by Zach Roll

It’s a Tricky Thing.

You can listen to today’s devotion by clicking on this SoundCloud link. 

“For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.”

1 Corinthians 2:2 English Standard Version

Here in America, our culture puts a huge emphasis on education and knowledge. The amount of knowledge a person has, or the type of knowledge you have in a particular career, often carries with it a measure of what we are worth as people.

It is not simply good enough that we graduate high school. We are often told that we need a bachelor’s degree, then a master’s degree, and then a doctorate. Today some would even argue that knowledge, and education, is more an indicator of success than your career choice, or monetary success.

Knowledge can be a big deal.

On the surface then, it would appear that Paul’s declaration in First Corinthians, “know nothing among you except Christ and him crucified,” seems to be a laughable and ignorant statement. Do you mean to tell me that you don’t care to know anything else in the world besides Christ and him crucified? Why would Paul say that? Paul was someone who really dug into theology, in his epistles, and had such a way of writing as to draw you into what he had to say. Why would he make such a declaration?

Paul knows that the truth of Christianity utterly depends, and hinges, on the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. If Christ did not truly die then our sins were not accounted for at the cross. If Christ did not really rise again then our hope in everlasting life is in vain. His statement is a realization that as believers we can have all the knowledge in the whole world, but our entire hope, faith, and joy depends completely and solely in the victory of Christ over death in his crucifixion and resurrection.

Without the forgiveness of sins and the hope of spending eternal life in communion with God, all of the knowledge that we possess is ultimately worthless vanity. Christ is risen! Alleluia!

Copyright Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado