Knowing Jesus

Knowing Jesus

Choosing Gospel Single-Mindedness

For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.   1 Corinthians 2:2

A favorite wind-down ritual for me after work is thirty minutes of Jeopardy.  I know a fair amount of trivial information but Jeopardy is relaxing to me.  Relaxing because if I ever was getting too big for my own brain britches, I can just witness three contestants each prove how little I really know.  A humbling thirty minute exercise.

I’m guessing if the apostle Paul were on the ancient near East’s version of Jeopardy, he would’ve blown away most of the competition.  His quick wit, ivy-league education and love for getting things just right would have scored him a place in the hall of champions.  And prior to knowing Jesus, watching a show like Jeopardy wouldn’t have humbled him, it would have fueled him.  Be better.  Try harder.  Know more.  Be the best.

It was a treadmill of gaining knowledge in order to gain credibility in order to gain favor in order to gain people’s approval who would say, after witnessing Paul’s theological prowess, this was a man who knows all things God.  

And Paul was humbled along the road.  Humbled to see, ironically through a period of blindness, there was One who knew more and knew better and knew Paul better than he knew himself.  Jesus Christ, the One who was the answer to everything Paul had been studying throughout the course of His entire life.  Paul’s pride got in the way of knowing the answer was Jesus.  

God’s kindness made a way for Paul to finally see that every piece of his decades of knowledge was pointing to the person and work of Jesus.  And as Paul writes to the Corinthian church, who is incredible proud and puffed up as to how cutting-edge and knowledgeable they are at doing church, he says “I decided” to know nothing except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.  

Making a decision to know nothing except Jesus Christ doesn’t denounce the accumulation of knowledge.  It instead announces that any knowledge that doesn’t point to the source, the purpose, the reason for knowledge -  God and His love to rescue broken, sinful people - is not worth knowing.  

We live in a world where most any piece of knowledge is at our fingertips in a nanosecond.  But where has it led us?  To a better world?  A place of finally getting right what has been wrong all these many years?  No.  Without the gospel of Jesus Christ, no amount of knowing will change the course of any human’s history.  

Father, may we make decisions today and particularly this Lenten season to decide to know nothing except Jesus and His cross so our view of the world will change and the world will change because of our view of the world through the lens of the gospel.  Amen.

Thoughts for reflection:

What were you taught about knowledge?  Why did people say you needed to learn things?

How has a knowledge of Jesus Christ and His work on the cross made sense of the rest of your life?

What might intentionally deciding to know Christ and His cross this season look like?