King's Cross Quotes

“All love, all real, life-changing love, is substitutionary sacrifice. You have never loved a broken person, you have never loved a guilty person, you have never loved a hurting person except through substitutionary sacrifice.”
― Timothy Keller, Jesus the King: Understanding the Life and Death of the Son of God

“No one has ever been deeply changed by an act of the will. The only thing that can re-forge and change a life at its root, is love.”
― Timothy Keller, King's Cross: The Story of the World in the Life of Jesus

“If this world was made by a triune God, relationships of love are what life is really all about.”
― Timothy Keller, Jesus the King

“True love is generative. It is the only kind that makes more of itself as it goes along.”
― Timothy Keller, King's Cross: The Story of the World in the Life of Jesus

“But in true love, your aim is to spend yourself and use yourself for the happiness of the other, because your greatest joy is that person’s joy. Therefore your affection is unconditional: You give it regardless of whether your loved one is meeting your needs. And it’s radically vulnerable: You spend everything, hold nothing back, give it all away.”
― Timothy Keller, Jesus the King: Understanding the Life and Death of the Son of God

“The gospel of Jesus Christ is an offense to both religion and irreligion. It can't be co-opted by either moralism or relativism.”
― Timothy J. Keller, King's Cross: The Story of the World in the Life of Jesus

“But Jesus will not be a means to an end; he will not be used. If he calls you to follow him, he must be the goal. Does that sound like fanaticism? Not if you understand the difference between religion and the gospel. Remember what religion is: advice on how you must live to earn your way to God. Your job is to follow that advice to the best of your ability. If you follow it but don’t get carried away, then you have moderation. But if you feel like you’re following it faithfully and completely, you’ll believe you have a connection with God because of your right living and right belief, and you’ll feel superior to people who have wrong living and wrong belief. That’s a slippery slope: If you feel superior to them, you stay away from them. That makes it easier to exclude them, then to hate them, and ultimately to oppress them. And there are some Christians like that—not because they’ve gone too far and been too committed to Jesus, but because they haven’t gone far enough. They aren’t as fanatically humble and sensitive, or as fanatically understanding and generous as Jesus was. Why not? They’re still treating Christianity as advice instead of good news. The gospel isn’t advice: It’s the good news that you don’t need to earn your way to God; Jesus has already done it for you. And it’s a gift that you receive by sheer grace—through God’s thoroughly unmerited favor. If you seize that gift and keep holding on to it, then Jesus’s call won’t draw you into fanaticism or moderation. You will be passionate to make Jesus your absolute goal and priority, to orbit around him; yet when you meet somebody with a different set of priorities, a different faith, you won’t assume that they’re inferior to you. You’ll actually seek to serve them rather than oppress them. Why? Because the gospel is not about choosing to follow advice, it’s about being called to follow a King. Not just someone with the power and authority to tell you what needs to be done—but someone with the power and authority to do what needs to be done, and then to offer it to you as good news.”
― Timothy Keller, Jesus the King

“If the sight of Jesus bowing his head into that ultimate storm is burned into the core of your being, you will never say, “God, don’t you care?” And if you know that he did not abandon you in that ultimate storm, what makes you think he would abandon you in the much smaller storms you’re experiencing right now? And, someday, of course, he will return and still all storms for eternity.”
― Timothy Keller, Jesus the King: Understanding the Life and Death of the Son of God

“Naturally, if you love people, you’re going to worry about them. But do you know where constant worry comes from? It’s rooted in an arrogance that assumes, I know the way my life has to go, and God’s not getting it right. Real humility means to relax. Real humility means to laugh at yourself. Real humility means to be self-critical. The cross brings that kind of humility into our lives.”
― Timothy Keller, Jesus the King: Understanding the Life and Death of the Son of God

“That love—whose obedience is wide and long and high and deep enough to dissolve a mountain of rightful wrath—is the love you’ve been looking for all your life. No family love, no friend love, no mother love, no spousal love, no romantic love—nothing could possibly satisfy you like that. All those other kinds of loves will let you down; this one never will.”
― Timothy Keller, Jesus the King: Understanding the Life and Death of the Son of God

