Cited in sermons
D. A. Carson
149 sermons · All people cited
The Lord of the Sabbath, Part 2
Matthew 12:9–14 presents a second Sabbath conflict in which the Pharisees attempt to trap Jesus with the question of whether it is lawful to heal on the Sabbath, while themselves plotting murder on that same day. The sermon traces Jesus' fourfold response — a rhetorical question, a contrast between sheep and man, a drawn implication, and a commanding word of healing — demonstrating that the Pharisees' opposition is not ultimately about Sabbath details but about the authority of Christ, who is Lord of the Sabbath and therefore Lord over all. The healing of the man with the withered hand confirms Jesus' assertion in verse 8 and points forward to the cross, where the sin that hardens men's hearts against Christ is finally and fully addressed. Hearers are called to rest in Christ alone, who heals not only withered hands but withered souls, and to receive the Sabbath as a gift rather than a burden.
The Blessed Yoke of Discipleship
Matthew 11:29–30 presents the 'blessed yoke of discipleship' — the claim that coming to Christ in justification is inseparable from taking up His yoke in sanctification. The sermon moves through three considerations: the command to submit to Christ's rule, the demand to learn from Christ as both teacher and lesson, and the description of discipleship as a yoke that is easy and a burden that is light compared to the bondage of sin and Pharisaic legalism. Antinomianism is directly refuted: the grace that justifies is the grace that sanctifies, and the law of God in the hand of Christ remains the believer's rule of life. The hearer is pressed to either believe on the meek and lowly Christ for rest, or continue in the hard and heavy way of sin.
The Gracious Declaration of the Gospel
Matthew 11:27–28 sets forth the mediatorial office of Christ and the gracious declaration of the gospel as the second and third grounds upon which sinners come to know God. Christ possesses all authority delivered by the Father, holds exclusive knowledge of the Father, and sovereignly wills to reveal Him — condemning universalism, pluralism, and every works-based religion. The free invitation 'Come to me' presupposes sovereign election and effectual grace, addresses those burdened by sin and Pharisaic religion alike, and promises rest that is grounded in Christ's mediation alone, not in human virtue or effort.
The Truth Concealed and Revealed
Matthew 11:25–26 records Jesus praising the Father for the doctrines of election and reprobation — not defending or debating them, but adoring God for them. This sermon examines the sovereign will of the Father as the first and foundational reason why any sinner receives the gospel: God conceals gospel truth from the self-sufficient wise and prudent by a judicial act of righteous judgment, and reveals it to 'babes' by sovereign grace alone, not by any predisposition in the recipient. The proper response to these doctrines is not polemical ammunition but thanksgiving, worship, and adoration — the very posture Christ models in his prayer to the Father. For the unbeliever, the sovereignty of God in election and reprobation ought to provoke both fear and hope, since God is gracious and has purposed to save a great multitude, and the sovereign foundation of verses 25–26 is precisely what grounds the free gospel call of verses 28–30.
The Son of Man Lifted Up
John 12:27–36 presents Jesus in soul trouble as the hour of his crucifixion approaches — not merely fearing physical death, but facing the full weight of the Father's wrath against sin. The sermon expounds four redemptive results of Christ being 'lifted up': the judgment of the world, the casting out of Satan, the effectual drawing of all peoples without distinction to himself, and the glory of God the Father. Preached as a meditation preceding the Lord's Supper, the exposition calls the congregation to prize what they proclaim at the table — not a martyr's moral example, but a cosmic transaction in which the Son exhausted divine wrath on behalf of his people.
The Effects of Jesus' Mission
Matthew 10:34–42 confronts a persistent misreading of Christ's mission: he did not come to establish immediate social peace, but to divide — along the precise line of the enmity God announced in Genesis 3:15 between the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent. The sermon traces two effects of apostolic mission: the division that the gospel necessarily produces in families and societies whose hearts are at enmity with God, and the reception that God's elect show toward Christ's messengers. The exposition draws out three demands of genuine discipleship — loyalty to Christ before family, before physical life, and before any earthly security — before closing with the encouragement that even a cup of cold water given in the name of a disciple is an act God rewards, meaning every believer participates in the mission.
