Why?
but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles 1 Corinthians 1:23 ESV
Stumbling block/ folly – Why is the Messiah crucified a stumbling block to Jews? Why is the Messiah crucified folly to Gentiles? Why does Paul choose two different words for two different groups of people? If the crucifixion is a “stumbling block,” why isn’t it a stumbling block to everyone? Why just to the Jews? If the crucifixion is folly, why isn’t it folly to Jews and Gentiles? Do you know what these words meant in the first century?
Let’s start with the vocabulary. “Stumbling block” is the Greek word skandalon. This word is used to describe something that traps someone; a snare that causes destruction. It implies two possibilities: getting caught and falling into ruin or avoiding the trap and saving your life. This two-fold idea is found in the LXX usage of the term. It is directly applicable to Paul’s thought which reiterates the way Yeshua uses the Hebrew equivalent in the gospels. Why does Paul assign this word to the Jews and not the Gentiles? Because the word implies the necessity of obedience. If the crucifixion is the event that establishes Yeshua as the Messiah, then the crucifixion demands action; the action of obedience to the divine Messiah raised from the dead. The trap for the Jews is the decision to obey based on the witness of His death and resurrection. To refuse to obey is to fall into ruin, exactly what skandalon means.
But Gentiles are different. Paul uses moria (foolishness) to describe what the crucifixion means to them. In classical Greek, the word would have meant deficiency, especially sloth or mental dullness. But the Pauline usage is colored by the LXX where the word implies a hardness of heart toward the true knowledge of God. The crucifixion is foolishness because in pagan thought gods do not die, one man cannot substitute his life for all men, and a criminal certainly cannot be a god. The whole idea of a crucified god who defeats death by dying is ridiculous! For the Gentiles, this claim is not about their expected Messiah who demands obedience. What do they care about Jewish law? For them it is about the death of someone who claimed to be God. And that is absurd!
When we read this verse, we tend to ascribe meaning to the words from our own context. We think the reason Paul uses skandalon and moria is about the refusal to accept Jesus’ death on the cross for salvation. But neither word suggests this evangelical idea. The meaning must be found in the social culture of the time. For Jews, it’s about obedience. For Greeks, it’s about divinity and death.
If you didn’t believe that Yeshua is the Messiah, which camp would you be in? Would his claim be an affront to your view of obedience or would it simply seem absurd? And if you do believe, what do these words mean about you?
Topical Index: stumbling block, skandalon, folly, moria, cross, crucifixion, 1 Corinthians 1:23
A total aside here for others who enjoyed the Lord of the Rings trilogy.
We find our ringbearer passing through the Mines of Moria. It belonged to the dwarfs who don’t seem to exist anymore except for Gimli who travels with the group. The Mine of Moria is filled with lots of dead dwarfs and “living” evil creatures. It is explained that the dwarfs got greedy and dug to far and to deep and released unimaginable things and all died. Foolish to the extreme and I think, no coincidence that it was given that name of Moria.
To me, just a very interesting note on one little word.
Back to the program…….:-)
Interesting! I’m a total LOTR geek as well…
I was TOLD what to believe.
My early Catholic upbringing was probably not
too unlike the rigors and rituals of religious Jewish
life centuries ago.
I knew NO ONE who knew God. They knew OF Him.
Everyone went through the motions.
Hypocrisy was the norm.
Guilt and shame ruled.
Thankfully, God Himself intervened and changed everything.
But that’s what He does.
“No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him;
and I will raise him up at the last day.” Jn 6:44
The powerful explosion of the personal revelation of God Himself to
the individual blows away any and every barrier of natural thinking,
culture or religion.
AMEN! Rich, this is my experience exactly. Praise YHVH that He took me as His Own when I was just a little girl hiding in a linen closet at around the age of 6. Once He took over, I was viewed by all of my catholic relatives as some sort of “freak.” Same situation today and I’m 57 yoa!
Thank you for sharing.
Skandalon to the jews.This would then mean they need to work on bringing back into the fold the ten tribes and all those that are grafted in.Pretty big change from what there fence laws direct them to do,eg(not even go into there homes).They would also have to adhere to Yashuahs rebukes about the way they messed up some of the torah laws with there fence laws,wich they used to protect there culture from disappearing.Is this the obedience that youre talking about?Or am I missing something?
The crucifixion is foolishness because in pagan thought gods do not die, one man cannot substitute his life for all men, and a criminal certainly cannot be a god.
Hi Skip,
I’m not sure if the above is a slip of the pen or a brain twister in its context
But there are numerous dying Gods in Pagan history as I understand it
BTW I turned on the TV this morning to a movie called Sparkle
The theme song was a beautiful rendition of “A New Dawn”
From WIKI
In comparative mythology, the related motifs of a dying god and of a dying-and-rising god (also known as a death-rebirth-deity) have appeared in diverse cultures.
In the more commonly accepted motif of a dying god, the deity goes away and does not return.
The less than widely accepted motif of a dying-and-rising god refers to a deity which returns, is resurrected or is reborn, in either a literal or symbolic sense.
Beginning in the 19th century, a number of gods who would fit these motifs were proposed.
Male examples include the ancient Near Eastern, Greek, and Norse deities Baal, Melqart, Adonis, Eshmun, Tammuz, Ra the Sun god with its fusion with Osiris/Orion, Jesus, and Dionysus.
Female examples include Inanna/Ishtar, Persephone,[14] and Bari.
Yes, true enough. But how does the death and resurrection of Yeshua differ from all these other pagan myths?
For me the way Yeshua lived is a model for us to follow
His resurrection seems more like fiction than fact
Don’t fear the question. Savor it. If the question will become your own, then the answer will as well.
Yes, we must do what is right even when we don’t understand. But after we have done, we still must understand. And understanding comes only with questions.
Questions are also part of the truth.
This was from “Daily Dose” by Rabbi Tzvi Freeman