“Jews demand signs and Greeks search for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.” vs22-24

Christ will only be the wisdom and the power of God to those who are called. Everyone else will despise the gospel.

First, the Jews are looking for a sign, when the greatest miracle has been given already. Christ is risen from the dead to verify His truth. He is proven to be the Son of God by the prophecies that He fulfilled, including Isaiah 53. His teaching shows His power, and the resurrection verifies that He put away sins.

Christ is the miraculous, but when He was on earth, they looked for manna from heaven and despised all that He did [John 6:32-36]. They walked by sight instead of faith, trusted themselves, and rejected God’s salvation.

The Greeks and Gentiles seek after wisdom. We like impressive men with persuasive speech. We like to be wowed, entertained, and to admire human flesh. Yet, the greatest wisdom has been given, which is Christ and Him crucified - the message of God’s salvation, how He can be just and justify the ungodly.

He put away sins by taking them unto Himself. Whoever heard of imputed righteousness in the Gentile world, until Paul explained it - how our sins were laid on Christ, and we are justified by faith?

Look at the Surety Engagement of our Lord Jesus, when He was made responsible for the sheep, even as Judah assumed responsibility for Benjamin [Gen 44:30-34]. The salvation of God’s elect depended on the Shepherd, and He “obtained eternal redemption,” paying the holy price with His blood. Now, salvation is gauranteed, and the Spirit comes to enlighten the sheep to His irristable call.

This irrisistable call, thirdly, is what you and I must have. We will die in our sins otherwise, counting the gospel as nothing. We’ll give it lip service and live for something else, unless God supernaturally draws us. But, when He does, we see the power and glory of Christ.

We see all of the wisdom that we need, and marvel at Christ in all of the Scriptures. We have it the inheritance, not because we are wise and strong, but God’s mercy marked us, sought us out, and then brought us to Himself. He did not let us perish in His sovereinty! He decided that we’d be saved, and now we hear His voice!