As this goes to print, Ash Wednesday will be observed next week, February 18. For many, this is a significant day of observance, as Christians enter the season of Lent. Lent is a season comprised of 40 days (excluding Sundays) leading to Easter, the day of Jesus Christ’s resurrection from death.
Lent is a time for reflection: reflection about sin, about turning from our sin, about looking to Jesus Christ and His cross, where sin was, once for all time, atoned for in full by Christ’s death. This death, followed by Christ’s resurrection on Easter, is the foundation of Christianity. The message, when faithfully transmitted, remains constant. One of the early proclaimers of this message was a man called St. Paul.
St. Paul was determined that, among the Corinthians, he would let nothing get in the way of the very reason he was sent to them: that, first and foremost, they must hear the message of Jesus Christ’s cross and resurrection. It was necessary for him to declare among them what God had accomplished in Christ. This is why he said, “For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2).
Could he have mentioned other things? Perhaps — and quite likely he did — but what he tried to keep front and center was his declaration of Christ’s work. Every portion of God’s Word has a context. Some of the words prior to this verse include: “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” (1 Corinthians 1:18).
Many discredit the Bible as unreliable, but let us remember that Christianity is rooted in the Gospel, and the Gospel is both deeds and promises.
What are the basic facts of Christianity? Christ was born. Christ lived. Christ died on a cross. Christ rose from the dead. These are the deeds. Eyewitnesses bore testimony to these matters. And what are the promises?
“All we like sheep have gone astray; the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:6). Psalm 130 declares, “[God] himself will redeem Israel from all his iniquities” (verse 8).
As St. Paul wrote to the Romans, “Jesus our Lord … was delivered up for our offenses and raised for our justification” (Romans 4:25). And to the Corinthians, “God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting our trespasses against us” (2 Corinthians 5:19).
Dr. Luke records that Jesus, after He had risen from death, showed Himself alive to His disciples and said, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in His name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem …” (Luke 24:46–47).
The man known as St. Paul had not always followed Jesus. On the contrary, he was among the leaders who persecuted Jesus’ followers in the early days after the resurrection. His name from birth was Saul. But Jesus appeared to Saul of Tarsus as he was on his way to persecute believers in Damascus. This appearance of Jesus and His commissioning of Saul as an apostle led to a complete change of life and direction. Saul took a new name, becoming Paul the apostle.
Paul was fully aware of the power of the cross and the effect of Christ’s death and resurrection: eternal life. Making this known became his life’s purpose at Christ’s command.
As the years wore on, nobody knew better than Paul that the cross of Jesus Christ would not impress everybody. The cross of Christ would invite scorn and derision. This was true then, and it remains true today.
So, Christian, as you embark upon your Lenten journey with special devotional observances, occasions, and services, consider whom you might invite along with you. A co-worker, a neighbor, a relative, or a close family member who might need a helping hand — yours — to see more clearly what you hold so dear.
Reach out, recognizing that the first half of this verse may be true for them right now, but let your love and your witness be used by God to bring them to the knowledge of Jesus and His saving work, so that they understand the fullness of the passage: “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.”
May God bless all who embark upon such a journey.
