God’s power and God’s wisdom. God’s folly is wiser than man and God’s weakness is stronger than man. Christ crucified is our sign and our wisdom that God forgives us, loves us and is merciful to us.  Amen. 

10. Let us pray. O Lord Jesus Christ, You have made known our salvation in the cross; let this righteousness ever be preached to the nations, so that in You they see their redemption.  Amen. 

To God alone be the Glory 

Gode ealdore sy se cyneþrymm

✠

 

All Scriptural quotations are translations done by The Rev. Peter A. Bauernfeind using the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, 4. Edition © 1990 by the Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart, and the Novum Testamentum Graece, Nestle-Aland 28. Revised Edition © 2012 by Deutsch Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart. 

ELKB. Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche in Bayern. www.bayern-evangelisch.de/www/index.php. Copyright © 2019 Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche in Bayern. 

VELKD. Vereinigte Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche Deutschlands. www.velkd.de. Copyright © 2020 Vereinigte Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche Deutschlands. 

   Lockwood, Gregory J. 1 Corinthians. Copyright © 2000 Concordia Publishing House.