The Response to Persecution
Matthew 10:24–33 confronts disciples with the certainty of persecution and the threefold answer Christ gives to the fear that persecution produces. Jesus establishes first that suffering at the hands of men is inevitable — if they called the Master Beelzebul, they will do the same to his servants — and then forbids fear on three grounds: the gospel's truth will be fully proclaimed, persecutors can only kill the body while God alone holds power over soul and body, and God's sovereign providence extends even to sparrows and the hairs of one's head. The passage closes with a solemn double verdict: those who confess Christ before men will be confessed by Christ before the Father, while those who deny him will be denied — a call to bold, faithful witness grounded in the fear of God rather than the fear of man.
The Finished Work of Christ
John 19:30 records the sixth and final word of the Lord Jesus from the cross before he gave up his spirit: 'It is finished' — the Greek tetelestai, a perfect passive verb stamped on commercial receipts to signify a debt paid in full with present and abiding effect. The sermon examines this declaration under three headings: the fulfillment of all redemptive prophecy, the glory of the Son in his obedience to the Father, his redemption of his people, and his defeat of the devil, and finally the manifold comfort the declaration brings to the church — propitiation exhausting the wrath of God, triumph over death, the forgiveness of sins, the imputation of a perfect righteousness, and peace with God. The sermon is preached in the context of the Lord's Supper, calling believers to receive the ordinance in full consciousness of a finished, unrepeatable, entirely sufficient work of Christ, and calling the unconverted to look to that Savior in simple faith.
The Appointment of the Twelve
Matthew 10:1–4 records the formal appointment of the Twelve as apostles — a commission distinct from their earlier call to discipleship. This exposition examines the authority Christ delegates to the Twelve, the striking ordinariness of the men he selects, and what their diversity, sinfulness, and ultimate faithfulness (or treachery) reveal about the sovereign grace of Christ. The sermon closes with an urgent call to sinners to hear the gospel these apostles were sent to proclaim, and to find in Christ the righteousness that answers condemnation.
The Blind, the Possessed, and Division over Christ
Matthew 9:27–34 closes the extended miracle section of Matthew 8–9 with two final healings — two blind men receiving sight and a mute, demon-possessed man restored to speech — followed by the starkest division yet between those who marvel and those who blaspheme. The blind men's cry of 'Son of David' identifies Jesus as the Davidic Messiah promised in the covenant of 2 Samuel 7 and foretold in Isaiah 35, while their faith — persistent, humble, and cast entirely on Christ's mercy — provides a concrete portrait of what saving trust looks like. The Pharisees, unable to deny the miracles, attribute them to Beelzebub, a wickedness that anticipates the unpardonable sin of Matthew 12 and the intensifying opposition that will carry Jesus to the cross. The sermon calls every hearer to reckon with the unavoidable division: there is no neutrality before Christ — one either marvels and believes, or blasphemes and rejects.
A Ruler's Daughter and an Afflicted Woman
Matthew 9:18–26 presents two intertwined miracles — the raising of Jairus's daughter and the healing of a chronically afflicted woman — as Matthew's climactic demonstration of Christ's authority over death and disease. The passage exposes the nature of saving faith: not its strength or emotional intensity, but its object, the Lord Jesus Christ, who is both willing and omnipotent to save. Whether the petitioner is a prominent synagogue ruler or a marginalized, impoverished woman, Christ receives all who come to him in faith, regardless of social station. The sermon closes with a call to venture on Christ in faith, and a pastoral plea for parents to pray that their children would be brought to saving knowledge of him in their youth.
