The Surprises of Perfection

I was listening recently to Tim Keller’s final lecture in Questioning Christianity, a mid-week teaching series designed to show skeptics that Christianity makes sense emotionally, culturally, and intellectually. It’s outstanding.As he spoke about the uniqueness of Jesus, Keller read the following quote. As best I can tell, it’s a quote from 19th century Scottish minister John Watson that Keller has updated. Either way, it’s a spectacular quote to share as we wrap up our study of Mark's Gospel.

Despite his high claims, he is never pompous. You never see him standing on his own dignity. He is tenderness without weakness, strength without harshness, humility without the slightest lack of confidence, unhesitating authority with a complete lack of self-absorption, unbending convictions without the slightest lack of approachability, power without insensitivity, enthusiasm without fanaticism, holiness without Pharisaism, passion without prejudice. Nothing he does falls short. In fact, he’s always surprising you and taking your breath away because he’s so incomparably better than you could imagine for yourself. Why? The surprises you get when you read the life of Jesus are the surprises of perfection. There’s never a false step, never a jarring movement. This is life at the highest.

Amen. I love Jesus.