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The Passion of Jesus Christ
The most important questions anyone can ask are: Why was Jesus Christ crucified? Why did he suffer so much? What has this to do with me? Finally, who sent him to his death? The answer to the last question is that God did. Jesus was God’ s Son. The suffering was unsurpassed, but the whole message of the Bible leads to this answer.Why did Christ suffer and die? The central issue of Jesus’ death is not the cause, but the meaning— God’ s meaning. That is what this book is about. John Piper has gathered from the New Testament fifty reasons. Not fifty causes, but fifty purposes — in answer to the most important question that each of us must face: what did God achieve for sinners like us in sending his Son to die?
127 pages, Paperback
First published January 9, 2004
399 people are currently reading
7765 people want to read
About the author
John Piper
609 books4,580 followersJohn Piper is founder and teacher of desiringGod.org and chancellor of Bethlehem College & Seminary. For 33 years, he served as senior pastor at Bethlehem Baptist Church, Minneapolis, Minnesota.
He grew up in Greenville, South Carolina, and studied at Wheaton College, Fuller Theological Seminary (B.D.), and the University of Munich (D.theol.). For six years, he taught Biblical Studies at Bethel College in St. Paul, Minnesota, and in 1980 accepted the call to serve as pastor at Bethlehem.
John is the author of more than 50 books and more than 30 years of his preaching and teaching is available free at desiringGod.org. John and his wife, Noel, have four sons, one daughter, and twelve grandchildren.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
He grew up in Greenville, South Carolina, and studied at Wheaton College, Fuller Theological Seminary (B.D.), and the University of Munich (D.theol.). For six years, he taught Biblical Studies at Bethel College in St. Paul, Minnesota, and in 1980 accepted the call to serve as pastor at Bethlehem.
John is the author of more than 50 books and more than 30 years of his preaching and teaching is available free at desiringGod.org. John and his wife, Noel, have four sons, one daughter, and twelve grandchildren.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 370 reviews
December 31, 2020
It's worth rereading. It's worth reading slowly. It's worth muzzling that cry for novelty (Is that just me?) which seeks to object when Piper states what might logically be the same reason as two different ones. We need repetition of such a grand narrative, grand Truth, and we know it. That's probably why we don't want it.
Piper's reasoning is woven through with cited Scripture, and am hoping this will be more and more true of my writing and my reasoning over the next year. Because Christ's death was such a comprehensive victory, I pray my declaration of it would, by grace, be heard as relevant by those with ears to hear in every corner of my interests.
Piper's reasoning is woven through with cited Scripture, and am hoping this will be more and more true of my writing and my reasoning over the next year. Because Christ's death was such a comprehensive victory, I pray my declaration of it would, by grace, be heard as relevant by those with ears to hear in every corner of my interests.
February 26, 2008
Far from a simple overview of the death of Christ and the Christian faith. This book was the end of a long search to find something for my father that would be challenging and to-the-point, but not overly theological in words or loaded with the same 'ol americanized christian jargon. Perfect for those who seem to be stagnant or complacent in their walk and understanding in Christ.
January 23, 2015
This is the perfect "Morning Time" book since its chapters are very short and its concepts are basic. Piper is so good clearly communicating truth and passion for Christ.
For those who know about our family MT you might remember that we started this late last January. It only has 50 chapters so technically we should have finished it a long time ago. The thing is it took us much longer than I anticipated as life threw us a series of curve balls. The point is that we kept on reading when we could, a little bit at a time, and we did finish. This is not a great feat to brag about but it is an example how MT works by not giving up when things mess it up. Just pick up and continue where you last left off. No need to overhaul the whole thing because of every interruption in life.
For those who know about our family MT you might remember that we started this late last January. It only has 50 chapters so technically we should have finished it a long time ago. The thing is it took us much longer than I anticipated as life threw us a series of curve balls. The point is that we kept on reading when we could, a little bit at a time, and we did finish. This is not a great feat to brag about but it is an example how MT works by not giving up when things mess it up. Just pick up and continue where you last left off. No need to overhaul the whole thing because of every interruption in life.
September 17, 2012
This very small book packs a very hard punch! Do not be overwhelmed by the thought of 50 chapters. They are small. Most are just two pages in length, which allows the reader to be able to read the book as a devotional thought each morning or evening.
The book helps its reader by grasping some of the most foundational truths of the Bible. Dr. Piper answers the questions such as: Who killed Jesus? Who is Jesus? Why did Jesus have to die? What impact does Jesus death have for a person living today?
Each one of these questions could take chapters and books to answer by themselves. What this book provides is a quick understanding of 50 reason why Jesus can to die. Even the most studied individual would do well to review what Jesus did for us on the cross on a consistent basis. This book help an individual appreciate the salvation enjoyed through Jesus' death and resurrection.
The book helps its reader by grasping some of the most foundational truths of the Bible. Dr. Piper answers the questions such as: Who killed Jesus? Who is Jesus? Why did Jesus have to die? What impact does Jesus death have for a person living today?
