Jeremy L. Berg

When the last shovel of dirt is tossed onto my grave and the benediction has been read, I want people to walk to their cars and drive back to the church for cold sandwiches thinking, “He took Jesus at his words, did his best to pursue His Kingdom and live by cross-wisdom — leaving the results to God.” May they not go away saying, “He had a lot of Biblical knowledge, or original ideas, or cultural influence” much less, “Look at all he did for Jesus!”

The story of Jesus that should send shivers down our leadership spines are when a bunch of eager religious do-gooders come to Jesus and boast about all the impactful ministry they have done in his name. Jesus’ words are sobering:

“Not every one that said to me, ‘Lord, Lord’, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that does the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in your name? and in your name have cast out devils? and in your name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess to them, I never knew you: depart from me, you that work iniquity” (Matt 7:21-23).

You can do a lot of religious activity, go to church your entire life, make a difference in this world and apparently still fail to know Jesus truly and grasp the true nature of His Kingdom. You can be a person of “faith” but not be counted among Jesus’ true disciples (“I never knew you”). You can cast out demons in his name, waging war on the dominion of darkness and yet to be  “transferred into the kingdom of his beloved son” yourself (Col. 1:13). You can be busy building a kingdom in his name, but find out in the end it wasn’t His kingdom you were building.

How do we truly come to know Christ and be fully known by him? How do we become wise representatives of the Upside-Down Kingdom? How do we put up guard rails to help us stay on the long and narrow CrossRoad, and avoid slipping onto the wider, easier road that most are traveling? Paul argues that we need to become more foolish in the world’s eyes. In order to become strong citizens of the Crucified King, we need to become weaker by the world’s standards.

This is clearly articulated by Paul in his letter to the worldly-wise cosmopolitan city of Corinth known for its wealth, strong Roman government, and Greek philosophical heritage that favored well-trained orators who could wax eloquent on street corners. What they didn’t have time for was a tongue-tied Jewish guy who boasted about the power and wisdom of a crucified Nazarene. So, Paul turns the tables and embraces the paradox of the CrossRoad to glory in his subversive rhetoric of 1 Corinthians 1-3:

^1:18 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God… ²⁰ Where is the wise person? Where is the teacher of the law? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?²¹ For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe.

This is not ancient history. God’s foolishness confronts the so-called wise and influential of each generation. “Where is the wise professor? Where is the brilliant teacher of the Bible? Where is the cultural commentator with his finger on the problem and the pathway forward?” All such “experts” on CNN, FOX News, New York Times, Washington Post, as well as seminary professors, church conference speakers, and well-meaning pastors filling pulpits in churches all around us — ALL are confronted with the message of the cross. Will they pass the test? Will they see in the cross the power of God and the wisdom of the ages, or weakness, foolishness, and impracticality? Will they shrug it off as unrealistic and stick to more conventional and utilitarian principles that “work”?

²² Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, ²³ but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, ²⁴ but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. ²⁵ For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.

Today, we might say many conservative Christians look for signs (prophecies, etc.) and the progressive left looks to the best “human wisdom” in the latest study or next social program? (Today someone sent me the trailer for a new film, “The Trump Prophecy,” involving Jerry Falwell, Jr., claiming the Trump presidency was God-ordained.) Meanwhile, who is taking seriously the critique of the cross and the call to manifest a different kind of Kingdom?

… ²⁷ But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong…. ^{28  30} It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God…

People embarking on the CrossRoad don’t look first for wisdom in Pew Research findings, the latest clinical study, partisan narratives, persuasive TED Talks, pop psychology, one pastor’s opinion, the latest Bestseller, a favorite podcasts, or YouTube sensation. Christ himself “has become for us wisdom from God.” As we’re conformed to the mind of Christ, we then go boldly back to these sources of ideas and discourse, and filter them all through a new Cross-shaped paradigm. You may at times find little wisdom remaining after it goes through the Jesus-filter.

2:2 And so it was with me, brothers and sisters. When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. ² For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. ³ I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling. ⁴ My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, ⁵ so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power.

