the scandal of the cross

“The claim that God is to be encountered and salvation found in a crucified man — a man stripped of all status and honor, dehumanized, the lowest of the low — is the offense of the cross. This is the real scandal of particularity — not just that God’s universal purpose pivots on one particular human being . . ., but, much worse, that God’s universal purpose pivots on this particular human being, the crucified one. No wonder the rulers of this age did not recognize him (1 Corinthians 2:8). For those who see God in the image of their own power and status there could be no recognition of God in the cross.”

~ Richard Bauckham, Bible and Mission (Grand Rapids, Mi.: Baker Academic, 2003), 52.

HT:FE

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