The Passion of Jesus Christ by John Piper

Jesus himself said things that only make sense if he was both God and man. In other words, he expects to reign at God's right hand and someday come back to earth in glory. Then he adds words that explain how a crucified Christ can reign as the King of Israel: 'You will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven' ( Mark 14:62). He said it openly at the very moment when it was least likely to be credible. But here was Jesus about to be crucified, saying openly what he had pointed toward so often during his ministry: I am the Messiah, the king of Israel. The Messiah was expected to be powerful and glorious. When asked, 'Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed ?' Jesus said, 'I am.' It was an almost incredible claim. The passion of Jesus Christ was unique because he was one of a kind. But I would not want to minimize the horrors of others who died gruesomely. The uniqueness is not necessarily in the length or intensity of the physical pain. The Christian answer is that the passion of Jesus Christ was absolutely unique, and his resurrection from the dead three days later was an act of God to vindicate what his death achieved. How could it be that a convicted, condemned, executed pretender to the throne of Rome would unleash in the next three centuries a power to suffer and to love that shaped the empire? This is the greatest thing Christ died for.If Christians were not so familiar with these things because of 2000 years of tradition and liturgy, they might feel how utterly unlikely it was that this death would be the basis of a world-transforming faith. Indeed it is folly not to.īut the evidence that we have been changed is that we want these things because they bring us to the enjoyment of God. You don't need to be born again to want these things.

All these things are understandable without any spiritual change. It doesn't take a new heart to want the psychological relief of forgiveness, or the removal of God's wrath, or the inheritance of God's world.

That's a perfectly natural desire, not a supernatural one. There is no sure evidence that we have a new heart just because we want to escape hell. Many people seem to embrace the good news without embracing God. Redemption is not good news if it only liberates us from bondage but doesn't bring us to God.Īdoption is not good news if it only puts us in the Father's family but not in his arms.

Justification is not good news if it only makes us legally acceptable to God but doesn't bring fellowship with God. Salvation is not good news if it only saves from hell and not for God.įorgiveness is not good news if it only gives relief from guilt and doesn't open the way to God. All the words of the gospel lead to him, or they are not gospel.

“What is the ultimate good in the good news? It all ends in one thing: God himself.

The Passion of Jesus Christ by John Piper