“Jesus declares not that he has come to reform religion but that he’s here to end religion and to replace it with himself.”
― Timothy J. Keller, Jesus the King: Understanding the Life and Death of the Son of God

“At Gethsemane: "Jesus is subordinating His loudest desires to His deepest desires.”
― Timothy Keller, King's Cross: The Story of the World in the Life of Jesus

“The only way your child will grow out of their dependency into self-sufficient adults is for you to essentially abandon your own independence for 20 years or so.”
― Timothy Keller, King's Cross: The Story of the World in the Life of Jesus

“On the Day of the Lord—the day that God makes everything right, the day that everything sad comes untrue—on that day the same thing will happen to your own hurts and sadness. You will find that the worst things that have ever happened to you will in the end only enhance your eternal delight. On that day, all of it will be turned inside out and you will know joy beyond the walls of the world. The joy of your glory will be that much greater for every scar you bear. So live in the light of the resurrection and renewal of this world, and of yourself, in a glorious, never-ending, joyful dance of grace.”
― Timothy Keller, Jesus the King: Understanding the Life and Death of the Son of God

“This woman saw the gospel—that you’re more wicked than you ever believed, but at the same time more loved and accepted than you ever dared to hope.”
― Timothy Keller, Jesus the King: Understanding the Life and Death of the Son of God

“if you know that he did not abandon you in that ultimate storm, what makes you think he would abandon you in the much smaller storms you’re experiencing right now? And, someday, of course, he will return and still all storms for eternity.”
― Timothy J. Keller, Jesus the King: Understanding the Life and Death of the Son of God

“And in no way is the gospel story sentimental or escapist. Indeed, the gospel takes evil and loss with utmost seriousness, because it says that we cannot save ourselves. Nothing short of the death of the very Son of God can save us. But the “happy ending” of the historical resurrection is so enormous that it swallows up even the sorrow of the Cross. It is so great that those who believe it can henceforth fully face the depth of the sorrow and brokenness of life. If we disbelieve the gospel, we may weep for joy at the happy ending of some other inspiring story, but the enchantment will quickly fade, because our minds will tell us “life is not really like that.” But if we believe the gospel, then our hearts slowly heal even as we face the darkest times because we know that, because of Jesus, life is like that. Then even our griefs, even the dyscatastrophes we know, will be taken up into the miraculous grace of God’s purposes. “Death has been swallowed up in victory.... Thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:54 and 57).”
― Timothy J. Keller, Jesus the King

“He is both the rest and the storm, both the victim and the wielder of the flaming sword, and you must accept him or reject him on the basis of both. Either you’ll have to kill him or you’ll have to crown him. The one thing you can’t do is just say, “What an interesting guy.”
― Timothy J. Keller, Jesus the King

“The main problem in a person's life is never his suffering; it's his sin.”
― Timothy J. Keller, King's Cross: The Story of the World in the Life of Jesus

“If you’re living for yourself, spending all your money on yourself, striving for power, focusing on your success and your reputation, you may be having a wonderful party, but according to the Bible, that kingdom is going to be inverted. The days of that kingdom are numbered.”
― Timothy Keller, Jesus the King

“Through Jesus we don’t need perfect righteousness, just repentant helplessness, to access the presence of God.”
― Timothy Keller, Jesus the King

“On Christ's attitude toward His disciples: "If I gave away My big all to get to you, can you give away your little all to follow Me?”
― Timothy Keller, King's Cross: The Story of the World in the Life of Jesus

“¿Por qué ansiamos ser como los famosos? Esta es mi teoría. Ser humano significa sentirse intrascendente. Así que idolatramos a los famosos y buscamos ser como ellos. Nos identificamos con todas las cosas importantes que han hecho para poder escapar de nuestras propias vidas sin importancia. Pero es ridículo. Con la corriente que hay de famosos retocados a la perfección con implantes y liposucciones, tienes que ser una fábrica de autoestima para no sentirte inferior ante ellos. Así que los idolatramos porque nos sentimos intrascendentes, pero al hacerlo nos sentimos aún peor. Los convertimos en estrellas, sin embargo, su fama nos hace sentir insignificantes. Como editora, estoy siempre metida en ese bucle. ¡No me extraña que me sienta destrozada al final del día!”
― Timothy Keller, La cruz del Rey: La historia del mundo en la vida de Jesús

