Jesus, Keep Me Near The Cross: Experiencing the Passion and Power of Easter
Publisher: Crossway (2009)
Editor: Nancy Guthrie
ISBN-13: 9781433501814
Crossway has just released Jesus, Keep Me Near The Cross: Experiencing the Passion and Power of Easter, edited by Nancy Guthrie, just in time for the upcoming Easter season. In the book, she has compiled twenty-five short devotional meditations on the sufferings and crucifixion of Jesus Christ, as well as his victorious resurrection from the dead.
These selections come from the writings of seven classic theologians and pastors: Martin Luther, Charles Spurgeon, J.C. Ryle, John Owen, John Calvin, Jonathan Edwards, and Saint Augustine, as well as eighteen contemporary theologians, pastors, or authors: John Piper, Alistair Begg, C.J. Mahaney, R. Kent Hughes, J. Ligon Duncan III, Adrian Rogers, John MacArthur, Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Joseph “Skip” Ryan, Philip Graham Ryken, R.C. Sproul, James Montgomery Boice, J.I. Packer, Raymond Ortlund Jr., Francis Schaeffer, Tim Keller, Joni Eareckson Tada, and Stephen F. Olford.
In the preface, Guthrie laments over the fact that so many Christians and churches don’t properly focus on the cross of Christ. I couldn’t agree more with what she has to say concerning the current situation. She writes:
In a culture where crosses have become commonplace as architecture and jewelry, how we need to truly gaze upon the cross of Christ in all of its ugliness and beauty, in its death and in its healing, in the painful price paid there, and in its free gift of grace (3).
Guthrie begins this anthology with a selection from the great Reformer, Martin Luther, who wrote:
The whole value of the meditation of the suffering of Christ lies in this, that man should come to the knowledge of himself and sink and tremble. If you are so hardened that you do not tremble, then you have reason to tremble. Pray to God that he may soften your heart and make fruitful your meditation upon the suffering of Christ, for we of ourselves are incapable of proper reflection unless God instills it (12).
Oh, that God would grant us more fruitful meditation on the suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus, the one who came to die as a substitute for sinners. This is the gospel, this is our message, and therefore we must keep it central in all that we do. Writing to the church in Corinth, Paul wrote,
And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified (1 Corinthians 2:1-2).
Our focus as Christians and as pastors must be on Jesus’ provision for sinners on the cross, and the hope that we have because of his resurrection. I look forward to coming back to the devotional meditations found in Jesus, Keep Me Near The Cross, during the Easter season as well as throughout the year.
Note: This past year, Crossway also released a similar devotional on the incarnation of Jesus, entitled, Come Thou Long-Expected Jesus: Experiencing the Peace and Promise of Christmas, which was also edited by Nancy Guthrie.