Each one of these questions could take chapters and books to answer by themselves. What this book provides is a quick understanding of 50 reason why Jesus can to die. Even the most studied individual would do well to review what Jesus did for us on the cross on a consistent basis. This book help an individual appreciate the salvation enjoyed through Jesus' death and resurrection.
September 4, 2015
I was looking for a short book about the atonement to put on a book rack. Piper's book will fit that need. However, it is not perfect. As one reviewer said, there is a lot of overlap between the chapters. He is repetitive. Second and more glaring, though typical for Piper, he does not really bring the Old Testament into it. There is no big picture of Jesus as fulfilling the covenant or Jesus as Israel. This might be because he was trying to get at what the atonement achieved instead of what caused it. But at the least one of the reasons Christ came to die was to fulfill Scripture. This is not mentioned explicitly. His failure to incorporate OT themes and the covenant makes this book weaker. He could have taken ten of his reasons out added more OT themes and made the book a lot more robust. Still as a basic lay introduction to Christ's work it is good.
March 24, 2024
Trickles of cool, gospel grace for your early morning parched soul.
April 29, 2025
One million stars. Such encouraging truth. Encouraged through theological depth, in emotion, in worship.
March 25, 2024
Read in 2024 for the lead up to Resurrection Sunday. Still so good.
Read, again for Lent 2023, this time with my family. Some of it was a little too much for my younger kids. But my high schooler and my wife enjoyed it. Still so good!
Read for Lent 2022. Still so great!
Read for Lent 2019 and 2020. So powerful!!! Read to family for Lent 2021
I read this as a lead into Easter but enjoyed it so much I finished it early. I will probably do John Piper’s Holy Week Book for final push to Easter. This book was simply spectacular. At the end of the Gospel of John, the beloved apostle, writes about the amount of books that could be written about Christ, and how they could fill every room on earth. While many write this off as hyperbole, Pastor Piper shows briefly just how amazing Christ’s death on the cross was but showing fifty reasons He came and died for us. Each of these fifty could have been a 200 page book. I was incredibly blessed by this book. I will need to read it again next Easter. Highest recommendation
Read, again for Lent 2023, this time with my family. Some of it was a little too much for my younger kids. But my high schooler and my wife enjoyed it. Still so good!
Read for Lent 2022. Still so great!
Read for Lent 2019 and 2020. So powerful!!! Read to family for Lent 2021
I read this as a lead into Easter but enjoyed it so much I finished it early. I will probably do John Piper’s Holy Week Book for final push to Easter. This book was simply spectacular. At the end of the Gospel of John, the beloved apostle, writes about the amount of books that could be written about Christ, and how they could fill every room on earth. While many write this off as hyperbole, Pastor Piper shows briefly just how amazing Christ’s death on the cross was but showing fifty reasons He came and died for us. Each of these fifty could have been a 200 page book. I was incredibly blessed by this book. I will need to read it again next Easter. Highest recommendation
November 21, 2024
Lieliska grāmata katram kristietim. Un nekristietim, jo grāmatas gaitā autors atbild arī uz kādiem jautājumiem un iebildumiem, kas varētu rasties nekristietim. Varētu būt īpaši to izlasīt 50 dienu laikā pirms Lieldienām, jo grāmatā katra nodaļa ir tieši atvērumu gara. Katra nodaļa liek pārdomāt kādu citu iemeslu/aspektu Jēzus nāves un augšāmcelšanās saistībā. Kristus krusts mums, kristiešiem, ir mīļš, jo pie tā mēs esam savu glābšanu guvuši.
Five star book for a Christian and non-christian alike. It seems that throughout the book author answers quite a few questions/objections non-christians may have. And it is equally strengthening for Christians. Highly recommend!
Five star book for a Christian and non-christian alike. It seems that throughout the book author answers quite a few questions/objections non-christians may have. And it is equally strengthening for Christians. Highly recommend!
January 20, 2018
A great book on the fifty reasons why Jesus' death is so important to humans and to Christianity in general.
April 5, 2024
I read this almost every year during Lent. So powerful. Highly recommended.
June 12, 2019
Molly lent me this book, and I've been enjoying reading it with my Bible during devotions. I'd read one of the blog-post length chapters (or two or three!), then read some of the quoted books and chapters of the Bible more fully. It helped to really center my focus on what Jesus has done for me through the cross, and for that I am very grateful. I knew what His death meant, of course, but diving into it with this much detail gave me a greater respect and awe of the gift of salvation!