“People who believe more must not be hard on those who believe less. Why? Because faith ultimately is not a virtue; it’s a gift. If you want to believe but can’t, stop looking inside; go to Jesus and say, “Help me believe.” Go to him and say, “So you’re the one who gives faith! I’ve been trying to work it out by reasoning and thinking and meditating and going to church in hopes that a sermon will move me—I’ve been trying to get faith by myself. Now I see that you’re the source of faith. Please give it to me.” If you do that, you’ll find that Jesus has been seeking you—he’s the author of faith, the provider of faith, and the object of faith.”
― Timothy Keller, Jesus the King: Understanding the Life and Death of the Son of God

“Ah,” the neighbor says. “I hear you are religious! Great! Religion is a good thing. Where is your temple or holy place?” “We don’t have a temple,” replies the Christian. “Jesus is our temple.” “No temple? But where do your priests work and do their rituals?” “We don’t have priests to mediate the presence of God,” replies the Christian. “Jesus is our priest.” “No priests? But where do you offer your sacrifices to acquire the favor of your God?” “We don’t need a sacrifice,” replies the Christian. “Jesus is our sacrifice.” “What kind of religion is this?” sputters the pagan neighbor. And the answer is, it’s no kind of religion at all.”
― Timothy Keller, Jesus the King: Understanding the Life and Death of the Son of God

“Of all the texts in which Jesus contrasts the kingdom of this world with the kingdom of God, the most succinct is in Luke 6. There, Jesus gives us two lists: Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh. Blessed are you when men hate you, when they exclude you and insult you. . . . (Luke 6:20–22) But woe to you who are rich, for you have already received your comfort. Woe to you who are well fed now, for you will go hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you will mourn and weep. Woe to you when all men speak well of you. (Luke 6:24–26) Biblical scholar Michael Wilcock, in his study of this text, observes that in the life of God’s people there will be a remarkable reversal of values: “Christians will prize what the world calls pitiable and suspect what the world calls desirable.”66 The things the world puts at the bottom of its list are at the top of the kingdom of God’s list. And the things that are suspect in the kingdom of God are prized by the kingdom of this world. What’s at the top of the list of the kingdom of this world? Power and money (“you who are rich”); success and recognition (“when all men speak well of you”). But what’s at the top of God’s list? Weakness and poverty (“you who are poor”); suffering and rejection (“when men hate you”). The list is inverted in the kingdom of God.”
― Timothy Keller, Jesus the King: Understanding the Life and Death of the Son of God

“At the end of this Sabbath encounter with the religious leaders Mark records a remarkable sentence that sums up one of the main themes of the New Testament, “Then the Pharisees went out and began to plot with the Herodians how they might kill Jesus.” The Herodians were the supporters of Herod, the nastiest of the corrupt kings who ruled Israel, representing the Roman occupying power and its political system. In any country that the Romans conquered, they set up rulers. And wherever the Romans went, they brought along the culture of Greece—Greek philosophy, the Greek approach to sex and the body, the Greek approach to truth. Conquered societies like Israel felt assaulted by these immoral, cosmopolitan, pagan values. In these countries there were cultural resistance movements; and in Israel that was the Pharisees. They put all their emphasis on living by the teachings of the Hebrew Scriptures and putting up big hedges around themselves to prevent contamination by the pagans. See what was going on? The Herodians were moving with the times, while the Pharisees upheld traditional virtues. The Pharisees believed their society was being overwhelmed with pluralism and paganism, and they were calling for a return to traditional moral values. These two groups had been longtime enemies of each other—but now they agree: They have to get rid of Jesus. These two groups were not used to cooperating, but now they do. In fact, the Pharisees, the religious people, take the lead in doing so. That’s why I say this sentence hints at one of the main themes of the New Testament. The gospel of Jesus Christ is an offense to both religion and irreligion. It can’t be co-opted by either moralism or relativism. The “traditional values” approach to life is moral conformity—the approach taken by the Pharisees. It is that you must lead a very, very good life. The progressive approach, embodied in the Herodians, is self-discovery—you have to decide what is right or wrong for you. And according to the Bible, both of these are ways of being your own savior and lord. Both are hostile to the message of Jesus. And not only that, both lead to self-righteousness. The moralist says, “The good people are in and the bad people are out—and of course we’re the good ones.” The self-discovery person says, “Oh, no, the progressive, open-minded people are in and the judgmental bigots are out—and of course we’re the open-minded ones.” In Western cosmopolitan culture there’s an enormous amount of self-righteousness about self-righteousness. We progressive urbanites are so much better than people who think they’re better than other people. We disdain those religious, moralistic types who look down on others. Do you see the irony, how the way of self-discovery leads to as much superiority and self-righteousness as religion does? The gospel does not say, “the good are in and the bad are out,” nor “the open-minded are in and the judgmental are out.” The gospel says the humble are in and the proud are out. The gospel says the people who know they’re not better, not more open-minded, not more moral than anyone else, are in, and the people who think they’re on the right side of the divide are most in danger.”
― Timothy Keller, Jesus the King: Understanding the Life and Death of the Son of God

