The Cross to Jews, Gentiles and Christians

First of all, then, we must know that the teaching of the cross is not seen in the same light by everyone. It is one thing to the Gentiles, another to the Jews, and another to Christians. As the apostle says, “We preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block, to the Gentiles foolishness, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.” And in the same place: “For the preaching of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to those who are being saved,” that is, to us, it is “the power of God.” The Jews, who had been taught from the law that Christ would remain forever, took offense at his cross, because they were unwilling to believe in his resurrection. To the Gentiles it seemed foolishness that God should have submitted to death, because they did not know the mystery of the Incarnation. But Christians, who had accepted his birth and suffering in the flesh and his resurrection from the dead, naturally believed that it was the power of God that had overcome death. [a]

First, then, hear how this very thing is declared in prophecy by Isaiah: that the Jews, to whom the prophets had foretold these things, would not believe, but that those who had never heard them from the prophets would believe them. “Those to whom he was not proclaimed will see, and those who have not heard will understand.” This same Isaiah also foretells that, while those who had been busy with the study of the law from childhood to old age did not believe, every mystery would be passed on to the Gentiles. His words are: “And the Lord of hosts will make a feast on this mountain for all the nations. They will drink joy, they will drink wine, they will be anointed with ointment on this mountain. Hand all these things over to the nations.” This was the counsel of the Almighty concerning all the nations. But those who boast of their knowledge of the law will perhaps say to us, “You blaspheme when you say that the Lord was subjected to the decay of death and to the suffering of the cross.” Then read what you find written in the Lamentations of Jeremiah: “The Spirit of our face, Christ the Lord, was taken in our corruptions, of whom we said, ‘We will live under his shadow among the nations.’” You hear how the prophet says that Christ the Lord was taken, and delivered to corruption for us, that is, for our sins. Under his shadow, he says, the Gentiles lie, since the Jewish people have remained in unbelief; for we live not in Israel but among the Gentiles.