1 Corinthians 1.18-31

²²For Jews demand signs and Greeks desire wisdom, ²³but we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles,

The community in Corinth consisted of a mixture of backgrounds, Gentile and Jewish. In order to understand the difficulty these groups had trusting and understanding the cross of Jesus Christ, Paul's other epistles provide some clue.

For the Jews, dying on a tree was an abomination. As Paul quotes Deuteronomy 21.22-23 in his epistle to Galatia, "for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree.”" Crucifixion, according to modern historians, usually involved nailing the victim to a standing tree (our modern imagination of the event ordinarily contains a post driven into the ground - still a tree), putting him under this curse (Deuteronomy also explains why Jesus followers were so insistent that his body come down right away). Paul offers a theological explanation for this manner of death. In Galatians 3.13, Paul he says that Jesus became a curse for us in order to remove the curse of the law. The legal source of the stumbling is understandable, albeit surmountable.

The Gentiles were under the sway of gnosticism, the philosophical schools of the day, and many other worldviews. Paul lumps them together in Colossians. The key to understanding Paul's problem with this "wisdom" is that it is constructed by humans. Wisdom is not bad according to Paul; any wisdom which elevates itself above Christ is.

How do we understand the cross today? What are our stumbling blocks? What wisdom competes with the cross?

²⁴but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.

1 Corinthians 1.10-17

Although Corinth was an ancient Greek city, many of its inhabitants during Paul's time were new immigrants.

1 Corinthians menitions a Gaius. Acts 18 names a Titius Justus. R. F. Collins suggests that they are the same person, a wealthy Roman colonist, a former soldier, Gauis Titius Justus. As the Roman Empire ran out of money, they began to pay former soldiers in land.

Corinth was a port city, standing along the Isthmus of Corinth. The southern section of Greece, the Peloponesus, is a penninsula. Today, a bridge connects Corinth to the mainland of Greece and a canal cuts across the isthmus.

The Romans destroyed the city in 146 BC under L. Mummius. Jews, Romans, Greeks and others from around the world resettled Corinth.

As context for the epistle, Corinth hustles and bustles with the activity of a busy seaport. Converted the Gentiles still struggle with their relationship to their former idols; Jewish Christians still seek to hold firmly to their traditions; the new Christians, like Paul, struggle to proclaim the gospel of Christ amidst the confusion.

Corinth's conflict is implied by Paul's answer to it. In this week's section (1.10-17), the Corinthians are voting for their favorite apostle instead of Jesus and attempting to establish their own authority based on who performed their baptisms.

Paul's letter intends to focus Corinth on the cross, the love of Christ, and the power of the resurrection. And so should we.

1 Corinthians 1

This week, we begin with the Paul's first epistle to Corinth. Although Paul wrote and refers to other letters to Corinth, only two remain as scripture.

Paul founded and had a rocky, intense relationship with the church at Corinth. Luke gives us his version of the story in Acts 18.1-18. Notice the names that the two books have in common, particularly Priscilla and Aquila (who are no longer in Corinth when the letter is written), and Sosthenes (Paul's secretary), who is beaten before the local magistrate.

An epistle is a letter. Think of letters you have written - what is in them? Paul's letter begins as any other letter would, by telling who is writing and by naming the addressee. Then, Paul greets his readers. Paul's greeting is worshipful. His greeting does not come from himself - it comes from God in Christ.