Jew or Greek?
Which am I? Jew or Greek? In St. Paul’s epistle to the early Christians in Corinth, Greece, he issued them a friendly reminder not to get caught up in the arguments or political factions of their day. Corinth was a port city and, therefore, a melting pot of Jews, Greeks, Romans and, now, some of the first Christian converts.
One can see how debates and factions could arise from such a variety of schools of thought. Sound familiar?
Paul also pointed out two important distinctions as to why some found it hard to accept Christianity: The Jews demanded miracles (proof) and the Greeks/Pagans scoffed and ridiculed (1 Cor 1:17-25).
Pride and Prejudice
But why did they demand proof and scoff?
The Jews who refused faith in Christ saw Him as a threat to their power, and therefore, He was offensive to them because He exposed their pride.
The scoffing Greeks who worshipped luxury, comfort and superficial human philosophies, dismissed the Christian converts as crazy and foolish. Christians annoyed and offended them because they exposed the deficiencies in their own way of life, which was self-serving.
So the obstacle for the Jews was pride, and for the Greeks/pagans, prejudice.
Primacy of God’s power and wisdom
Ingeniously, in his letter to the Corinthians, Paul exposed their obstacles to accepting Christ by pointing out what displaces Christ: the Jews’ worship of power, and the Greeks’ worship of self.
So, that brings us back to the original question: Am I a Jew or a Greek? Sometimes, I am both at once!
Paul concludes his point by hitting them square in the eye with:
“…whether they are Jews or Greeks, a Christ who is the power and the wisdom of God. For God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength.”
1 Cor 1:25
He replaced what they worship (power and human wisdom) with Jesus Christ, who is power (replacing their pride) and wisdom (replacing their selfishness) itself, because He is God. No wonder Paul was imprisoned, beaten and almost stoned to death.
