Encounters With Jesus

Unexpected Answers to Life’s Biggest Questions

by Timothy Keller

**Summary**

This is a must-read for anyone struggling to understand the truth of the gospel.
In this book, Keller explores the interactions between Jesus and the people around Him, as recorded in the gospel of John. We watch Jesus cover shame, extend hospitality, and heal brokenness, all the while dealing with the underlying heart issues of doubt, pride, and grief. In Jesus, we see what it looks like for a human being to live well. We learn from Him that it is only in relationship with God that the thirst of our soul can be satisfied.
But, then we learn that this relationship with God has been irreparably broken, and that no amount of effort or goodness on our part can ever get us back to Him. Which leads to the astounding truth about Christianity—the thing that sets Christianity apart from every other religion in the world. We do not have to spend our lives attempting to earn our way back to God, because our God comes for us. Keller’s explanation of what it cost Him to do so has the potential to be a life-changing encounter for all of us.
**Author’s Website:** Encounters with Jesus - Book by Timothy Keller

Favorite Quotes

“Jesus says that he will always be infinitely more than anyone is looking for. He will always exceed our expectations; he will be more than we can ask for or imagine.”

“The founders of every other major religion said, ‘I’m a prophet who shows you how to find God,’ but Jesus taught, ‘I’m God, come to find you.’”

“[Satan] asks Jesus, essentially, to make God prove that he loves him and empowers him. But you don’t need to ask someone for demonstrations and assurances and proofs unless you doubt. And that’s Satan’s main military goal—he wants Jesus to lose the certainty, the assurance of God’s full acceptance, of his unconditional fatherly love.”

“But for those of us who know in principle that we are adopted, loved sons and daughters, Satan wants us to slide back into a self-image based on our moral performance, our goodness and efforts.”

“When you put your faith in Jesus, when you say from the heart, ‘Father, accept me because of what Jesus did,’ then Jesus’ work on the cross is transferred to your account. Now the law of God demands your acquittal.”

“Hell came down on him, and he would not let go of us. His love for us has already taken everything that the universe could throw at it and it held fast—and you think that you are somehow going to upset him?”