The Pleasures of God by John Piper
Week 10: Chapter 9 — The Pleasure of God in the Death of His Son
Read Chapter 9 of The Pleasures of God. Key Scripture: Isaiah 53:10; Romans 3:25–26; Hebrews 12:2.
Previewing Week 10 of The Pleasures of God
Read 3 of 7 discussion questions below. Unlock the complete 12-week guide when you’re ready.
This may be the most sobering and most glorious chapter in the book: Piper explores what it means that it 'pleased the LORD to crush him' (Isaiah 53:10) and why the cross is not the contradiction of God's joy but its supreme expression.
Discussion Questions
7 questions1.Isaiah 53:10 says 'It was the will of the LORD to crush him; he has put him to grief.' Piper does not soften this verse. What is your initial reaction to the idea that God took pleasure in the suffering of his Son? What questions does it raise, and what comfort—if any—does it offer?
2.Piper carefully distinguishes between the Father's grief over the Son's suffering and the Father's pleasure in what the suffering *accomplished*—the redemption of sinners and the display of divine righteousness. How does that distinction help? Does it fully resolve the tension for you?
a.Hebrews 12:2 says Jesus 'for the joy that was set before him endured the cross.' What was that joy? How does Jesus' own motivation at Calvary illuminate the Father's?
b.What does it tell you about the nature of love that both the Father and the Son freely chose the cross?
3.Romans 3:25–26 says God put Christ forward as a propitiation 'to show his righteousness... so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.' Piper argues that the cross is where God's pleasure in his own glory and his pleasure in showing grace to sinners meet perfectly. How does that double satisfaction—justice and mercy at once—make the cross uniquely glorious?