“In one of his diaries Kafka says something that many have taken to be the theme of The Trial: “The state in which we find ourselves today is sinful, quite independent of guilt.”30 In other words, we live in a world now where we don’t believe in judgment, we don’t believe in sin, and yet we still feel that there’s something wrong with us. Kafka was really on to something. Though we’ve abandoned the ancient categories, we still have a profound, inescapable sense that if we were examined we’d be rejected. We have a deep sense that we’ve got to hide our true self or at least control what people know about us. Secretly we feel that we aren’t acceptable, that we have to prove to ourselves and other people that we’re worthy, lovable, valuable.”
― Timothy J. Keller, Jesus the King: Understanding the Life and Death of the Son of God

“Many would say, “Okay, ancients found the world a scary place because they didn’t understand the way nature worked, and so they created myths to help them explain the world. They wanted to feel more in control of their destinies. They conjured up moral absolutes and wrathful deities that had to be appeased. When anything went wrong, it had to be that the gods were unhappy. Therefore ancient people were constantly ridden with shame and guilt.” Nowadays, they would go on, we’ve moved on from moral absolutes. Nobody knows what’s right and wrong for certain, nobody knows about God for certain. We all have to decide for ourselves and not be held to others’ standards. Besides, we believe in human rights and the dignity of the individual. We don’t see the individual as unclean, defiled, evil. We think human nature is basically good. That’s what we often say today. If there is a God, we don’t believe he is a transcendently holy deity before whom we stand guilty and condemned. And yet we still wrestle with profound feelings of guilt and shame.”
― Timothy J. Keller, Jesus the King: Understanding the Life and Death of the Son of God

“Mark has deliberately laid out this account using language that is parallel, almost identical, to the language of the famous Old Testament account of Jonah. Both Jesus and Jonah were in a boat, and both boats were overtaken by a storm—the descriptions of the storms are almost identical. Both Jesus and Jonah were asleep. In both stories the sailors woke up the sleeper and said, “We’re going to die.” And in both cases, there was a miraculous divine intervention and the sea was calmed. Further, in both stories the sailors then became even more terrified than they were before the storm was calmed. Two almost identical stories—with just one difference. In the midst of the storm, Jonah said to the sailors, in effect: “There’s only one thing to do. If I perish, you survive. If I die, you will live” (Jonah 1:12). And they threw him into the sea. Which doesn’t happen in Mark’s story. Or does it? I think Mark is showing that the stories aren’t actually different when you stand back a bit and look at them with the rest of the story of Jesus in view. In Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus says, “One greater than Jonah is here,” and he’s referring to himself: I’m the true Jonah. He meant this: Someday I’m going to calm all storms, still all waves. I’m going to destroy destruction, break brokenness, kill death. How can he do that? He can do it only because when he was on the cross he was thrown—willingly, like Jonah—into the ultimate storm, under the ultimate waves, the waves of sin and death. Jesus was thrown into the only storm that can actually sink us—the storm of eternal justice, of what we owe for our wrongdoing. That storm wasn’t calmed—not until it swept him away.”
― Timothy J. Keller, Jesus the King: Understanding the Life and Death of the Son of God