1 Corinthians 1:23 - Printer Friendly

ESV: but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles,

NIV: but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles,

NASB: but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block, and to Gentiles foolishness,

CSB: but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to the Jews and foolishness to the Gentiles.

NLT: So when we preach that Christ was crucified, the Jews are offended and the Gentiles say it’s all nonsense.

KJV: But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness;

NKJV: but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness,

Paul is describing why the gospel message he preaches seems so foolish to so many people. "Foolish," or "folly," in this case, comes from the same Greek word used to form terms such as moron. It's not merely that the world sees the gospel as odd, or unusual. They see it as stupid—as idiotic.

In the previous verse, Paul wrote of the two main cultural forces of his era: religious Jews and intellectual Greeks. He said that the Jews demand miraculous signs as verification that God is at work. The Greeks seek human wisdom by means of logic and skillful speech.

The gospel does not satisfy either group. Instead, Paul says that he and the other apostles preach Christ crucified as the central truth of the gospel. The Jewish people stumble over any suggestion that the Messiah would not immediately overthrow Israel's enemies by the miraculous power of God. They certainly did not want to believe the Messiah would be executed by Israel's occupier Rome in the most humiliating way possible. After all, Deuteronomy 21:23 says that a hanged man is cursed by God, the Jewish leaders would argue.

For the Gentiles, the idea of a God who would serve humanity by offering His own beloved Son as a sacrifice for sin was ridiculous. From a pagan perspective, strong gods required service from people in order to be rewarded. Only the weakest of gods would serve mortal humans, especially in death.

Paul is emphasizing why faith in Christ cannot be arrived at by human religion and human wisdom. For those who believe, however, he will show it holds extraordinary power.

First Corinthians 1:18–31 describes the foolishness of the gospel in the world's eyes. Both Jews and Greeks rejected the idea of Christ crucified. Any god who would die on a Roman cross, especially as a sacrifice for human sinfulness, would be seen by worldly eyes as a weak and foolish deity. God, though, will shame the wise and strong by giving the ability to believe in the cross of Christ mostly to the weak and foolish of the world, in human terms. In the end, nobody will boast before him of their own strength and wisdom.

Paul's letter to the Christians in Corinth begins with thanks for the great and powerful gifts God has given to them by His grace and through their faith in Christ. They will stand blameless before God in the end. Right now, though, they must stop dividing themselves according to which Christian teacher they follow and become unified in and around Christ. The gospel message of Christ's death on the cross is weak and foolish to the world, but God has given faith in Christ to those who believe it and find God's power and wisdom.

First Corinthians 1 begins Paul's letter to the Christians in Corinth, a big, bustling city on a major trade route. Paul knows them well, having spent a year and a half leading people to Christ and establishing the church there. He writes from Ephesus to correct some of their wrong attitudes and behaviors and to answer some of their questions. First, though, he thanks God for His grace to the Corinthians, knowing they will stand blameless before Him on the day of the Lord. Still, they must stop being divided and unite in and around Christ.

First Corinthians is one of the more practical books of the New Testament. Paul writes to a church immersed in a city associated with trade, but also with corruption and immorality. These believers are struggling to properly apply spiritual gifts and to resist the ungodly practices of the surrounding culture. Paul's letter gives instructions for real-life concerns such as marriage and spirituality. He also deals with the importance of unity and gives one of the Bible's more well-known descriptions of love in chapter 13.