As usual, John Piper's words are on point:
"What Christ did for is not that we might help him, but that we might see and savor him as infinitely valuable. He died to wean us from poisonous pleasures and enthrall us with his beauty." -page 83
"Love is the labor- whatever the cost- of helping people be enthralled with what will satisfy them most, namely, Jesus Christ." -page 117
If Piper's words didn't convince you that this is worth reading, my words certainly aren't. Still, I'll say a little more because 1)since when do I not say unncessary things? and 2) I really did enjoy this book. This little paperback contains beauty and wisdom surrounding one of the cornerstones of the Christian faith- the death of Jesus Christ. And that is worth taking the time to read, think, and pray about. <3
As usual, John Piper's words are on point:
"What Christ did for is not that we might help him, but that we might see and savor him as infinitely valuable. He died to wean us from poisonous pleasures and enthrall us with his beauty." -page 83
"Love is the labor- whatever the cost- of helping people be enthralled with what will satisfy them most, namely, Jesus Christ." -page 117
If Piper's words didn't convince you that this is worth reading, my words certainly aren't. Still, I'll say a little more because 1)since when do I not say unncessary things? and 2) I really did enjoy this book. This little paperback contains beauty and wisdom surrounding one of the cornerstones of the Christian faith- the death of Jesus Christ. And that is worth taking the time to read, think, and pray about. <3
September 22, 2022
Great wee book that gives 50 reasons why the death of Christ matters, would work well as a devotional resource. While some of the points do overlap, the book is very helpful in detailing the significant impact of the Cross in every area of the Christian life. Covering topics from justification to racial reconciliation, the cross impacts everything.
June 25, 2024
Compact devotional thoughts that were very thought provoking! I often find I selfishly slip into the thinking that Christ died just for me, reading this expanded my view again and reminded me just how tremendous the work Jesus accomplished on the cross
Each reason was centred on scripture and was well explained but there were a couple of points that I disagreed with theologically. These were more subtle and I mostly agree with the central tenant of the reason.
#11 "To complete the obedience that becomes our righteousness" would be the only one I disagreed with outright but it nonetheless sparked mediation.
Each reason was centred on scripture and was well explained but there were a couple of points that I disagreed with theologically. These were more subtle and I mostly agree with the central tenant of the reason.
#11 "To complete the obedience that becomes our righteousness" would be the only one I disagreed with outright but it nonetheless sparked mediation.
August 14, 2018
The passion of Jesus Christ was a great book. It was written so that the reader will know 50 ways why Christ came to die.
This was the first book of John Pipers that I have read. I really enjoyed John Pipers style of writing and his clear biblical theology. This book was clear and concise. It would be a great book to recommend to a new believer. For me there wasn’t a lot of new information but it was a joy to read and I still got something out of this book. There were some chapters that surprised me and that I did not know about the death of Jesus Christ.
To be completely honest, this book actually took me a long time to finish. Each chapter was short only about one or two pages and yet at the end of each chapter, I found myself putting the book down. At the end of a chapter I felt as though had enough to think about. I thought that I had read a lot, but in reality I had only read two pages. I would definitely recommend this book if you read a quick chapter every night. This I think is a great way to think and read this book.
Definitely recommend this one especially to a new believer.
This was the first book of John Pipers that I have read. I really enjoyed John Pipers style of writing and his clear biblical theology. This book was clear and concise. It would be a great book to recommend to a new believer. For me there wasn’t a lot of new information but it was a joy to read and I still got something out of this book. There were some chapters that surprised me and that I did not know about the death of Jesus Christ.
To be completely honest, this book actually took me a long time to finish. Each chapter was short only about one or two pages and yet at the end of each chapter, I found myself putting the book down. At the end of a chapter I felt as though had enough to think about. I thought that I had read a lot, but in reality I had only read two pages. I would definitely recommend this book if you read a quick chapter every night. This I think is a great way to think and read this book.
Definitely recommend this one especially to a new believer.
January 16, 2025
this is chalk full of reminders that the crucifixion has nothing to do with God’s sympathy or pity for us, and everything to do with his immutable self. Jesus’ death was always the plan, and it was perfect. Maybe I’m being picky but I think compared to John Piper’s other books this one lacked a bit of theological depth that would have really enriched all of the ideas. But nonetheless I am so thankful for anything that calls Jesus to the front of my mind.OK EDIT also I really appreciated how much scripture he includes. Like SO MUCH. but like idk I want more!!!
December 31, 2023
Final book of 2023, and what a perfect one to end on! John Piper is so wise in his scripture knowledge, and I learned so much about the Gospel that I never understood. I will definitely be picking this back up again!
January 19, 2022
Simply. Profound.
50 reasons why Christ came to die for us. The pages in this small volume pack a punch and worth reading slowly. Digest this. A great use as a devotional tool to explore scripture presented.
50 reasons why Christ came to die for us. The pages in this small volume pack a punch and worth reading slowly. Digest this. A great use as a devotional tool to explore scripture presented.
April 24, 2025
What an excellent little book! I will be rereading this every year around Good Friday from now on.
February 4, 2013
This isn't a "sit-down-to-read-it" kind of book. I tried to read it as a Bible Study and that didn't work either. It's rather a reference style book. It lists and explains the fifty reason Jesus came to die, backing it up with scripture. It's an excellent book for the unsaved who may be wondering exactly what God's purpose was in sending Christ to His death on the cross. It's also perfect for the follower who wants chapter and verse information for sharing the love of Jesus Christ with others.
