Preaching Christ and Him Crucified

by Mathew Block

“For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.” – 1 Corinthians 1:22-24

So writes St. Paul to the congregation in Corinth. And down through the ages, the Church—so long as it remains faithful to her Lord—must proclaim the same. “We preach Christ crucified.” Jesus Christ, the Son of God, entered this world to bear our sin and die in our place. And through His resurrection, He grants us new life and assures us of eternal life with Him in heaven. All of this comes to us as a gift, received by grace through faith and not by works (Ephesians 2:8-9)—a gift won for us by Jesus at the cross. 

This is what it means to “preach Christ crucified.” This is the Gospel, the very heart of what we believe, teach, and confess as Christians. Whatever other ministry and work we might engage in as the Church, this must remain the centre from which all else flows. “For I decided to know nothing among you,” St. Paul writes to the Corinthians, “except Jesus Christ and Him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2). 

In fact, the entire Bible—and not just the New Testament—was written to proclaim Christ. Referring to the Scriptures of the Old Testament, Jesus said: “It is they that bear witness about Me” (John 5:39). Likewise, the resurrected Christ explained to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus how “all the Scriptures”—from Moses through the Prophets—testify to Him (Luke 24:27). And if Jesus is the central testimony of all Scripture, why would Christians today ever proclaim anything else but Him crucified? 

This is what it means to “preach Christ crucified.” This is the Gospel, the very heart of what we believe, teach, and confess as Christians. Whatever other ministry and work we might engage in as the Church, this must remain the centre from which all else flows.

But of course, not all people accept the message of the Gospel. As we read at the beginning of this article, the Gospel was opposed in St. Paul’s time by many Greeks who considered the message of the cross mere foolishness. Likewise, many Jews opposed the Gospel, demanding miraculous signs on their own terms—as if a greater sign than the death and resurrection of the Son of God could be offered! 

Nor was resistance to the Gospel restricted to those outside the Church. Even among those who claimed to follow Jesus there was confusion about the Gospel. Surely there must be more to it, they said, than Jesus dying to save us from our sins! Surely we must need to keep certain rules on our part, do certain works, in order to truly be saved! They preached, in other words, a different “gospel,” one based on works-righteousness—“not that there is another” Gospel,” St. Paul is clear, “but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the Gospel of Christ” (Galatians 1:7).

That temptation to distort the Gospel of Christ has continued down through the centuries. In Martin Luther’s day, for example, church authorities taught that our good works are necessary to merit eternal life—a teaching which obscured the good news that we are justified by grace alone through faith alone thanks to Christ’s death and resurrection. It is always necessary, therefore, for the Church to continually ask itself: are we preaching Christ and Him crucified? Are we centering our faith and hope in Jesus, who is alone the “one thing… necessary” (Luke 10:42)? 

The Lutheran tradition was born out of a renewed focus on the Gospel, and through the grace of God, the Gospel has remained the heart of confessional Lutheran witness in Word and Sacrament to this very day. We desire to know, we desire to preach nothing but Christ and Him crucified. In this issue, we reflect on that Lutheran witness to the Gospel. Robin Dalloo reflects on how Lutheran teaching on justification drew him to the Lutheran Church. We hear also from Luther himself, with an article on the Gospel drawn from his House Postils. Rev. Dr. James Kellerman, meanwhile, notes the 500^th anniversary of Luther’s book The Bondage of the Will, explaining the work’s significance for our understanding of God’s grace. And LCC President Timothy Teuscher discusses the continuing significance of the 95 Theses for us as we proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ today. 

Lord Jesus Christ, You have given the Church the privilege to share the Gospel with a broken and hostile world. Send Your Holy Spirit to prepare and encourage us for this work. Raise up for us faithful ministers to proclaim the Gospel in Word and Sacrament. And kindle in all of us a heart to share the good news of Christ with friends, family, and neighbours—inviting them to “come and see” Jesus and Him crucified. Amen.

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Mathew Block is editor of The Canadian Lutheran and the Communications Manager of the International Lutheran Council.

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