1 Corinthians 1:18
(ESV) 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.
(KJV) For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.
(NLT) 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.
Did you ever tell your kids to do something. It was somewhat complex so you had them repeat what you said back. They repeat it back fine and you leave for work. And then when you get home they have done something so mind bogglingly different you wonder if words mean the same thing? Maybe that is just a me thing, but I think it is a shared experience.
Even when you speak the same language, supposedly, and you are taking care in communication, exactly what is being said can be understood in different ways. Now layer on translation from one language to another. And I’m not rehearsing the difficulty to say it is impossible. We reverse the curse of Babel all the time. I’m thinking about this for three reasons.
- In the young adult study on the Augsburg Confession, one of them asked a question roughly “why do we Lutherans make it so hard by disagreeing with everyone?” And the answer is not so much that we disagree with everyone, or that we make it rougher. It is that the Lutheran tradition has thought long and hard in multiple languages, and in our deepest doctrine we are trying to be exact. Because doctrine is like the answer book. You may not believe it just yet. You might not understand how you get there. But that is part of life. We believe things because we are told them all the time, and we set off to understand why or how.
- Reversing the curse of Babel is the work of Pentecost. It is the work of the Holy Spirit. The Word goes out and it does not return empty because the Holy Spirit is at work in the world.
- The deepest words are not given to us in words, but in the actions of a person. The person of Jesus Christ. The Word made flesh.
Up top I’ve put up three different English translations of the same verse. It’s a verse that is the Apostle Paul’s understanding of the gospel. It is preceded by Paul’s understanding of his purpose or mission. “For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power. (1 Cor. 1:17 ESV)” Paul was a preacher. A preacher might use philosophy on occasion, but the core of the apostle’s message didn’t need it – “not with eloquent wisdom.” The core of the message is the cross. The gospel is the message of the cross.
And that message…or the preaching…or the word…of the cross is always paradoxical. You can look at the cross and see another dead peasant who didn’t understand the way of the world. Pilate had rendered his judgement, and this is what always happens when you become inconvenient to power. Empire…power always wins. The cross is foolishness to those who are perishing. But if you have ears to hear the preaching. That cross is the power of God. The power of God that doesn’t work in a straightforward right-handed way, but it sneaks by with the left hand. It exposes the power of the world for what it is, that which would kill the innocent, even the innocent Son of God. And it proclaims the steadfast love of God for sinners. Behold, the lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.
For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is power of God.