Have you ever wondered what would happen if Jesus lived today? How we would react if we’d see Him, what He would do, and on which side we would stand?
Jesus was born in a manger 2000 years ago, grew up as a boy in a village, learning the trade of his father. Around the age of 30, He started preaching, travelling through the country, doing miracles, and then claimed to be God’s son.
He had quite the following at times, thousands of people listening to His preaching and teaching, and a whole entourage travelling with Him. He was like an old-time celebrity.
But He also had enemies, and only a few days after a triumphant entry into Jerusalem, Jesus was crucified. The Jews wanted Him dead, and the Gentiles nailed Him to the cross.
They didn’t recognize that He was the long-awaited Messiah because they expected something else, someone else. It’s quite foolish, isn’t it?
God used exactly that foolishness to fulfill His plan, and let His own Son hang on a cross to die for our sins because He knew we would never make it otherwise. His love for us is so great that He used our own stupidity for His greater purposes. (1 Corinthians 2:8)
So, they nailed Him to that cross.
But then, Jesus was resurrected, and God’s ultimate plan was fulfilled: He has won the victory!
After that, the apostles went and preached the message of Jesus’ death and resurrection, but again, many people didn’t understand.
On one hand, there were the Jews: They were awaiting a political Messiah that would reinstate the kingdom of Israel, free them from the Roman oppression, and deliver them physically. A man from Nazareth, nailed to a cross, couldn’t have been that deliverer. Therefore, He couldn’t have been that Messiah.
On the other hand, there were the Greeks: They might have been convinced, if only the message would have been delivered more eloquently. They were looking for wise words that would explain the world and answer their unresolved questions. A reputable, wise person would not usually die on a cross, a death reserved for scoundrels. Therefore, they thought, He couldn’t possibly have been that Jewish Messiah.
They were wise people. They were educated, both Jews and Greeks alike. They knew what to expect. They knew this world. Yet they didn’t recognize the Messiah.
So, if Jesus would be born today, what would we expect? Would we recognize Him? Or would we reject Him? Would we be the ones to crucify Him? Or would we be amongst those who mourn for Him?
If Jesus would have lived today, I can imagine we would react very similar to the Greeks and Gentiles, their reaction described in 1 Corinthians 1:22-24.
I would expect a message that somehow explains the unanswered questions in life. With all the education I got to enjoy, with the degrees and books and websites floating around, we seem to have a lot figured out, and everyone has something to say. We are in a constant search for answers, making sense of life as best as we can, improving our civilized society and thinking this is the good life. (And it is, in many ways.)
I would also expect a message for which I have to do something. You know, somehow contribute to it. That is what the world tells me, isn’t it? I never get anything for free in this world.
We always have to work for everything. We work for our bodies to be in shape, for our bank accounts to not run empty, for our stomachs to be filled, and for our image to look good. We work to know more, to be more, to have more. We want to eat better, look better, smell better, and seem better.
We always do something. The world tells us to do something. Every marketing add out there tells you to do something, get something, be something else.
So, if I would hear of great news that would save me for all eternity, I would expect that I need to do something, work hard, be better.
That is my foolishness. The foolishness of the world.
But instead, the Gospel says something different.
Instead, the Gospel is not at all what we’d expect.
This is part one of a three-part series on foolishness and wisdom. Read part two here.
