John Piper "Seeing and Savoring Jesus Christ" Chapter Eleven

“Teacher, we know that you . . .

show no partiality, but truly teach

the way of God.”

LUKE 2 0 : 2 1

“I thank you, Father,

Lord of heaven and earth,

that you have hidden these things

from the wise and understanding

and revealed them to little children.”

LUKE 1 0 : 2 1

THE TOUGH SIDE

The Severity of Jesus Christ

Excerpts from the Chapter:

“The glory of Jesus Christ is that he is always out of sync with the world and therefore always relevant for the world. If he fit nicely, he would be of little use. The effort to remake the Jesus of the Bible so that he fits the spirit of one generation makes him feeble in another. Better to let him be what he is, because it is often the offensive side of Jesus that we need most.”

“What we meet in the biting language of Christ is a form of love that corresponds with the real world of corruption and the dullness of our hearts and the magnitude of what is at stake in our choices. If there were no great evils and no deaf hearts and no eternal consequences, perhaps the only fitting forms of love would be a soft touch and tender words. But such a world does not kill the Son of God and hate his disciples. There is no such world.”

“Not only did Jesus indict the world as evil and adulterous and unbelieving, he said that all were spiritually dead. When a disciple asked Jesus if he could go bury his father, Jesus shocked him with the words, “Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead” (Matthew 8:22). A terrible condition of living death called for tough words. It was the same with the Pharisees: “Woe to you! For you are like unmarked graves” (Luke 11:44). “You are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones” (Matthew 23:27).”

“It follows, starkly, that horrific calamities in this world, no matter how painful, are not the greatest tragedy. Far greater is the failure to escape hell through repentance and faith. Jesus had a very unsentimental way of speaking this utterly crucial truth to people who put their worst horrors in the wrong place.”

“If this does not sound like the ministry of the Prince of Peace, realize that his aim is not peace with unbelief and disobedience. Those are the enemies that must be destroyed, lest they destroy. When the amnesty of Jesus is despised, division is inevitable—and he knew it: “Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division” (Luke 12:51). “You will be delivered up even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and some of you they will put to death” (Luke 21:16). “I came to cast fire on the earth, and would that it were already kindled!” (Luke 12:49).”

“Who can hear these things? ...The humble, the teachable, the broken, the submissive— the babes—these will hear the voice of strength and truth and righteousness and love. They will hear, and their hearts will burn within them when he speaks (Luke 24:32). They will not be offended. They will take heart that at last someone sees the severity of our human condition, knows the enemy, will not compromise, and speaks like a conquering King and a great Savior.”

A P R A Y E R

Lord, thicken our skin.

Not that we be less tender, but that we be less easily offended.

Take away our bent to self-pity.

Give us a passion for the truth that is stronger than our inborn passion for being praised.

Forgive us, Father, for calling words unloving just because they were tough.

Forgive us for attributing malicious motives to people when we don’t know their motives.

Help us to learn from Jesus when to be tough and when to be tender.

Guard us from justifying merely human anger with the hard sayings of Jesus.

But don’t let us become so mushy that we can’t speak a firm word in season.

We marvel at the words of our Lord Jesus.

How unpredictable he was! No one ever spoke like he did.

He is in a class by himself.

We bow before him and shut our mouths.

We are eager for him to speak—and to speak any way he pleases.

We are the silent learners.

He is the sinless teacher.

We put our hands upon our mouths and take our place at his feet.

Do with us as you please, Father.

We are not your judge, nor the judge of how your Son speaks.

Have mercy on us— tough or tender—and lead us to your everlasting joy.

In the name of your Son, our Lord Jesus,

amen.