The Gospel Committed to Paul
What does it mean that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners? Expounding 1 Timothy 1:15–17, this sermon traces the faithful saying of verse 15 from its roots in the eternal decree of God through the covenant of grace to its historical execution in the incarnation and atoning work of Christ. Paul's own conversion is examined as a paradigm of sovereign mercy — not a unique case, but a pattern establishing that even the chief of sinners may obtain grace — and the sermon closes with Paul's doxology as the only fitting response to the gospel of free and sovereign grace.
The Resurrection of the Bridegroom
The resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is not a peripheral doctrine but the very ground of Christian hope, justification, and assurance. Working through John 20:1–23, this sermon examines three successive narratives — the empty tomb, the appearance to Mary Magdalene, and the appearance to the disciples — demonstrating through eyewitness detail, fulfilled Old Testament prophecy, and apostolic interpretation that the risen Lord is none other than the crucified sacrifice. The resurrection vindicates Christ's atoning work, secures the believer's justification, and commissions the church to proclaim the forgiveness of sins as its primary and irreplaceable task.
The Crucifixion of the Bridegroom
John 19:16–24 records the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ, whom Matthew 9:15 identifies as the Bridegroom taken away from his people. This exposition works through four elements of the passage — the setting, the crucifixion itself, the charge written over the cross, and the division of Christ's garments — to show that every detail fulfills the predetermined plan of God and the prophetic word of Scripture. The cross is not a scene for sentimental passion mysticism but the place where the Son bore the wrath of the Father as the substitute for sinners, and where sovereign grace, human depravity, and the glory of Christ are simultaneously on display. Believers are called to worship and marvel; those outside of Christ are called to look and live.
The Calling of Matthew
The calling of Matthew in Matthew 9:9–13 is not merely a biographical interlude but a deliberate theological display of Christ's authority to save notorious sinners. Matthew's own spare account of his conversion — omitting Luke's detail that 'he left all' — directs every eye to the power of the Son of Man rather than to the sacrifice of the disciple. The sermon traces Jesus's three-fold response to the Pharisees' complaint — proverb, prophet, and purpose — showing that the physician goes to the sick, that Hosea's call for mercy over mere cultic observance still indicts externalism, and that Christ's stated mission is to call sinners, not the self-righteous, to repentance. The hearer is exhorted to respond as Matthew did: immediately, totally, with thankfulness, and with a desire to bring others to the Savior.
Christ and the Paralytic
The forgiveness of sins, not physical healing, is the central miracle of Matthew 9:1–8. Christ's pronouncement to the paralytic — 'Son, be of good cheer, your sins are forgiven you' — exposes sin as the problem worse than paralysis and declares the primary mission of Matthew's Gospel: Jesus saves His people from their sins. The scribes' charge of blasphemy is answered not refuted by argument but by the visible healing of the paralytic, which serves as public proof that the Son of Man possesses on earth the divine authority to forgive sins. The proper response to this authority is the response of the multitude: marvel and fear that together fuel genuine worship and praise.
Christ and the Demoniacs
Matthew 8:28–34 presents two men so thoroughly dominated by demonic forces that no human restraint could subdue them — yet Jesus casts out an entire legion with a single word. This exposition works through the description of the demoniacs, their confrontation with Christ, the exorcism itself, and the city's fearful rejection, arguing that the passage is Matthew's sustained demonstration of Christ's absolute authority over the powers of hell. The demons' own testimony — confessing Jesus as the Son of God and acknowledging a coming day of judgment — stands as a rebuke to all who withhold that confession. The sermon closes by calling hearers to flee to Christ rather than away from Him, pointing to the restored men clothed and in their right minds as a picture of what sovereign grace accomplishes.
Christ, the Woman, and the Multitude
Matthew 8:14–17 presents Jesus healing Peter's mother-in-law and then a multitude at evening, and Matthew's theological concern throughout is not merely miraculous spectacle but the identification of Jesus as Isaiah's servant of Yahweh. The sermon addresses two errors: the Roman Catholic elevation of celibacy against Peter's demonstrated married life, and the charismatic and prosperity-gospel misreading of Isaiah 53:4 as a promise of physical healing secured by the atonement. Matthew's citation of Isaiah 53 is a Messianic identification — behold the servant of Yahweh — whose primary burden is spiritual healing, the forgiveness of sins, not the removal of physical infirmity. The application is direct: come to a Savior who unites pity with omnipotence, who heals with immediacy and efficacy, and who forgives sins by faith alone.
