Horizons Bible Study 2016-2017
Who is Jesus? What a Difference a Lens Makes
Lesson 5: 1 Corinthians 1:18-31
If you want to get a picture of what a mess the church can be, the Corinthian house churches are a good start. Granted, the church is unfaithful in every age, but the Apostle Paul has his work cut out for him. The controversies are many: divisions over leadership, sexual misconduct, suing each other in court, arguments over spiritual gifts, economic and class distinctions and theological disputes. It all sounds rather contemporary.
It helps to have a bit of background on Corinth. It was a cosmopolitan, prosperous Roman city on a major trade route. It hosted an athletic event second only to the Olympic Games, with the most influential political office in the city being that of the sponsor of the games. Many of the colonists were freedmen who were former slaves, and the city was unusual in allowing freedmen to be elected as magistrates (Richard B. Hays, “First Corinthians”).
Like all cities of its time, status was important with a small percentage of the population being very wealthy. A small middle class of merchants and tradespeople was typical, while the vast majority of people were poor. In Rome, 30-40 percent of the population were slaves, who were prisoners of war, people captured by pirates or those who had fallen into debt. There were fewer slaves in the provinces, but they were still a significant portion of the population. As happens today, class distinctions were maintained: Bankers did not invite cooks and janitors to their dinner parties.
So imagine the fallout when the new Christians of every class met in the villas of the wealthy (1:26). The Christians brought all their cultural values into the room. Paul’s task is no small one. He has to perpetually help the Corinthians embrace the radical belief that we are all one family in Christ.
Paul insists that the community be reshaped by the cross and resurrection of Jesus. As the book of Acts tells the story, the presence of the risen Christ in the Apostles’ lives brought the dividing walls between people tumbling down. With the guidance of the Spirit, there is a revolutionary inclusion of all people regardless of race, class or gender (Galatians 3:28).
Jesus as the crucified Messiah is a stumbling block, literally a scandal, to Greeks and Jews alike (1:22-23). Those who are well-educated want sophisticated philosophy. Others want miraculous signs. To many, the good news of Jesus, crucified and raised, is utter nonsense.
That the Son of God would come into human misery and squalor and suffer is nonsense in the first century and today. God or gods are “supposed” to bring victory, power and wealth. For Jews, the Messiah would drive out Rome and bring in a golden age, not get himself crucified. Even today, a suffering God is unique among world religions.
The resurrection is a stumbling block, a scandal, as well. Our faith proclaims that the risen Christ breaks the power of sin and death, so that God’s loving transformation can break into our lives. Yet day to day, we tend to think that people are not redeemable. We gossip about the wrongs others do as if the wrong defines them. We make sure that those who commit felonies pay for their crimes even after prison, making it almost impossible for them to get decent jobs.
Materialism, self-interest, racism, cynicism, dominance — these are widespread cultural values. We bring them into the church with us. On the other hand, God’s character is mercy, justice, forgiveness, compassion and acceptance of all persons as beloved children. God’s ways appear ludicrous in the face of common sense. The cross of Jesus seems to be without any power, ridiculous compared to the power of Rome. Yet Paul proclaims that God’s weakness revealed in Christ is stronger than all the power of wealth, weapons, class and race (1:25).
To those in Paul’s time, the gospel is a scandal. If the gospel of Christ is not a scandal today, it is in part because we have significantly watered down the message of Jesus. We make the gospel more about being kind or nice and less about the risen Christ who fundamentally reshapes who we are and who we include in our lives.
Why would we pledge allegiance to Jesus Christ as our highest loyalty, when it appears to be so much drivel to many? It is because the love of God has reached out and touched us, brought healing, transformed us, and made us long for a different world. Once we experience God’s love, all the values of the world become absurd, so that the foolishness of God in Christ becomes our life.
Rosalind Banbury is associate pastor for adult ministries at First Church in Richmond, Virginia.
