I Corinthians 1:23 · Bible study
1 Corinthians 1:23 Commentary: The Cross
Greek · 9 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
Why the cross offends Jews and seems absurd to Greeks, and how this paradox reveals God's wisdom and the nature of faith.
Research Summary
- Meaning: Paul intentionally proclaims a crucified Messiah, knowing it will scandalize Jews and seem absurd to Greeks, because this paradox reveals God's true wisdom and power.
- Key words: κηρύσσομεν (preach as a herald with authority), ἐσταυρωμένον (crucified, perfect passive participle: a completed state with ongoing significance), σκάνδαλον (stumbling block, trap), μωρία (foolishness, absurdity).
- Main debate: Whether Paul is describing the universal human condition (everyone is either a 'Jew' or a 'Greek' in their approach to God) or only two specific cultural responses.
- Theological theme: The cross as the center of God's saving plan, overturning human categories of strength and wisdom; the theology of the cross (theologia crucis).
- Best use: Teaching on the counter-cultural nature of the gospel, evangelism in skeptical contexts, and the danger of making the message palatable.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles,
WEB World English Bible 2000
but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Greeks,
KJV King James Version 1769
But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness;
ASV American Standard Version 1901
but we preach Christ crucified, unto Jews a stumblingblock, and unto Gentiles foolishness;
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
also we--we preach Christ crucified, to Jews, indeed, a stumbling-block, and to Greeks foolishness,
Darby Darby Bible 1890
but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews an offence, and to nations foolishness;
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
But we preach Christ crucified: unto the Jews indeed a stumblingblock, and unto the Gentiles foolishness:
Translations in other languages (10 available)
Mas nosotros predicamos á Cristo crucificado, á los Judíos ciertamente tropezadero, y á los Gentiles locura;
Mas nós pregamos a Cristo crucificado, que é escândalo para os Judeus, e loucura para os gregos.
nous, nous prêchons Christ crucifié; scandale pour les Juifs et folie pour les païens,
wir aber predigen den gekreuzigten Christus, den Juden ein Ärgernis und den Griechen eine Torheit;
Doch wij prediken Christus, den Gekruisigde, den Joden wel een ergernis, en den Grieken een dwaasheid;
ma noi predichiamo Cristo crocifisso, che per i Giudei è scandalo, e per i Gentili, pazzia;
Ale my każemy Chrystusa ukrzyżowanego, Żydom wprawdzie zgorszenie, a Grekom głupstwo;
а мы проповедуем Христа распятого, для Иудеев соблазн, а для Еллинов безумие,
我們 卻 是傳 釘十字架 的基督，在猶太人 為 絆腳石， 在外邦人 為愚拙；
But we give the good news of Christ on the cross, a hard thing to the Jews, and a foolish thing to the Gentiles;
Verse in Context
Original Language (Koine Greek)
New Testament · Koine Greek · I Corinthians 1:23
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
The commentators agree that Paul's preaching of a crucified Messiah stands in direct opposition to the cultural expectations of both Jews and Greeks. Barnes notes that the emphasis falls on the word crucified, a scandalous claim that the anointed Messiah died by Rome's most shameful execution. Cambridge Bible observes that Jews wanted a triumphant king, Greeks wanted a clever philosopher, and the cross gave neither. The Greek perfect participle ἐσταυρωμένον indicates a completed act with ongoing significance: Christ is permanently the crucified one. Adam Clarke points to contemporary Jewish sources calling Jesus contemptuously 'the man that was hanged.' Gill adds that the cross seemed ridiculous to Greeks: salvation through a cursed criminal defied reason. Yet Paul and his companions continued to preach exactly this as the power of God, regardless of the mockery. The unanimity across Wesley, Gill, Barnes, and the Geneva Bible is striking: the cross is deliberately unimpressive by human standards, and that is precisely the point.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Medium
Main views:
- Cultural-expectations view: Jews wanted a conquering king with signs (v. 22); Greeks wanted logical wisdom. The cross shattered both expectations, causing rejection.
- Providential-hardening view: God intentionally made the cross a stumbling block and foolishness to fulfill Isaiah 8:14 and to reveal human blindness. Those called receive it as power.
