The Cross of Christ

The cross of Christ only becomes power and wisdom to those staring death in the face.  This is how Jesus said His Father would show love to the world - in the very same way Moses showed mercy to those who rebelled in the wilderness.  In His unfathomable wisdom, God designed a way to make every Israelite face his or her sin or else die.  

 

The unbelieving people had quarreled with God again and He intended to make them recognize and face their wickedness.  He did this by sending the curse of death in their midst in the form of poisonous fangs.  People began to be bitten by "the serpent" and die.  Suddenly friends  had no remedy, mom and dad had no answer, and it began to dawn on everyone -their sins were being judged.  Now they would have to face their rebellion or die - Moses was their only hope.  

 

God in His wisdom had prepared His mercy.  Moses was instructed to make a bronze serpent and lift it upon a tree; in this way, anyone who had been bitten could come if they chose to,  focus upon the cause of their dying, and by so doing - receive the cure and live.  

This is the same way God has shown His love for the world.  He offered His own Son upon the cross for all who have been brought to the reality that their own sin and rebellion is the poison killing them.   It is only when a man or woman realizes that SIN is the poison that is killing them that they will come eagerly, desperately to the cross of Christ.  Once a man or woman recognizes that the poison of their sin is fatal and that death is the unavoidable, true wage for their sin -  IN THAT MOMENT the  cross of Christ will become to the repentant sinner - the wisdom of God and the power of God.   The cross of Christ only becomes power and wisdom from God to those who have seen the poison of the serpent is fatal and there is no other remedy. 

 

To those who are still deceived by the deceitfulness of sin, the cross and the Christ are still foolishness.  They have no serious interest in focusing upon Jesus or the cross, much less in taking their up own cross.  Such men still look to the world for their life for they have not yet seen the true wages of sin.