September 6, 2024
If you are looking for help to understand the importance of Christ’s death in the gospel, read this little book by John Piper. It is perfect for reviving your devotional life and turning your eyes to Jesus. Though it originally came out around the same time as the Passion of Christ movie, the title has been changed to 50 Reason Why Jesus Came to Die. It can be read any time of the year, not just near the celebration of the resurrection at Easter.
April 11, 2017
Read this in preparation for Resurrection Sunday. Contains 50 reasons why Christ came to Earth to die. Very helpful reminders.
July 9, 2014
“The Passion of Jesus Christ” is a thin book that gives John Piper's 50 reasons that Jesus suffered and died. Piper excludes all human reasons (why Judas betrayed him, why the Jewish leadership put him on trial, why the Roman government executed him) as unimportant. He says that because God wanted Jesus to suffer and die, any human motivations are insignificant. A subtitle that Piper would find appropriate could be “50 reasons God the Father wanted Jesus dead and Jesus Christ submitted to that death”.
I attempted to read this book as a devotional during Lent. I read it every morning and finished the book. But I was so disturbed by Piper's portrayal of God that it was difficult to focus on devotion. It would be tedious to list all my objections, so I'll focus on the 1st of Piper's 50 reasons.
The 1st reason Piper highlights for the Father wanting Jesus to die is “To Absorb the Wrath of God.” God's wrath against us and Jesus is of fundamental importance to Piper – he repeats the word “wrath” 7 times in this page, 3 more times in his 2nd reason, again in his 3rd and 4th reasons, and throughout the whole book (in fact, he saves the most repetition for his 47th reason, when he uses “wrath” 8 more times!).
This gets into a problem. Piper claims in the introduction that “My aim is to let the Bible speak.” Yet the Bible is consistently hidden behind Piper's theological structure. Piper generally limits his quotes to a single verse or less, ignoring the context. He treats the New Testament like a series of proof-texts rather than complete pictures. And still the "proof-texts" fail to prove Piper's case.
In this instance, none of the Bible passages Piper uses for Reason #1 have the word “wrath” in them, except when Piper himself inserts “wrath-absorbing” into 1 John 4:10! Of course, nowhere in the New Testament is the death of Jesus connected with God's wrath being applied to Jesus. So if Piper is letting the Bible speak, why does he take something the Bible never says as one of his primary points?
Similarly, Piper's very first sentence is “If God were not just, there would be no demand for his Son to suffer and die.” Piper also repeats “just” or “justice” 7 times on this page, driving home the claim that God's justice required that Jesus die. Once again, none of the Bible passages he quotes mention God's justice at all...because nowhere in the New Testament is it stated that Jesus's death was a necessary result of God's justice. Nor is there anywhere in the Bible where it states that God made a demand for his son to suffer and die.
In fact, Jesus's death was clearly unjust. Jesus was the innocent victim. He had never sinned. He was not guilty of the capital charges brought against him. The trials were a farce. That injustice is a clear theme of the Gospel accounts and the disciples' testimonies in Acts. 1 Peter 2 (which Piper himself later quotes!) talks about Christ's response to his unjust condemnation as a model for us.
But Piper ignores the aspect of injustice in Jesus's death. Instead, he focuses on “justice” by making it a synonym for “punishment”. Not only in this 1st point, but throughout the book, Piper refers to punishment alone when speaking about justice. The idea of justice as "setting things right" or rectifying injustices is ignored. There's no mention of the lasting effects of the sin or needing to deal with the consequences of sin. To Piper, the only thing that matters for “justice” to be enacted is for someone to be punished.
Piper states that since God tortured and killed Jesus, “God's wrath is just, and it was spent, not withdrawn”. In Piper's framework, God was offended, God must deliver punishment because he was offended, and who he punishes is less important than the punishment itself. Piper gives God the attributes of the worst dictator – crimes were committed, so someone better be put to death. Stopping the crimes from being committed, addressing the effects of the crimes, making right the victims of the crime, and even executing the correct person are all secondary to the primary concern that someone gets executed.
Piper has this focus on “wrath” and “justice” because he is indebted to Anselm's medieval construct of atonement (in fact, Piper takes the language further than Anselm ever did). But not only is Piper's language based on later theology rather than the New Testament, it doesn't make logical sense. How could the justice of God demand that the innocent suffer and die? This was Piper's best attempt to prove his case:
“There is a holy curse hanging over all sin. Not to punish would be unjust. The demeaning of God would be endorsed. A lie would reign over the core of reality.”
Wait...if "not to punish" would be a lie reigning over the core of reality...wouldn't punishing a innocent man be an even greater lie? Piper has caught himself in a logic trap, so he is saying things that make no sense, don't proceed from the Bible, and don't reflect the nature of the God we know through Jesus Christ. If Piper's construct is what God did, then we can't use the English word “justice” to refer to it, because “justice” has a real meaning in the English language and killing an innocent man does not fit that meaning.
