A Cross Poem by DA Carson

On that wretched day the soldiers mocked him,
Raucous laughter in a barracks room,
"Hail the king!" they sneered, while spitting on him,
Brutal beatings on this day of gloom.
Though his crown was thorn, he was born a king-
Holy brilliance bathed in bleeding loss-
All the soldiers blind to this stunning theme:
Jesus reigning from a cursed cross.

Awful weakness mars the battered God-man,
Far too broken now to hoist the beam.
Soldiers strip him bare and pound the nails in,
Watch him hanging on the cruel tree.
God's own temple's down! He has been destroyed!
Death's remains are laid in rock and sod.
But the temple rises in God's wise ploy:
Our great temple is the Son of God.

"Here's the one who says he cares for others,
One who says he came to save the lost.
How can we believe that he saves others
When he can't get off that bloody cross?
Let him save himself! Let him come down now!" -
Savage jeering at the King's disgrace.
But by hanging there is precisely how
Christ saves others as the King of grace.

Draped in darkness, utterly rejected,
Crying, "Why have you forsaken me?"
Jesus bears God's wrath alone, dejected-
Weeps the bitt'rest tears instead of me.
All the mockers cry, "He has lost his trust!
He's defeated by hypocrisy!"
But with faith's resolve, Jesus knows he must
Do God's will and swallow death for me. 

(From Carson’s book, Scandalous, pp. 36-37)

Carson on Matthew

Mark Dever tweeted this about Carson's Matthew commentary:

"If I could only have one commentary in my library, it would be Don Carson's commentary on Matthew."

The God Who is There

I've never met a DA Carson resource I didn't like. His new one looks helpful and God-centered.

The Cross and Christian Ministry

DA Carson's The Cross and Christian Ministry is must reading for all Christian leaders. This book is basically an exposition of the first 4 chapters of 1 Corinthians. Carson shows how the Cross of Jesus Christ must be the content and method of our preaching and ministry. The Cross stands as the test and standard of all vital Christian ministry.

In every generation, the gospel is in danger of being dismissed from the central place it must enjoy. Carson calls us back to the centrality of Christ and Him crucified.

One of the many things I have found helpful about this book is in the way it presses home some of the foundational characteristics of a Cross-centered leader. Here are a few examples:

• A Cross-centered leader focuses on the content rather than the form of preaching.
• A Cross-centered leader ties every subject to the Cross.
• A Cross-centered leader follows the crucified Messiah in to suffering.
• A Cross-centered leader primarily seeks to please Christ not people.
• A Cross-centered leader is empowered by the Spirit.
• A Cross-centered leader does not insist on his own "rights."
• A Cross-centered leader is humble.

Carson Nuggets

A few nuggets from The Cross and Christian Ministry by DA Carson:

“What a great God we have! Not only does he redeem us through the ignominious crucifixion of his much-loved Son, but he sends us his Spirit to enable us to understand what he has done” (p. 55).

“Christian leaders should refrain from presenting themselves as if they had the corner on the truth, or all the gifts, or exclusive authority or insight” (p. 77).

“The apostles of Jesus Christ prize truth above style and quietly refuse to endorse any form that may prove so attractive, even diversionary, that the centrality of gospel truth is jeopardized” (p. 85).

You Need the Spirit to See the Son

I love the cross-fertilization that comes from reading several books at the same time. Like when the wind blows the seeds from one farmer's field into his neighbor's farm.

For example, I was reading in Josh Harris' new book this morning about the power of the third person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit. Josh challenged me to be continually seeking the filling of the Spirit day by day (Eph. 5:18).

Then, I was reading in DA Carson's The Cross and Christian Ministry. Carson opened up 1 Cor. 2 and the point that the natural man sees nothing because he doesn't have the help of the Spirit. The wisdom of the Cross is only seen by those who are enabled by the Spirit. Carson writes: "If we should express unqualified gratitude to God for the gift of his Son, we should express no less gratitude to God for the gift of the Spirit who enables us to grasp the gospel of his Son” (p. 52).

I was reminded that being dominated by the Spirit has a purpose: to see and know and enjoy Christ. Be continually being filled with the Spirit, because otherwise, you won't see Jesus.

Content and Methods for Preaching

“The cross not only establishes what we are to preach, but how we are to preach."

-DA Carson, The Cross and Christian Minsitry, p. 9.

Jesus Explains the Cross

John 12:20-36 is an amazing passage. In this passage, we have Jesus’ own commentary on His approaching death. Here we have the Savior’s most clear teaching on the meaning of the cross.

This passage is so important because it fills up the events of the Cross with meaning. John 18 and 19 will deal with what happened at the Cross. This passage details why it happened.

Charles Spurgeon once offered this counsel to us: “Abide hard by the cross and search the mystery of His wounds.”

This passage reveals the mystery of the Savior’s wounds.

-The Cross was sovereignly determined by God (v. 23 - "the hour").
-The Cross reveals the glory of Jesus (v. 23).
-The Cross accomplished its intended effects (v. 24, 31-32).
-The Cross is to mark the Christian life (v. 25-26).
-The Cross was embraced by Jesus (v. 27).
-The Cross reflects Jesus’ ultimate passion (v. 27-28).
-The Cross was approved by the Father (v. 28).
-The Cross condemned the world (v. 31).
-The Cross defeated Satan (v. 31).
-The Cross secures and ensures our salvation (v. 32-33).

DA Carson said, “I fear that the cross, without ever being disowned, is constantly in danger of being dismissed from the central place it must enjoy, by relatively peripheral insights that take on far too much weight. Whenever the periphery is in danger of displacing the center, we are not far removed from idolatry.”

Carson's new book

DA Carson's new book is now available: Christ and Culture Revisited.

The Inappropriate Loss of Jesus

"There is a kind of 'biblical' preaching that is not so much unbiblical as trivial. Not long ago I heard a sermon on Luke 1:26-38, in which the angel Gabriel announces the birth of Jesus to the Virgin Mary. The entire sermon focused on how God sometimes does unexpected things in our lives. After all, Mary didn't expect to become pregnant in this way. The rest of the 'exposition' focused on Mary's psychological and spiritual profile in all of this. A fair bit of what was said had some sort of relation to the text; reasonable inferences were made. But none of the 'exposition,' none of it at all, focused on Jesus! Whatever interest Luke has in saying something about Mary is minor compared with his interest in telling us who Jesus is. Five minutes of the sermon reserved for some reflection of Mary's outlook might have been appropriate; the loss of Jesus was not."

-DA Carson, Preach the Word, p.178 (emphasis in original).

Christ and Culture

DA Carson has a new book coming out soon. It looks like it is going to be the end of the discussion regarding Christ and culture. Whenever Don writes on anything, it is the end of the discussion. Carson for president!!