Book Reviews -- By: Anonymous

Journal: Journal for Baptist Theology & Ministry
Volume: JBTM 10:1 (Spring 2013)
Article: Book Reviews
Author: Anonymous


Book Reviews

Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary: Exalting Jesus in Matthew. By David Platt. Nashville: B&H Publishing, 2013. 392 pages. Paperback, $12.99.

David Platt is the pastor of the Church at Brook Hills in Birmingham, AL. Formerly, he taught preaching and served as Dean of Chapel at the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, from which he earned his Ph.D. Platt is a popular speaker and preacher and is the author of the best-selling Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream. He is also an editor of the Christ-Centered Exposition series, along with Daniel L. Akin and Tony Merida. Exalting Jesus in Matthew is second in that series.

Currently, one of the hottest topics within the evangelical community is the nature of Christocentric hermeneutics and homiletics. Books, articles, and public discussions abound, but consensus seems to be elusive. Some insist that every single passage of Scripture points to Jesus, while others argue that in a broader and more general sense Jesus is the ultimate focus of the entirety of the biblical metanarrative. The debate is far from settled, for as I heard Ed Stetzer say recently, “One man’s exegesis is another man’s allegory.”

This is why the timing of the Christ-Centered Exposition series is apropos. The editors are endeavoring to offer a homiletical commentary grounded in a conviction that the focus of the Bible is Messianic, explaining that they “purpose to exalt Jesus from every book of the Bible” without resorting to “wild allegory or fanciful typology.” Citing Luke 24:25–27, 44–47, and John 5:39, 46 as foundational to their heremeneutic, they presuppose that careful exegesis will lead to Christ-centered exposition.1

If you are looking for a critical commentary, this and the other volumes in the series will not fit the bill. Admittedly non-academic, the book is presented as a collection of sermons with each chapter constituting a different sermon. As expected, Platt handles the text with a seriousness that demonstrates a high view of Scripture. Though not critical in nature, the work contains more than a surface-level treatment of the biblical material. For example, in the chapter dealing with Matt 3:1–17, the author’s definition of the word “repent” is grounded in the meaning of the Greek term (51). Moreover, he consistently provides relevant information on the social setting of various passages.

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