A few more things just from that 1st point....
* Piper claims “The seriousness of an insult rises with the dignity of the one insulted.” That sort of feudal mindset is contradictory to the Gospel – in Jesus's kingdom, a sin against a homeless man or a child is just as bad as a sin against a pastor or an elder.
* Piper quotes “you must love the Lord your God” but omits “you must love your neighbor”, starting the book-long trend of focusing on sin as individualistic and against God, and generally ignoring our relationships with other people except for a couple passages near the end of the book.
* Piper declares that “propitiation” in Romans 3:25 refers to “the removal of God's wrath”, even though this is debated as such use is only found in pagan texts, and “mercy seat” is what the word hilasteron is used to mean in Greek translations of the Old Testament.
The fact that there were so many issues in just the first point, spanning barely more than a page, gives you an indication of how the whole book went for me. Rather than breaking down every point (and there were a few good points), I'll just highlight a few of the problems that I encountered in the rest of the book.
Point 2: Some people criticize certain versions of atonement theology as supporting “divine child abuse”, and say that those theological constructs make it easy for families to sanction their own child abuse. I usually think this critique is overwrought, but I've never seen someone try as hard to portray God as an abusive father as Piper does here:
“On the one hand, the suffering of Christ is an outpouring of God's wrath because of sin. But on the other hand, Christ's suffering is a beautiful act of submission and obedience to the will of the Father. So Christ cried from the cross, 'My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?'. And yet the Bible says that the suffering of Christ was a fragrance to God....Oh, that we might worship the terrible wonder of the love of God!”
I disagree with the entire train of thought. Jesus felt like God left him, NOT that God was torturing/killing him. And it was Jesus's love and sacrifice that was a fragrance to God, NOT his suffering. To imagine Jesus's suffering as a beautiful fragrance that God enjoyed distorts the New Testament. Piper twists the meaning of love here so much that it's possible to imagine a father inflicting suffering on his child, enjoying the fragrance of that suffering, and teaching the child that to submit to such abuse is his proper Christ-like place and the only way he will ever be holy. I don't believe that Piper believes that, but it's easy to see how Piper's wording would lend itself to that interpretation in certain ears.
Point 8: Piper says that Jesus was a ransom for many...and then claims that Jesus ransomed us from God! I disagree with Piper here – people who are not following Christ are allied against God, not with God. They are under the Lord of this world, not the Lord of Heaven. Jesus did NOT need to pay God a ransom to save them. As Piper acknowledges, the Bible never says that Jesus paid a ransom to God, and in the Bible the focus is on the paying of the ransom and not on who the ransom was to. For Piper to focus on the claim that Jesus ransomed us from God is non-Biblical.
Point 13: Piper claims that Jesus died “To Abolish Circumcision and All Rituals as the Basis of Salvation”. This falsely assumes that ritual was ever the basis of salvation (God's covenant faithfulness was always the basis of salvation), and it also ignores the place of baptism and communion in Christianity, rituals that are still clearly affirmed by Jesus.
On a related note, the minor critique of Israel here highlights that the word “Israel” is almost completely missing from the entire book. In talking about why Jesus died, I would think that him being Israel's messiah, the King of the Jews dying a representative death for all Israel, would be fundamental, but Piper ignores the entire story of Israel except for using a couple of OT proof-texts.
Point 16: Piper refers to people who cut themselves or commit self injury as doing so due to a “guilty conscience”.
Point 20: Piper uses “tattoos” as his one example of a guilty enslaving fad, another sin against God.
Point 24: Piper states “Without Christ the holiness of God had to be protected from us.” I think this is a poor misinterpretation of what was going on – God's holiness is not weak, it never had to be “protected” from anything. Again, this smacks of medieval feudalism, where dignified people are so high above us that our very presence will damage their image.
Point 29: Piper states that “sin ruins us in two ways”, then states that those two ways are that we are guilty before God and we disfigure the image of God. As he does in many other places, this ignores so many aspects of sin and its effect on ourselves and others.
Point 41: Piper states that our resurrection was secured by Jesus's death, even though all the Bible passages he uses state that our resurrection is guaranteed by Jesus's resurrection. Piper than minimizes Jesus's resurrection, stating that Jesus's death had already taken care of everything. As he has said throughout the book (most specifically in Point 4), the only point of the resurrection was to publicly declare what Jesus's death had done. “All that was left to accomplish was the public declaration of God's endorsement.” This ignores everything else the resurrection did (Among many others, publicly declaring that Jesus's life was in the right.)
In the end, I really can't recommend this book to anyone. I think it presents a sad distortion of who God is, and a misunderstanding of Jesus Christ and what his life, death, and resurrection meant.
I attempted to read this book as a devotional during Lent. I read it every morning and finished the book. But I was so disturbed by Piper's portrayal of God that it was difficult to focus on devotion. It would be tedious to list all my objections, so I'll focus on the 1st of Piper's 50 reasons.
