In verse 14 Paul resolves...
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In verse 14 Paul resolves not to boast of anything except the cross of Christ. To boast of Christ's crucifixion? How such words must have caused his readers' minds to reel! We today have lost our awareness of the brutality and sheer horror of execution on a cross. Even traditional Christian artwork sterilizes and softens the act of crucifixion. In reality the victim is stripped naked, his wrists are nailed to a beam of wood, and he is hung in a prominent place beside a busy roadway for everyone to see. The initial reactions of the victim include shock and the loss of bladder and bowel functions. Death may not silence his piteous cries until two or three days have passed. A pastor in Philadelphia, concerned that his congregation was blind to the nature of crucifixion, placed a hideous electric chair on the altar where a gold cross normally sat. The congregation was furious. Many of the members were relieved a short time later when this pastor left that church. For Paul, the most heinous form of punishment, as endured by Jesus, has been transformed into a means of salvation for the world. -- Bristow
