The message of the cross is foolish to those who are headed for destruction! But we who are being saved know it is the very power of God. 1 Corinthians 1:18

 

Does the cross of Jesus Christ seem hard to understand? If so, you’re not alone.

 

Joseph Mitchell found himself sitting at his sister’s side as she lay dying. She asked him, “What does Jesus’s death on the cross a long time ago have to do with my sins now?” Mitchell struggled [and] found himself stammering out, “Somehow, Jesus was our representative.”[1]

 

Everything about Jesus’s death on the cross is strange when we stop to think about it. How could a man being publicly tortured and executed result in our forgiveness? But everything about God’s Son, dying in our place for our sins is also wholly unexpected and unfathomably incredible. The more we unpack the meaning, mystery, and implications of Jesus’s death, the more striking it becomes.

 

The Bible says “The message of the cross is foolish to those who are headed for destruction! But we who are being saved know it is the very power of God. As the Scriptures say, ‘I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and discard the intelligence of the intelligent.’ So where does this leave the philosophers, the scholars, and the world’s brilliant debaters? God has made the wisdom of this world look foolish… But to those called by God to salvation, [Jesus] Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God” (I Corinthians 1:18-20,24).

 

If you wonder about Jesus, His life, death, and how He came alive again forever, God is drawing you! Pray today, “Jesus, show me who you are and how you feel about me. Show me the significance of your death and the power of your life!”

 

[1] Rutledge, Fleming. The Crucifixion: Understanding the Death of Jesus Christ. William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2015, pp. 6-7.