²⁰ “You are saying some rather strange things, and we want to know what it’s all about.”

⁴ Of course, your former friends are surprised when you no longer plunge into the flood of wild and destructive things they do. So they slander you.

¹⁴ But people who aren’t spiritual^[a] can’t receive these truths from God’s Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them and they can’t understand it, for only those who are spiritual can understand what the Spirit means.

²³ So when we preach that Christ was crucified, the Jews are offended and the Gentiles say it’s all nonsense.

The Wisdom of God

¹⁸ The message of the cross is foolish to those who are headed for destruction! But we who are being saved know it is the very power of God.

A Call to Spiritual Growth

¹¹ There is much more we would like to say about this, but it is difficult to explain, especially since you are spiritually dull and don’t seem to listen.

¹⁷ Peter was very perplexed. What could the vision mean? Just then the men sent by Cornelius found Simon’s house. Standing outside the gate,

¹² They stood there amazed and perplexed. “What can this mean?” they asked each other.

³⁵ The Jewish leaders were puzzled by this statement. “Where is he planning to go?” they asked. “Is he thinking of leaving the country and going to the Jews in other lands?^[a] Maybe he will even teach the Greeks! ³⁶ What does he mean when he says, ‘You will search for me but not find me,’ and ‘You cannot go where I am going’?”