A couple of years ago a friend was repreaching several sermons to me from prominent pastor. He told me how he had listened to some of them several times and how they continued to speak to him. That preacher was Tim Keller and the sermon series was King’s Cross. I too began listening to them and dialoging with my friend. I had quietly hoped that Keller would get those audio files bound in a book format for a more broad circulation. Thankfully, he has.
King’s Cross is the book version of these messages. However, in reading the book you don’t have that sermon feel. This is not because of the absence of propositions, exhortations, or biblical depth. They are all there. However, Keller’s writing style, replete with a well of images and quotes, gives you that book feel. It works.
The title of the book is a helpful overlay of the content. Chapters 1-8 unpack the King, Jesus. Who he is and what he does. He is the long promised King of Israel and the world. He has come. Chapters 9-16 describe his cross. The surprising punctuation of the arrival of the this King is a cross. The subtitle: The Story of the World in the Life of Jesus, is helpful too. It shows the cosmic significance of this King Jesus. It shows how his coming, 2000 years ago, is the answer to all of the problems ever experienced, then and now and to come. This comprehensive, cosmic Christology is very helpful.
As a point of clarification, this is not necessarily a commentary on Mark. It is not a detailed exegetical treatment. In my view, it doesn’t even really fit in the expositional or devotioanl commentary genre. It has its own genre. Let’s call it Keller. If you are teaching on Mark I think you should read it. But you could say the same thing if you were aiming to learn or teach on the life of Christ, legalism, gospel-centeredness, and discipleship.
This really is the beauty of the Keller genre; and it’s exactly why I liked his sermons so much. Often times I would learn all kinds of periphial items about Christian living, legalism, joy in Christ, prayer, etc. Sometimes they are not the central point of the passage but Keller is so adept at fleshing out gospel-centered application. This book does that.
Keller is relentless about holding Jesus before the reader. He doesn’t leave the text and he doesn’t leave you. He stays close, anticipating the various objections that our sinful hearts have to full liberating happiness in Christ. He brings in old friends like C.S. Lewis and Jonathan Edwards to help. He uses various Hollywood illustrations that show us how far reaching the plague of depravity and the strands of redemption are.
In his first book The Reason for God, we have Keller engaging with the skeptics with the Bible and reason. In The Prodigal God, we have him engaging with the Pharissees with the gospel. Now in King’s Cross we have Keller gathering everyone together for a good seat to study Jesus. At the end of the day, this is what is best for everyone. This is why King’s Cross is probably my favorite Keller book yet. And why I am very excited to see Tim Keller continue to produce resources for wider dissemination.
Discounted copies are available at the following locations: Westminster Books | Amazon | Kindle Edition
*Note: if you make purchases at Amazon, consider entering their site through this blog. It costs you nothing and quietly helps support this blog. Thanks!
I try review books on Fridays. Click here to see previous reviews.
