We Preach Christ Crucified
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| Predella on altarpiece at St. Mary's in Wittenberg by Lucas Cranach |
Grace and peace to you
from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!
The altarpiece of St.
Mary’s in Wittenberg is a masterpiece of religious art by Lucas Cranach the
Elder and his son Lucas the Younger, designed to represent visually what
Lutherans teach about how God works to create and maintain Christian faith. The
altarpiece consists of a painting in three parts, a triptych, and a fourth
panel, the predella, underneath the triptych and closest to the altar itself.
Each of the four scenes depicts a unique way in which the one Gospel promise is
delivered: preaching, Baptism, the Lord’s Supper, and the Office of the Keys.
It is the bottom panel to
which I want to draw your attention this morning. Martin Luther stands in the
pulpit and preaches, expounding the Holy Scriptures. The reformer’s left hand
rests upon an open Bible, while with his right he points to the Savior, who is
hanging on the cross. Significantly, the congregation is focused not on the
preacher, but also rather on Christ.
Perhaps we each would
do well to have such a picture, if not on our altars, then in at least in our
minds. It could help remind us of the centrality of the cross to our Christian
faith and our vocation as commissioned and ordained ministers and of the Gospel.
Surrounded by a world that knows little of the true meaning of the cross, we,
too, can easily fall into the trap of a religion that ignores or downplays the
cross. We can easily forget that in the middle of the Gospel of Jesus Christ
stands a cross—an ugly instrument of execution—on which our Savior lived out
His undying love for us by willingly giving Himself into for us there.
That’s why St. Paul’s
words are so important for us to remember: “We preach Christ crucified: a
stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called,
both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God” (1
Corinthians 1:23-24).
In the verses prior to
our text, Paul argues that while preaching is important, a preacher’s reliance
on his skill as a speaker can rob the cross of Christ of its power. You see,
it’s not the ability of the preacher that gives power to the Gospel; it is the
Gospel that gives power to the preacher’s words. While diligent preparation and
skilled delivery are desirable and helpful, it is the substance of the
preaching that delivers saving faith—Christ crucified.
But the preaching of
Christ crucified is not easy for the world to accept. No matter how well you
dress up the Word of the cross, the world will always find it unpalatable. It seeks
whatever seems attractive and successful. Our world, which disdains absolute
truth and loves “diversity,” finds the cross too harsh and narrow.
St. Paul divides the
non-believing world of his day into two groups—Jews and Gentiles. The Jews demanded
miracles from Paul and the other apostles as confirmation of God’s support for
them and their message. In today’s Gospel, we see they demanded such signs from
Jesus, too, as they challenge Him to prove His authority to cleanse the temple.
Jesus points to His death and resurrection as the only sign they will receive. “Destroy
this temple, and in three day I will raise it up.” The cross and His open tomb
will be the sure sign that Jesus’ Word is true.
The Greeks, for their
part, looked for wisdom. They were zealous for every kind of learning. Paul
could speak from firsthand experience about this, having encountered the
Epicurean and Stoic philosophers in Athens.
But in direct
opposition to these Jews and Greeks, who continued their quest for divine power
and wisdom, Paul proclaims with joyful certainty the gift that had already been
given to them: “We preach Christ crucified.”
The expression “Christ
crucified” seems to non-believers to be an oxymoron. The title “Christ,” “the
Anointed One,” denotes a person of royal dignity. To describe Him as
“crucified,” denotes the very opposite—an executed criminal, a slave stripped
of any claim to human dignity and status.
To Jews, a crucified
Christ was a stumbling block, an obstacle to coming to faith. While there was a
great diversity of opinion about what the Messiah would be like, those
expectations consistently were for a powerful figure. Moreover, anyone who had
been crucified was considered cursed by God. For Jews, the cross was an offense
to their sensibilities, the most shameful death imaginable.
The Greeks trusted in
wisdom. It seemed foolish to them that God would come to earth as a man, let
alone, that He would allow Himself to die by any means. And Romans, found the
notion of a crucified Messiah abhorrent. The Roman statesman, Cicero said: “May
the very name of the cross be absent not only from the body of Roman citizens
but also from their thinking, their eyes, and ears.”
But Paul’s sad
description of the rejection of the Gospel by Jews and Gentiles gives way to a
note of joy. By God’s grace, a third group of people has been formed, called
from among both Jews and Gentiles. For them, Christ and His cross is neither an
offense or foolishness, but God’s power and God’s wisdom.
Unfortunately, the
message of the cross seems no more reasonable to the world today than it did in
Paul’s time. And it is no less a scandal, either. Many say, “Who can really
believe that everyone’s eternal destiny depends entirely and exclusively on a
personal relationship with a Jewish man who was shamefully executed under Roman
law almost two thousand years ago? If Jesus was the holy Son of God, how could
He die? For that matter, why would His heavenly Father send Him to die? What
kind of love is that? How is that righteous or just?”