The 1st reason Piper highlights for the Father wanting Jesus to die is “To Absorb the Wrath of God.” God's wrath against us and Jesus is of fundamental importance to Piper – he repeats the word “wrath” 7 times in this page, 3 more times in his 2nd reason, again in his 3rd and 4th reasons, and throughout the whole book (in fact, he saves the most repetition for his 47th reason, when he uses “wrath” 8 more times!).
This gets into a problem. Piper claims in the introduction that “My aim is to let the Bible speak.” Yet the Bible is consistently hidden behind Piper's theological structure. Piper generally limits his quotes to a single verse or less, ignoring the context. He treats the New Testament like a series of proof-texts rather than complete pictures. And still the "proof-texts" fail to prove Piper's case.
In this instance, none of the Bible passages Piper uses for Reason #1 have the word “wrath” in them, except when Piper himself inserts “wrath-absorbing” into 1 John 4:10! Of course, nowhere in the New Testament is the death of Jesus connected with God's wrath being applied to Jesus. So if Piper is letting the Bible speak, why does he take something the Bible never says as one of his primary points?
Similarly, Piper's very first sentence is “If God were not just, there would be no demand for his Son to suffer and die.” Piper also repeats “just” or “justice” 7 times on this page, driving home the claim that God's justice required that Jesus die. Once again, none of the Bible passages he quotes mention God's justice at all...because nowhere in the New Testament is it stated that Jesus's death was a necessary result of God's justice. Nor is there anywhere in the Bible where it states that God made a demand for his son to suffer and die.
In fact, Jesus's death was clearly unjust. Jesus was the innocent victim. He had never sinned. He was not guilty of the capital charges brought against him. The trials were a farce. That injustice is a clear theme of the Gospel accounts and the disciples' testimonies in Acts. 1 Peter 2 (which Piper himself later quotes!) talks about Christ's response to his unjust condemnation as a model for us.
But Piper ignores the aspect of injustice in Jesus's death. Instead, he focuses on “justice” by making it a synonym for “punishment”. Not only in this 1st point, but throughout the book, Piper refers to punishment alone when speaking about justice. The idea of justice as "setting things right" or rectifying injustices is ignored. There's no mention of the lasting effects of the sin or needing to deal with the consequences of sin. To Piper, the only thing that matters for “justice” to be enacted is for someone to be punished.
Piper states that since God tortured and killed Jesus, “God's wrath is just, and it was spent, not withdrawn”. In Piper's framework, God was offended, God must deliver punishment because he was offended, and who he punishes is less important than the punishment itself. Piper gives God the attributes of the worst dictator – crimes were committed, so someone better be put to death. Stopping the crimes from being committed, addressing the effects of the crimes, making right the victims of the crime, and even executing the correct person are all secondary to the primary concern that someone gets executed.
Piper has this focus on “wrath” and “justice” because he is indebted to Anselm's medieval construct of atonement (in fact, Piper takes the language further than Anselm ever did). But not only is Piper's language based on later theology rather than the New Testament, it doesn't make logical sense. How could the justice of God demand that the innocent suffer and die? This was Piper's best attempt to prove his case:
“There is a holy curse hanging over all sin. Not to punish would be unjust. The demeaning of God would be endorsed. A lie would reign over the core of reality.”
Wait...if "not to punish" would be a lie reigning over the core of reality...wouldn't punishing a innocent man be an even greater lie? Piper has caught himself in a logic trap, so he is saying things that make no sense, don't proceed from the Bible, and don't reflect the nature of the God we know through Jesus Christ. If Piper's construct is what God did, then we can't use the English word “justice” to refer to it, because “justice” has a real meaning in the English language and killing an innocent man does not fit that meaning.
A few more things just from that 1st point....
* Piper claims “The seriousness of an insult rises with the dignity of the one insulted.” That sort of feudal mindset is contradictory to the Gospel – in Jesus's kingdom, a sin against a homeless man or a child is just as bad as a sin against a pastor or an elder.
* Piper quotes “you must love the Lord your God” but omits “you must love your neighbor”, starting the book-long trend of focusing on sin as individualistic and against God, and generally ignoring our relationships with other people except for a couple passages near the end of the book.
* Piper declares that “propitiation” in Romans 3:25 refers to “the removal of God's wrath”, even though this is debated as such use is only found in pagan texts, and “mercy seat” is what the word hilasteron is used to mean in Greek translations of the Old Testament.
The fact that there were so many issues in just the first point, spanning barely more than a page, gives you an indication of how the whole book went for me. Rather than breaking down every point (and there were a few good points), I'll just highlight a few of the problems that I encountered in the rest of the book.
Point 2: Some people criticize certain versions of atonement theology as supporting “divine child abuse”, and say that those theological constructs make it easy for families to sanction their own child abuse. I usually think this critique is overwrought, but I've never seen someone try as hard to portray God as an abusive father as Piper does here:
“On the one hand, the suffering of Christ is an outpouring of God's wrath because of sin. But on the other hand, Christ's suffering is a beautiful act of submission and obedience to the will of the Father. So Christ cried from the cross, 'My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?'. And yet the Bible says that the suffering of Christ was a fragrance to God....Oh, that we might worship the terrible wonder of the love of God!”