What is clear: The preaching of Christ crucified deliberately provokes rejection from both Jewish and Greek audiences, and this rejection highlights the radical difference between divine and human ways of thinking.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| Audience identification: Jews and Greeks vs. Jews and Gentiles | Paul contrasts two broad groups: Jews, who demand signs, and non-Jews (Greeks/Gentiles), who seek wisdom. | Some manuscripts read 'Greeks' (Ἕλλησιν) while others read 'Gentiles' (ἔθνεσιν). The difference is minimal, Greeks represent the cultured Gentile world, but some argue Paul specifically targets Greek philosophical culture, while others see a general reference to all non-Jewish peoples. |
| Meaning of 'stumbling block' (σκάνδαλον) | The word refers to something that causes offense, rejection, or a fall. It is used in the Septuagint for a trap or obstacle (Isaiah 8:14). | Some commentators (e.g., Barnes) emphasize the emotional reaction of irritation and anger; others (e.g., Cambridge) focus on the cognitive dissonance of a suffering Messiah. All agree it provokes rejection. |
| Role of the cross in God's plan | The cross is central to salvation and reveals God's wisdom, even though it appears weak and foolish to human eyes. | Some traditions (Reformed) emphasize that the cross is a stumbling block that reveals human depravity and the need for grace. Others (Wesleyan/Arminian) stress that the cross demonstrates God's love and calls for a free response of faith. Both affirm the cross as essential. |
| Nature of 'preaching' (κηρύσσομεν) | Preaching is authoritative proclamation, not philosophical debate or rhetorical persuasion. | Some (e.g., Lange) see a contrast with Greek rhetorical techniques, arguing Paul deliberately avoids 'wisdom of words.' Others argue that Paul still uses reasoned argument elsewhere (Acts 17), but the core content must remain the cross. |
Historical & Cultural Context
First-century Judaism expected a Messiah who would liberate Israel from Roman oppression and establish a glorious earthly kingdom. This hope rested on prophecies like Isaiah 9:6-7 and Daniel 2:44, with no room for a suffering servant who died by crucifixion, a punishment the Law itself pronounced 'cursed' (Deuteronomy 21:23). Jews demanded confirming signs to authenticate a messenger (1 Corinthians 1:22), and a man dying helplessly on a cross was the opposite of a sign of divine favor. The Jewish philosopher Trypho, quoted by Justin Martyr, voiced this outrage: 'How can you place your hopes upon a man that was crucified?'
Greek culture, especially in Corinth, prized rhetorical skill, philosophical argument, and the pursuit of wisdom. Crucifixion was reserved for slaves, rebels, and the lowest criminals; the idea that the Son of God could suffer such a death was not just improbable but intellectually absurd. Barnes and Cambridge point out that Greeks would dismiss the story as a silly fable, the term μωρία, 'foolishness,' suggests something utterly devoid of sense. To worship a crucified man was, in the words of the pagan critic Celsus, 'the folly of the cross.'
The church in Corinth was fracturing over loyalties to different teachers (1 Corinthians 1:10-12), and some members were drawn to eloquent speakers who made the gospel sound sophisticated. Paul counters by framing his preaching as intentionally weak by Corinthian standards. The cross, he insists, is God's chosen method, not despite its offence but because of it.
Textual Notes
The supplied sources note a textual variant in the second half of the verse. The oldest Greek manuscripts, including P⁴⁶ and Codex Sinaiticus, read 'to Gentiles' (ἔθνεσιν) rather than 'to Greeks' (Ἕλλησιν). The Vulgate and Oriental versions also support 'Gentiles.' The Byzantine text and some later manuscripts read 'Greeks.' The difference is minor in meaning, Paul likely uses 'Greeks' to represent the broader Gentile world, especially educated Gentile culture, but the variant suggests that early scribes understood Paul to be addressing non-Jewish peoples in general, not only ethnic Greeks. No other significant variants are recorded in the consulted sources.
Reception History
The early church seized on this verse as a defense against pagan mockery. Justin Martyr, in his Dialogue with Trypho, records the Jews' contempt for a crucified Messiah, while Tatian and Tertullian similarly answered Greek charges of irrationality by embracing the 'foolishness' as divine wisdom. Origen wrote that the cross exposes the emptiness of human learning.
During the Reformation, Martin Luther made this verse a cornerstone of his 'theology of the cross' (theologia crucis), contrasting it with the 'theology of glory' that seeks God through power and visible success. Luther insisted that God is truly known only in the humility and suffering of the cross.
In modern times, Søren Kierkegaard used the verse to highlight the 'offense' of the Incarnation and the demand for a leap of faith. Missionaries have also drawn strength from the pattern: the gospel often gains no foothold by appearing attractive, yet it saves those who believe.
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- The contrast of the message: While Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, Paul and his fellow preachers proclaim 'Christ crucified' (v. 23). The content and method are deliberately set against human preferences.
- The double rejection: The cross is a stumbling block (σκάνδαλον) to Jews, it trips up their messianic expectations and offends their religious sensibilities. To Greeks it is foolishness (μωρία), it fails every test of logical or philosophical credibility.
- The hidden wisdom of God: The paradox is resolved only for 'those who are called' (v. 24), who recognize in the crucified Christ both the power and the wisdom of God. What looks like weakness is stronger than human strength.
Five-point outline
- Introduction: Paul's defense of his preaching style and its content (v. 17).
- Human expectations exposed: Jews look for spectacular signs; Greeks look for logical arguments (v. 22).
- The apostolic counter-program: 'We preach Christ crucified', the exact opposite of both expectations (v. 23).
- The offense: To Jews, the cross is a rock they trip over; to Greeks, it's a story too absurd to believe.