To be sure, the world
has little room for a suffering Savior, a crucified Christ. Sinful human nature
looks instead for a theology of glory. But those who look elsewhere than the
cross miss the Gospel that alone can save sinners. They miss the true comfort
and peace that God, in His grace, wishes to give to everyone. For the grace of
God can only be found in the things—like Word and Sacrament—that appear weak
and foolish to the world. That is why we preach Christ crucified.
Pastor Dean Kavouras,
an LCMS pastor and FBI chaplain, knows firsthand how important this message
still is in our day. On Saturday, September 15th, 2001, he was sent to carry
out chaplain duties for the personnel investigating the wreckage of United
Airlines Flight 93. Arriving at the crash site, Kavouras found that the
Pennsylvania State Police had erected a huge cross. When someone objected, a
trooper said to him, “We’re in charge here and that’s how it is.” In his report
for that day, Kavouras writes: “The cross still stands. It is a reminder of the
blackest, most unjust and tragic death of all history, that of the innocent Son
of God. It is also the reminder of humanity’s finest hour, for on that cross
the sins and guilt and curse of all the world, of each person no matter how
great their transgression, was expunged. On the cross, death and hell were
conquered.”
In the shadow of that
huge cross, Chaplain Kavouras preached the Word to many people suffering in
ways and to such a depth that most of us cannot begin to imagine. And he spoke
to individuals afterward; including one trooper who was especially overtaken
with grief. Kavouras talked with him and
told him that Christ died on a cross like that one. He died for the sins of the
world and on Easter Sunday rose from the grave. He told him the Good News that
all who put their hope in Christ will also rise to everlasting glory. As people
like this trooper were soothed with the words of the Gospel, the cross proved
to be a great comfort.
But unfortunately, the
Gospel was not always preached with such clarity. Kavouras wrote a few days
later of his frustration: “As far as I can tell, few if any Christian clergy
here or anywhere else are preaching the one true faith that imputes the righteousness
of Christ to us by faith and delivers men from eternal death. Christian
priests, pastors and ministers are preaching about an unknown, unpredicated
supreme being, who is without true name, true form, or any sure word upon which
we can rely in the hour of our deepest need! ‘You may know him,’ people are
told ‘as Allah or Yahweh or Jesus or Buddha!’”
In a later report,
Kavouras writes: “I had very strong words with two Christian clergymen today,
upbraiding them and telling them that there is no other name under heaven,
given among men, by which we must be saved (Acts 4:12); that further, there is
only one God—the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and all others are imposters;
that there is no other word which can heal these poor people than the words of
Christ our Lord… I told them that while the flowery orations of the world may
soothe one’s psyche for a few minutes, only the Word of God as found in
Scripture can heal their souls and restore to them some modicum of peace.”
The inescapable message
found in Kavouras’ reports is this: “the Word works.” He preached the Word
clearly and let it work in the lives of those affected by the tragedy. And that
Word gave hope to the hopeless and the promise of eternal life to those working
in the midst of death. The preaching of Christ crucified strengthened the faith
of those who heard it.
That Word of Christ
crucified works in our lives as well. In the most difficult times only this Gospel
can heal hurting hearts and soothe suffering souls. Only that Word brings peace
that passes all understanding. Only that Word brings the light of hope on the darkest
days of despair. Only that Word saves sinners. And so, we preach
Christ-crucified, even though it isn’t, never has been, and never will be, a
popular message. By faith, we acknowledge what we believe is foolishness apart
from faith. But we proclaim it anyway. Why? For all sorts of reasons.
We preach Christ
crucified because we can—because the Lord has given us the privilege of
declaring His Word. We preach Christ crucified because, even though it’s
foolishness to the unbeliever, it is the power and wisdom of God for salvation
to all those who believe. We preach Christ-crucified because that is where and
how God most shows His love for a world of sinners. On the cross, Jesus was
cursed by God in our place; there He redeemed us from our slavery to sin; there
He fulfilled all righteousness, suffering the just penalty for our crimes.
We preach Christ
crucified, pointing to Holy Baptism because that is where Christ makes His
cross ours. By faith, we gladly declare, “That isn’t water only; Christ
crucified and risen is present there to wash away our sins. We proclaim that
Gospel in the Absolution and sermons, because that is how the Holy Spirit works
faith. We point to the Supper and gladly declare that there in the bread and
the wine the crucified/risen Savior is present with the forgiveness of sins.
And where there is forgiveness of sins, there is also life and salvation.
Dear brothers and
sisters in Christ, Christ has died on the cross for your sins and Christ is
risen again, that you, too, might have forgiveness, salvation, and eternal life.
Indeed, for Jesus’ sake, you are forgiven for all of your sins.
In the name of the
Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
Unless
otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, English
Standard Version, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of
Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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