For the message about 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
Mark is my favorite of the Gospels.
The interpretative key to Mark, is right in the middle. In chapter 8, Jesus asks, "Who do people say that I am?" Peter says, "You are the Messiah." And he's totally right. And half wrong.
Huh?
He's right, Jesus is the Messiah. But when Jesus begins to explain to him that the Messiah must suffer and die, Peter tries to rebuke Jesus. For Peter, "the message of the cross [was] foolishness."
- He couldn't envision any practical purpose behind Jesus' death.
- He couldn't stomach the bloody nature of this kind of sacrifice.
- He couldn't comprehend how the cross would conquer sin and death.
Peter tried to rebuke God's plan and Jesus' mission. He wouldn't be the last. The world still tries to rebuke, reject, and disrespect the Gospel. To too many, the cross seems like foolishness. And that's the middle, key turning point in the Gospel of Mark.
A half-a-Gospel later, Jesus is denied and betrayed. He is mocked and beaten. After being nailed to a tree, the sky turns black. The curtain of the temple is torn in two and Jesus breathes his last.
And it's at that moment, that the first human recognizes who and what the Messiah truly is. When the Centurion says, "Truly this man was the Son of God," suddenly, the cross of Christ is no longer foolishness. Rather it is the power of God for salvation to us who are being saved!
In Christ's Love,
a guy who sees in those
two intersecting boards
power and hope
not foolish meaninglessness
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