And I, brethren, if I yet preach circumcision, why do I yet suffer persecution? then is the offence of the cross ceased. Galatians 5:11
Apostle Paul was falsely reported by his Jewish opponents to be an advocate of circumcision and the forms that came with it. And by those very same opponents – the actual preachers of circumcision – he was persecuted. But why?
Knowing by experience that they could not refute the cross he preached, the unbelieving Jews – perhaps taking occasion by the circumcision of Timothy at Paul’s direction – sought to make Paul out to be uncertain and inconsistent. But underneath this sleight, the Jews were moved by their offence to the cross Paul preached.
The cross is deeply offensive to those who view their life and character as correct, as the bleeding Victim nailed upon it testifies that our lives and characters are gravely incorrect. Turning from the sight, the offended one attempts to recommend himself to God and his fellow man by good works. Thus, the unbelieving Jews, having rejected the Lamb of God, rigorously clung in defiance to the shadows and types that prefigured Him.
Demonstrating faith in the cross of Christ four millennia before, ‘Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous’ (Hebrews 11:4). As did Cain, the unbelieving Jews keenly felt that God ‘had not respect’ unto them or the dead forms they offered Him, and their countenances fell (Genesis 4:5). But rather than being healed by it, they were offended by the offering Christ made for them. In an attempt to justify themselves, they persecuted, lied about, and even sought to kill Paul because his life witnessed that he was righteous and accepted of God.
Indeed, anyone who refuses to humble themselves at the foot of the cross will be offended by it. While God compels no man to accept His free gift, the refusal of it opens the door to the jealous rage of Satan, who forcibly conscripts the unrepentant into his ranks. There is no neutrality to any who were born into this great controversy.
Christopher Sparks