I disagree with the entire train of thought. Jesus felt like God left him, NOT that God was torturing/killing him. And it was Jesus's love and sacrifice that was a fragrance to God, NOT his suffering. To imagine Jesus's suffering as a beautiful fragrance that God enjoyed distorts the New Testament. Piper twists the meaning of love here so much that it's possible to imagine a father inflicting suffering on his child, enjoying the fragrance of that suffering, and teaching the child that to submit to such abuse is his proper Christ-like place and the only way he will ever be holy. I don't believe that Piper believes that, but it's easy to see how Piper's wording would lend itself to that interpretation in certain ears.
Point 8: Piper says that Jesus was a ransom for many...and then claims that Jesus ransomed us from God! I disagree with Piper here – people who are not following Christ are allied against God, not with God. They are under the Lord of this world, not the Lord of Heaven. Jesus did NOT need to pay God a ransom to save them. As Piper acknowledges, the Bible never says that Jesus paid a ransom to God, and in the Bible the focus is on the paying of the ransom and not on who the ransom was to. For Piper to focus on the claim that Jesus ransomed us from God is non-Biblical.
Point 13: Piper claims that Jesus died “To Abolish Circumcision and All Rituals as the Basis of Salvation”. This falsely assumes that ritual was ever the basis of salvation (God's covenant faithfulness was always the basis of salvation), and it also ignores the place of baptism and communion in Christianity, rituals that are still clearly affirmed by Jesus.
On a related note, the minor critique of Israel here highlights that the word “Israel” is almost completely missing from the entire book. In talking about why Jesus died, I would think that him being Israel's messiah, the King of the Jews dying a representative death for all Israel, would be fundamental, but Piper ignores the entire story of Israel except for using a couple of OT proof-texts.
Point 16: Piper refers to people who cut themselves or commit self injury as doing so due to a “guilty conscience”.
Point 20: Piper uses “tattoos” as his one example of a guilty enslaving fad, another sin against God.
Point 24: Piper states “Without Christ the holiness of God had to be protected from us.” I think this is a poor misinterpretation of what was going on – God's holiness is not weak, it never had to be “protected” from anything. Again, this smacks of medieval feudalism, where dignified people are so high above us that our very presence will damage their image.
Point 29: Piper states that “sin ruins us in two ways”, then states that those two ways are that we are guilty before God and we disfigure the image of God. As he does in many other places, this ignores so many aspects of sin and its effect on ourselves and others.
Point 41: Piper states that our resurrection was secured by Jesus's death, even though all the Bible passages he uses state that our resurrection is guaranteed by Jesus's resurrection. Piper than minimizes Jesus's resurrection, stating that Jesus's death had already taken care of everything. As he has said throughout the book (most specifically in Point 4), the only point of the resurrection was to publicly declare what Jesus's death had done. “All that was left to accomplish was the public declaration of God's endorsement.” This ignores everything else the resurrection did (Among many others, publicly declaring that Jesus's life was in the right.)
In the end, I really can't recommend this book to anyone. I think it presents a sad distortion of who God is, and a misunderstanding of Jesus Christ and what his life, death, and resurrection meant.
March 9, 2025
I loved this for so many reasons (maybe even fifty, although I won’t list them all). Reflecting on why Jesus came to die is so meaningful. I enjoyed the way each reason could be read relatively quickly and easily but also packed heavy meaning into just a short two pages. This lent itself well to reading one reason a day and pondering slowly rather than reading through the whole book at once (this could be easily done as well, and maybe would also be very productive). I loved the variety of reasons although, of course, many touched on or were related to each other. Many of the reasons given were not new to me. However, some were either not as familiar or were in fact new to me. This combination was also refreshing and impactful, allowing me to go deeper with ideas I may have known and also introducing new ideas or perspectives. Another thing I find amazing with this book is that it would be applicable and beneficial to absolutely everyone. Are you a longtime Christian who is extremely knowledgeable in your Bible but is always looking to grow your understanding of Christ and what He has done and is doing? Are you a new Christian who is looking to read something to help you get a great picture of what Christ has really done for us and draw you in deeper to your new faith? Are you a longtime Christian who has not spent as much time in scripture as you would like and want something to pull you into a love of the Gospel message and a love for God’s word? Are you a new or longtime Christian who is looking for a place to start or grow further in your own devotional time? Are you someone who has walked away from Christianity for some reason? Are you someone who has been curious about Jesus and Christianity and want a short read but with depth as well? Are you someone who has never been interested in this Jesus person? Are you someone who has never heard about Jesus at all? If any one of these questions applies to you, I would love to share this book with you.
