1 Corinthians 1:17-25
Chapter 1
The message of the cross remains foolishness to those who are perishing. But to us who are being saved, it is the power of God,
as scripture says:
I will destroy
the wisdom of the wise
nd frustrate
the intelligence of the intelligent.
Where is the wise person? Where is the scribe? Where is the speaker of this age? Hasn’t God made the wisdom of the world foolish?
Initially, God spoke the language of wisdom, and the world did not recognize God through wisdom. Then God chose, through the foolishness of what we preach, to save those who believe.
The Jews seek miracles, and the Greeks seek wisdom,
while we proclaim Christ crucified, a great scandal for the Jews and foolishness to Gentiles!
But he is Christ, the power of God and the wisdom of God, for those called by God among both Jews and Gentiles.
The foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength.
Commentaries
Discord in Corinth.
After this dense and systematic introduction, Paul gets straight to the central issue in the community: divisions and rivalries, ongoing problems for the Church of God throughout the ages. Paul doesn’t detail the divisions, but the tone of the letter makes the allusion clear: discrimination and differences among rich Christians (some) and poor Christians (the majority); slaves and free people; women and men; educated (some) and uneducated (the majority); charismatic and conservative; Jews and Greeks; public sinners and honest people. Christ and the Church are linked in such a way (cf. 12:27) that divisions within the Church are as foolish as if Christ were divided.
The Message of the Cross.
We enter the most critical section of the letter, where Paul, who has previously said his primary mission is to evangelize, explains what his gospel truly is—the message he proclaims as Christ’s ambassador. It is no exaggeration to say that this is one of the key texts of the entire New Testament, which will then validate or undermine everything we think, write, say, or do in God’s name throughout history. His message is the cross of Jesus. Through a series of bold and powerful contrasts, Paul brings us closer to the mystery of Christ crucified: “scandal” for the Jews who expect a triumphant Christ; “Foolishness” for the Greeks who seek and rely on reason and wisdom. Paul presents to the Corinthians—and to us—the project that Jesus announced in the synagogue of Nazareth (cf. Lk 4:14-21).