Paul entertained no illusions that he was called to transform the Roman Culture with the message of the cross, and take back Corinth for God. He was called to announce the good news that a New King was taking his throne, and letting this Kingdom stand as a bold critique to all other rival kingdoms. He wasn’t even trying hard to persuade and argue people into agreement; he was content to preach “Jesus Christ and him crucified” and leave the results to the Holy Spirit.

Many, if not most, would reject his “foolish” message about a “weak” crucified King. But in the unfolding plot of HisStory, there’s always a faithful remnant “with ears to hear” and childlike faith to trust in this message. A small and persecuted group would emerge in the early decades of the church and pledge their sole allegiance to the Crucified and Risen King, and often pay a great price for doing so. Paul turns his attention to the few wise Kingdom-fools who are becoming mature in God’s upside-down Kingdom:

⁶ We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. ⁷ No, we declare God’s wisdom, a mystery that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. ⁸ None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

Look, those wielding the power of this age are least likely to grasp and embrace the Kingdom and the CrossRoad. They have much to lose by bowing the knee. If the world leaders of ancient super-powers were allergic to the message of the cross, why do we think our nations and presidents will be any different? So Paul leaves us with this uncompromising zinger:

^3:18 Do not deceive yourselves. If any of you think you are wise by the standards of this age, you should become “fools” so that you may become wise. ¹⁹ For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight.

Friends, I have been observing the “wise” of this age for 20 years now and filtering their proposals and schemes, their values and politics, their predictions and warnings, all through the lenses of the Cross-Wisdom. I have concluded, in many cases, that people are, as Paul warns, completely deceived. As Paul will write later to the Corinthians, “The god of this age [i.e., Satan], has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe” so that “hey are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News” and “don’t understand this message about the [cruciform] glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God” (2 Cor. 4:4). The paradoxical cross-wisdom of Jesus and His Kingdom seems to be nowhere in view. I have found this to be equally true of life-long Christians, many whom have embraced the one-time CrossEvent but have yet to seriously consider the CrossRoad as a new pattern for Kingdom living.

So, I can only challenge us today with the same challenge Paul had for those of his day: “You should become “fools” so that you may become wise” (3:18). What Paul means is this: we need to crucify our worldly attempts at being wise, and embrace the cruciform Wisdom of Jesus that looks insane and weak by worldly standards. Until the powers of this age and the wise of this world start mocking and ridiculing us, we’re probably not yet walking the CrossRoad and articulating a CrossView of reality. On the other hand, “If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you” (1 Peter 4:14).

So, what must I do? How can I begin to have my mind transformed into Christoformity? The answer offends our ego once again. You don’t make a decision, or study harder; it’s all a gift from God. The Spirit of Jesus enables us to receive this God-given Cross-wisdom. Without the Spirit, we’re bound to continue resisting the scandalous message of the cross and skirting around the Narrow Road. With the Spirit, Paul tells us, we can have the “mind of Christ” and probe “the deep things of God!” Without the Spirit influencing our thoughts, we’ll continue to be carried by the current of the “spirit of the world” and never rise above mere “human wisdom.”  Let us contemplate these words this week and ask for the Spirit to illuminate the CrossRoad so we can begin to walk it.

^2:10 these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. ¹¹ For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. ¹² What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us. ¹³ This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words. ¹⁴ The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit. ¹⁵ The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments, ¹⁶ for,

But we have the mind of Christ!

Now, I encourage you to go back and read this 3 more times slowly. I know how counterintuitive this is and how much it should challenge conventional wisdom of any age. Despite how foreign it may sound. Despite how unrealistic it seems. I repeat how I began: When the last shovel of dirt is tossed onto my grave and the benediction has been read, I want people to walk to their cars and drive back to the church to eat cold sandwiches thinking, “He took Jesus at his words, did his best to pursue His Kingdom and lived by cross-wisdom — leaving the results to God.”

Oh, and “What a beautiful wife he married!” :)