The Cross, Gross and Foolish

1 Corinthians 1:18-31

For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but 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. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
- 1 Corinthians 1:22-25

The Roman cross is gross. It is a masterful torture machine that when seen in action churns the stomach. The traumatic effect this device had on the public psyche is hard to calculate. In any case in the first centuries of the Church the symbol of Christianity was not, as it is today, the Roman cross. No, the prevalent symbol for Christianity in the opening centuries was the first two Greek letters of Christ’s name: Chi-Rho. Now, it’s speculation, but the cross was simply too grisly, too offensive, too gross. Paul admits as much.

Centuries of meditation scrubbed the blood from the beams and sanitized the grotesque morbidity of the cross yielding renaissance images of a glowing Christ magnificently sprawled out as though the Roman cross were more a prop displaying the beauty of the human form than a coldly calculated torture machine. But the cross was just that a—torture machine. And it was gross, and morbid, and grotesque. For some point of reference, suppose Jesus had been executed not by cross but by hanging. Consider how disgusting the Christian sanctuary would consequently look: nooses hanging from the ceiling, front and center the effigy of a man hung from the noose. And then, to worship the man hanging from the noose… to worship him as God. Foolishness.

Put back in this grave light perhaps we can begin to see anew the offensiveness of the cross. Once I was speaking with a muslim imam. The conversation weaved and turned till he barked at me, ‘This animal corpse nailed to a tree… how, how can you worship it as GOD?” While this man sadly failed to see God in the flesh, he certainly perceived the offensiveness of the cross. In fact I’d wager he understood the offensiveness of the cross better than most Christians.

So, I’m not sure there is any profound insight here, some brilliantly nuanced truth. I think that’s the Apostle’s whole point. “We preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to the Jews, foolishness to the Greeks.” To see the cross for what it is is to see Christ for who he is: God become low and despised for you.