I know nothing except Christ and Him crucified. That came to mind recently. In 1 Corinthians 2:2, Paul said, “I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.” Just before that, Paul said, “…we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to the Jews and foolishness to the Gentiles.” To me, the significance of the word ‘crucified’ is that it highlights Christ’s supernatural work and divine identity. His crucifixion was a vehicle for His ultimate victory and yet it defied all conventional expectations about how a messianic figure should instate His kingdom. He multiplied His influence while dying broke and childless with only a small band of disciples. Take a look at Isaiah 56:3-5. People who have no natural way are supernaturally given one. It’s the Sarah-and-Abraham kind of theme that recurs in the old testament. And it’s like that with us, Galatians 4:21-31 affirms that we are children of promise, not the flesh, which is a metaphor for the conventional, limited, human thinking.
See also:
Andrew K. Banks 