A collection of exegetical, historical, and theological essays on Paul's letters, including reception history and comparative readings in conversation with other texts. This collection of Jonathan Linebaugh's most important work on Paul explores the merciful surprise at the heart of Paul's gospel: a grace that, while strange and weak in worldly terms, is nothing less than the power of God, full of comfort and promise. Through twelve essays--two of them new--Linebaugh contextualizes and interprets key Pauline passages, does comparative readings of Paul in conversation with early Jewish texts, and enters into dialogue with Reformation theologians such as Martin Luther and Thomas Cranmer.  Thorough and multifaceted, Linebaugh's work is at once exegetical, historical, and theological in scope. Accordingly, The Word of the Cross is a rigorous scholarly enterprise that takes seriously Paul's claim that the good news of Jesus Christ, despite appearing scandalous and foolish, in fact contradicts and overcomes the conditions of the possible through the power of God.