“When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.”
(1 Corinthians 2:1-2)

What comes to mind when you think of the Apostle Paul? Religious extremist? Tireless missionary? Inspired writer? Great preacher?

Paul would likely say, “None of the above!” He saw himself as nothing more than someone who drew people to the cross. For Paul it was all about the cross—and thus all about Jesus—nothing more, nothing less.

Jesus was a preacher, miracle worker and missionary. Yet his mission was all about the cross. All the preaching, miracles, parables, conversations and prophetic warnings were his means to draw us in to the central message of scripture: the cross. “When I am lifted up from the earth,” Jesus taught of his sacrificial death on the cross, “I will draw all men to myself.” (John 12:32).

The great reformer, Martin Luther, is famous for nailing 95 Theses to a wooden church door. The hammer and nails he really carried, however, went beyond the church door. Luther was all about the cross. Several months after his famous theses, Luther began to articulate a critical understanding of the Bible and the nature of God’s mission in what would come to be known as the “theology of the cross.”

Drawing Christians back to the focus of all scripture, Luther echoed the words of the Apostle Paul. He admitted that we Christians approach the Bible with a bias. We interpret it, not on the basis of history, science, philosophy or mere human wisdom, but as God’s Word drawing us to the cross. “Christ and him crucified” is the focal point where everything is headed. The Bible is, cover to cover, Old Testament and New, all about the cross! Luther put it this way, “The cross of Christ is the only instruction in the Word of God there is, the purest theology.”

What is a theology of the cross? Luther defined this, in part, by explaining that it is the opposite of a theology of glory. Luther described a theology of glory as a misguided understanding of God’s glory and human glory. Human philosophies tend to see glory in terms of power; yet God reveals glory in his surrender at the cross. A theology of glory focuses on human performance and pious deeds.

“A theology of the cross calls the thing what it actually is,” Luther says. That “thing” is the human condition of our helplessness. At the cross, Jesus meets humanity where it is: in the shadow of death. Jesus is in the last place that humanity would expect to find God. The theology of the cross turns the world upside-down. None of the rules work the way we thought they would. When we read the bible from the view of the cross, we can’t help but be surprised.

In Matthew 6 (which happens to be our first lesson for 40 Days of Lent at St. John's) we see a good example of how to read Jesus from the perspective of a theology of the cross verses a theology of glory. Jesus always puts the focus on the cross where glory is hidden by the standards of this world. Jesus leads today’s study with a cross of caution. “Be careful,” he warns of theologies of glory, “not to do your 'acts of righteousness' before men, to be seen by them.” (Matthew 6:1). He will talk about doing things in “secret” places where you find your “reward.” A theology of glory is fixed on rewards and punishments from a human behavior perspective. A theology of glory turns Jesus’ words into false humility with a formula for success: if you do something in secret, then God will reward you. That’s not how we read the Bible from the bias of the cross.

Read Jesus’ words about “secret” places and “rewards” from the perspective of the theology of the cross and we are no longer learning about our accomplishments or failures. The secret place is at the cross, where he dies for us. The reward is our salvation gained from his death. These are hidden things—not because they are private places—but because a world obsessed with the pursuit of happiness and glory can’t possibly see them. St. Paul describes this as a bloody scandal. “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.” (1 Corinthians 1:18).

A common cliché among Christians—well intentioned but misguided—is the phrase, “we all have our crosses to bear.” The truth is, there is only one cross that matters and that is where we put our trust and confidence for everything we believe. Jesus says, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” (Matthew 16:24). Here he reveals the cross where disciples deny themselves of the “glory” of achievement or even the “glory” of suffering; instead their lives are daily and utterly dependent on his suffering and death. The cross is the only way to get a real life.

In our five group life home groups we will be reading and discussing Matthew’s Gospel from the distinct perspective of a theology of the cross. We engage the word of God convinced that it is all about the cross. Jesus’ preaching, miracles, parables, conversations and prophetic warnings all take us to one place: the cross. We, with the Apostle Paul, engage this study resolving, “to know nothing except Jesus Christ and him crucified.” We will learn together how to spot our temptation to stumble into the trappings of pious theologies of glory and together we will unwrap the theology of the cross, disguised to worldly thinking, but where the true power of God is found.

(c)2011 St. John's Lutheran Church and School | 505 S Park RD | La Grange IL 60525 | www.sjlagrange.com
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