- The call to faith: For those whom God calls, this same crucified Christ becomes the power and wisdom of God, overturning human categories (vv. 24-25).
Illustration hooks
- A job applicant who boasts about his greatest failure rather than his successes. That is essentially Paul's posture: 'Here is my resume: a crucified Messiah.'
- Two friends arguing over a film: one wants action and spectacle, the other wants intellectual depth. The gospel offers neither, it offers a cross, and both walk away disappointed.
- The social stigma of being linked to a scandalous event. Imagine a politician whose campaign revolves around the most embarrassing moment in their party's history. Paul makes the cross the only platform.
Questions your congregation is asking
- Why does God choose a method that seems so weak and ineffective to the world?
- How do I handle people who think Christian faith is intellectually absurd?
- What does it mean for my own life to 'preach Christ crucified' in a culture that values power and success?
Leading a Discussion
This verse stands at the center of Paul's argument that God's ways are not human ways. It challenges our instinct to make the gospel attractive by worldly standards. As you discuss it, pay attention to where you feel the same offence or dismissal that Paul describes.
Discussion questions
- What does the word 'crucified' add to Paul's proclamation? Why does he insist on this word when he could have simply said 'Christ'?
- Why was the cross a 'stumbling block' (σκάνδαλον) for Jews? Think about the expectations they had for the Messiah.
- Why did Greeks consider the cross 'foolishness'? What kind of wisdom were they seeking instead?
- In what ways do people today still demand 'signs' or 'wisdom' before they will take the gospel seriously?
- How might your own church or community be tempted to soften the offense of the cross in order to attract people?
- Paul says 'we preach Christ crucified', he keeps preaching even when it fails by every human measure. What keeps you going when the gospel seems to get no response?
- Verse 24 says that to 'those who are called,' Christ is power and wisdom. How has your own perspective on the cross changed from seeing it as foolish or offensive to seeing it as God's power?
Word Study
The key original-language words in this verse. Select any word for its full lexicon entry — meaning, every occurrence in Scripture, and related words.
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| Isaiah 8:14 | He will be a sanctuary, but for both houses of Israel, he will be a stumbling stone and a rock that makes them fall. For the people of Jerusalem, he will be a trap and a snare. |
| Isaiah 8:15 | Many will stumble over it, fall, be broken, be snared, and be captured.” |
| Matthew 11:6 | Blessed is he who finds no occasion for stumbling in me.” |
| Matthew 13:57 | They were offended by him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor, except in his own country and in his own house.” |
| Luke 2:34 | Simeon blessed them, and said to Mary, his mother, “Behold, this child is appointed for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and for a sign which is spoken against. |
| Luke 24:46 | He said to them, “Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, |
| Luke 24:47 | and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name to all the nations, beginning at Jerusalem. |
| John 6:53 | Jesus therefore said to them, “Most certainly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you don’t have life in yourselves. |
Interlinear and lexical data from STEPBible (CC BY 4.0). Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
Read the devotional page — prayer, application, and "for families"
What the Commentators Say
7 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Adam Clarke's Commentary Methodist/Wesleyan 1826
Clarke explains that Jews rejected Christ because He came in meekness instead of as a conquering prince, making Him a stumbling block. Greeks saw preaching salvation through a crucified criminal as utterly irrational, calling it foolishness. He illustrates both responses with contemporary Jewish and Greek writings.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible Protestant 1832
Barnes stresses that the apostles deliberately highlight the word “crucified” because they boast in a Messiah who died as an atoning sacrifice, not merely a moral teacher. To Jews this crucified Messiah dashed their political hopes and provoked offense; to Greeks it appeared sheer folly. The cross, he argues, must mean substitutionary atonement, not mere martyrdom.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
The commentary stresses that Christian preaching was the opposite of what Jews and Greeks wanted. Instead of a conquering King or a clever philosopher, preachers spoke of a condemned criminal whose only argument was His life and death. This made Christ crucified a stumbling block to Jews and nonsense to Greeks.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
But wee preach Christ crucified: vnto the Iewes, euen a stumbling blocke, and vnto the Grecians, foolishnesse:
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill details why the crucified Christ provoked such strong reactions: Jews were offended that their expected eternal Messiah would die a cursed death, while Greeks mocked the notion of salvation through shame and weakness. For both groups, the very idea contradicted their deepest assumptions about how God should work.
Matthew Henry's Commentary Reformed/Presbyterian 1710
Henry stresses that Paul avoided eloquent human wisdom because fine speech would drain the cross of its power. God deliberately works through what seems foolish and weak—the preaching of a crucified Christ—so that no person can boast in themselves, only in the Lord.
Wesley's Explanatory Notes Methodist/Wesleyan 1754
Wesley observes that the preaching of Christ crucified is deliberately plain and historical, not rhetorical or philosophical. This approach stands directly opposed to the Jews' demand for signs and the Greeks' search for wisdom, leaving the message a stumbling block to one and foolishness to the other.