March 27, 2024
"When Christ died, he secured for his people not only new hearts but new security. He will not let them turn from him. He will keep them. They will persevere. The blood of the covenant guarantees it."
This is such a good book to read in preparation of Resurrection Sunday. It is such a good book to read every single day of the year actually. The magnitude of beauty in the death & resurrection of Christ causes you to pause and just sit. The reality of what Christ's death & resurrection has done should cause us to stop in our very tracks, drop to our knees, and just weep because of how thankful we are. This book reminds you of just that - how utterly thankful we are to be for the wonder of what Christ has done for His children, for His beloved. Oh man, John Piper could've written so many more reasons for why Christ came to die, this is just the tipping point - which is what I LOVE since he lists 50 reasons.
I am just thankful. For the reminders that this book gives, for the reality of my life, for my Savior.
This is such a good book to read in preparation of Resurrection Sunday. It is such a good book to read every single day of the year actually. The magnitude of beauty in the death & resurrection of Christ causes you to pause and just sit. The reality of what Christ's death & resurrection has done should cause us to stop in our very tracks, drop to our knees, and just weep because of how thankful we are. This book reminds you of just that - how utterly thankful we are to be for the wonder of what Christ has done for His children, for His beloved. Oh man, John Piper could've written so many more reasons for why Christ came to die, this is just the tipping point - which is what I LOVE since he lists 50 reasons.
I am just thankful. For the reminders that this book gives, for the reality of my life, for my Savior.
August 21, 2024
I (tried to) read one of these reasons each night before bed. Some guy on Goodreads named Brian reviewed it fairly close to how I would:
“It's worth rereading. It's worth reading slowly. It's worth muzzling that cry for novelty (Is that just me?) which seeks to object when Piper states what might logically be the same reason as two different ones. We need repetition of such a grand narrative, grand Truth, and we know it. That's probably why we don't want it.
Piper's reasoning is woven through with cited Scripture, and am hoping this will be more and more true of my writing and my reasoning over the next year. Because Christ's death was such a comprehensive victory, I pray my declaration of it would, by grace, be heard as relevant by those with ears to hear in every corner of my interests.”
“It's worth rereading. It's worth reading slowly. It's worth muzzling that cry for novelty (Is that just me?) which seeks to object when Piper states what might logically be the same reason as two different ones. We need repetition of such a grand narrative, grand Truth, and we know it. That's probably why we don't want it.
Piper's reasoning is woven through with cited Scripture, and am hoping this will be more and more true of my writing and my reasoning over the next year. Because Christ's death was such a comprehensive victory, I pray my declaration of it would, by grace, be heard as relevant by those with ears to hear in every corner of my interests.”
March 29, 2024
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. Piper lays out 50 reasons why Jesus came to suffer and die. He goes in depth on lots of different topics and does an exceptional job laying out how we can call the single worst act in human history good. The very last reason is “To show that the worst evil is meant by God for good.” Piper sums it up with “The heart of the Bible is not an explanation of where evil came from, but a demonstration of how God enters into it and turns it for the very opposite—everlasting righteousness and joy” (pg. 118). What an incredible testimony to our God and His love for us.
July 6, 2025
Don’t get me wrong, it’s a good book. I liked it. But comparatively to some other works of John Piper it doesn’t amaze as much.
I would have really enjoyed if he went a bit deeper. If that means it would have been a really thick book, then I would really have loved that.
Don’t get me wrong I really enjoyed the fact that all of these wonderful reasons for Jesus’ death on the cross is written on 2 pages each. Piper’s way with explanation is always incredible. I had some “wow” moments. I would still highly rate this book. It’s just not like the rest of Piper’s works or done much depth as I would have expected.
I would have really enjoyed if he went a bit deeper. If that means it would have been a really thick book, then I would really have loved that.
Don’t get me wrong I really enjoyed the fact that all of these wonderful reasons for Jesus’ death on the cross is written on 2 pages each. Piper’s way with explanation is always incredible. I had some “wow” moments. I would still highly rate this book. It’s just not like the rest of Piper’s works or done much depth as I would have expected.
July 20, 2025
only 3 stars because it's not really something that you'd want to sit down and absorb in one hit. almost more like a coffee table book, or something to flick through. Each chapter sharing a theme, not an arc (if that makes sense).
Some points resonated better than others, but I was using this as a tool to sharpen a specific area of my preaching (resolving in the gospel well) and to that end, I believe it was beneficial.
Some points resonated better than others, but I was using this as a tool to sharpen a specific area of my preaching (resolving in the gospel well) and to that end, I believe it was beneficial.
September 9, 2019
Every single page points you to Christ and focuses on the beauty of Jesus. A great, easy read that is a springboard for your own deeper study time. Simple yet profound, the main goal of this book is to show that even the most evil, horrible tragedy in all of human history was planned ahead of time by God to show how good and loving He is. Pastor John does a great job pulling lots of scripture together to show how suffering is used to glorify God. Encouraging reminders throughout, and overall I recommend to any Christian no matter what your spiritual maturity level.
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