Christ and the Centurion
Matthew 8:5–13 presents a Roman centurion whose faith surpasses anything Jesus has found in Israel, and whose encounter with Christ becomes a theological announcement: the Abrahamic promises are now being fulfilled in the inclusion of Gentiles and the judgment of unbelieving ethnic Israel. The centurion's approach to Christ models three marks of genuine faith — a plea grounded in misery rather than merit, profound humility before the Lord's authority, and unshaken confidence that Christ's spoken word alone is sufficient to heal. The sermon calls hearers to examine whether they stand in faith or unbelief, and to rest entirely in Christ's authority and grace rather than any personal worthiness.
A Lofty Confession of Faith
Thomas's refusal to believe the apostolic witness to the resurrection exposes a posture common to all people: dictating the terms by which they will believe. Yet Christ condescends with sovereign grace to meet Thomas in his obstinance, drawing from him the highest Christological confession in the fourth Gospel — 'My Lord and my God.' John's purpose in recording these events is stated explicitly: that readers would believe Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and so receive life in his name. The sermon presses every hearer to ask whether they can claim Christ with Thomas's personal possessive — 'my Lord and my God' — and warns against every attempt to negotiate terms with God before believing.
Jesus Was Born to Reign
What does it mean that the eternal Son of God was born? John 18:37 places the incarnation in its most demanding context: Jesus, exhausted and on trial before Pilate, declares with quiet certainty, 'For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world.' This sermon exposits the Roman trial narrative of John 18:28–38, arguing that Christ's birth must be understood not sentimentally but regally — he was born to reign as King of Kings, bearing witness to truth as the instrument of his conquest, and ruling a kingdom whose origin and character are altogether unlike any earthly empire. The hearer is called to examine whether they hear Christ's voice as subjects of his kingdom, and to rest their standing before God not in their own righteousness but in the righteousness that comes through faith in him.
The Devil's Defeat
Revelation 12 presents a cosmic conflict between the dragon and the people of God, explained through richly layered Old Testament imagery. The chapter identifies the woman as the true Israel of God, the dragon as Satan, and the male child as the Lord Jesus Christ whose ascension signals the inauguration of his universal reign. The devil is defeated not once but four times — failing to destroy Christ, failing against Michael's angels, failing to destroy the church in the wilderness, and failing against the offspring of the woman. This theology of suffering equips the persecuted church to endure, knowing that the rage of the dragon is itself the consequence of his defeat, and that Christ's people are kept safe in the hand of the triumphant Lamb.
The Cross as the Manifestation of God's Love
John 3:16 — the most familiar verse in Scripture — is not a proof text for universal atonement but a declaration that the cross is God's appointed remedy flowing from His own gracious initiative toward a sinful world. Working through the passage in six movements, the sermon grounds God's love in the particular design of definite atonement: 'world' denotes all men without distinction, not all men without exception, and the believing one — regenerated by the Spirit before he ever looks to Christ — receives eternal life. The sermon calls both the unbeliever to flee to Christ and the Christian to return constantly to Calvary as the only sufficient display of God's immeasurable love.
The Gracious Remedy
Matthew 7:7–11 presents prayer not as a religious technique but as the God-ordained remedy enabling believers to live as the Sermon on the Mount demands. The passage's four considerations — its connection to the preceding ethical instruction, the exhortation to persistent prayer, the promises given to those who pray, and the encouragement drawn from God's fatherly character — all converge on a single point: the emphasis falls not on the act of praying but on the God to whom we pray. Because the Father in heaven is neither a reluctant stranger nor a malicious tyrant, believers are called to ask, seek, and knock with confidence that He defines and supplies the good things His children truly need.
