This book works through fifty things that the suffering and death of Christ accomplished. To a Christian, some of them will seem obvious, but many present truths that you may not have thought about at all before, or at least not associated so closely with the cross. The style is written such that a non-Christian will get a clear and basic presentation of the Gospel, but anyone at any point in their spiritual walk can use the fifty reasons as a starting point for further contemplation and Scripture study. Each of the reasons is backed up by verses, and Piper does not spend a lot of time drawing on other authors or on popular anecdotes, letting the full weight of the Bible speak for itself. The chapters are two pages each, making the book a quick read if you want to get a full sense of the impact of the crucifixion in one sitting, or a good source for daily devotions or lesson preparation if you want to focus in depth on one particular theme. The book is very simple, yet contains some profound perspectives on the importance of this historical event. ( )

Very good book about Jesus with constant references to scripture. It has a very evangelical nature so it may be good to recommend in that respect. I did have trouble getting into at times. I think my problem was that I read it in several large blocks where it would have been better to read one per day. I may go back and do this to help the messages soak in to my head better. ( )

What John Piper has done in this book is take fifty of the results of Christ's death given in scripture and listed them for us as fifty reasons why Jesus came to die. That, of course, makes perfect sense because any results of Christ's death are intended purposes of Christ's death, since God has the power and wisdom to do things so that only exactly what He wishes is accomplished. This means that there are no unintended results from anything God does, only purposed results. And any purposed results are rightly called 'reasons why.'

Each of the fifty reasons is allotted two pages of text. First, supporting scripture is given and then there are several paragraphs of explanation. This makes the book especially suited for devotional reading, two or three reasons at a time. Anything more than that might be too much, as there is so much reflect on in each short section.

Fifty Reasons Why Jesus Came to Die is an introductory level book--there's nothing difficult in it--and yet almost every reader will learn a thing of two from it. And who among us doesn't need a reminder of the infinite wisdom of God in the cross of Christ? ( )

In this book John PIper lays out spiritually in fifty steps the reasons that Christ came to earth to die. Each step is a chapter and is just two pages, so the book can be used as a daily reading as well as a short bible study. Each step builds on the next giving us a biblical basis. ( )

The author presents fifty reasons, gathered from the New Testament, why Jesus Christ suffered and died for us.