The Governing Principle of Kingdom Life
Matthew 6:31–34 sets out the governing principle of kingdom life: the disciple of Christ is to seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and not to be paralyzed by the carnal anxiety that marks Gentile existence. The sermon draws a sharp contrast between those who have no doctrine of a sovereign Father and those who confess one, arguing that a Reformed understanding of God's sovereignty must extend beyond soteriology into the daily trials of earthly life. To worry about food, drink, and clothing is to live as a Gentile; to rest in the Father's knowledge of our needs, pray as Christ taught, and pursue the kingdom first is to live as a loyal subject of God's reign.
The Command to Resist Carnal Anxiety
Worry is not a minor personality quirk but a sin — a form of idolatry that displaces God from his rightful throne and sets self at the center. Working through Matthew 6:25–30, this sermon expounds Christ's command to resist carnal anxiety by examining the grammatical connection between kingdom-loyalty and daily trust, the two illustrative arguments from birds and lilies, and the diagnostic verdict of 'little faith.' The remedy offered is not a technique but a theological re-orientation: recognise the absolute sovereignty of God, render obedience to the command not to be anxious, and increase faith through searching the Scriptures.
The Necessity of a Kingdom Focus
Matthew 6:22–23 presents the eye as a metaphor for the soul's orientation: a 'good' eye signifies single-minded devotion to the kingdom of God, while a 'bad' eye signifies a divided, darkened loyalty that amounts not to partial commitment but to deep-seated idolatry. The sermon argues that the believer's every pursuit — treasure, focus, and master — must be ordered wholly toward God, and that divided allegiance is darkness, not a lesser degree of light. Drawing on Philippians 3:12–14 and Psalm 73, the preacher calls hearers to press on with single-eyed determination, to realign priorities through Scripture and the Spirit, and — for those whose darkness is not the remnant sin of a believer but the reigning darkness of an unconverted heart — to flee to Christ alone as the only remedy.
The Pursuit of Heavenly Treasure
Matthew 6:19–21 sets before the believer a stark choice: lay up treasure on earth, where moth, rust, and thieves destroy, or lay up treasure in heaven, where nothing can diminish what is stored. The sermon expounds three movements in the text — a prohibition against covetousness and materialism, a positive command to pursue heavenly treasure through kingdom-shaped living, and an implication that wherever a man's treasure lies, his heart inevitably follows. The application presses hearers toward honest self-examination, gratitude for Christ's perfect loyalty to the Father, and the call to believe on him as the only one who perfectly laid up treasures in heaven on behalf of his people.
The Finished Work of Christ
When Jesus declared 'It is finished' (John 19:30), he was not announcing defeat but uttering a triumphant cry of completion — the single Greek verb teleo carrying the force of a paid-in-full receipt. This sermon expounds the finished work of Christ under three headings: its fulfillment of all prior Scripture and typology, the glory it reveals in the Son's perfect filial obedience to the Father, and the comfort it secures for the church. That comfort is fourfold and concrete: the forgiveness of sins through Christ's blood, the imputation of his active obedience as the believer's righteousness, peace with God through justification by faith alone, and the purchased inheritance of eternal life — leaving the believer with no ground for despair and every ground for worship.
True and False Religion: Fasting
True religious fasting is assumed by Christ, not commanded as a merit-earning ritual, and is to be practiced in secret before God alone. Expounding Matthew 6:16–18 within the broader Sermon on the Mount context of exceeding Pharisaic righteousness, this sermon examines fasting under three headings: the assumption that the regenerate will fast, the warning against hypocritical display for human approval, and the corrective of ordinary, unannounced normalcy in one's daily conduct. The controlling application is that the believer's religious observances — almsgiving, prayer, and fasting — flow from justifying grace already received, not toward securing acceptance with God, which rests solely on the active and passive obedience of Christ imputed by faith.