Book Review: "Christ's Finished Work"

After reading and reviewing the first two volumes of Joseph Parker’s sermons on Matthew, it may seem like “overkill” to review the 3rd and final volume. This post won’t be long, but I did want to give some insight into the volume.

As with volumes one and two, the sermons are quite difficult to understand. My major frustration with the sermons was that they were introduced as “exegetical,” and were supposed to be so thorough that it would feel as if you were reading a commentary. That simply is not the case. Mr. Parker finds a phrase he likes and preaches on that phrase for quite some time–usually half of the sermon or more–then quickly gives some points on the other verses or phrases from his text. I find this method extremely frustrating, because it falls somewhere between an exegetical sermon and a commentary, and does not help me personally as either one.

Also continuing the difficulties of the first two volumes is the language. As I have said in the other reviews, I understand that these sermons are about 100 years old and were preached in England; so the language differences will be there. However, I have read several books from that era–and many from England–that were no where near this difficult to read. I just wonder why some have to present God’s simple truths in such difficult language.

That being said, I am very glad I read all three volumes. I did learn several things, and I got a few sermon ideas from some of the comments. It is also good to read books like this, that challenge us in our thinking and make us work when reading.

Overall, as I have said with the other volumes, I would not recommend them unless you were doing a detailed study of Matthew or of the life of Christ. If you wish to add the books to your library, links are available to all three volumes. I would highly recommend buying the books used.

Volume 1 is called The Inner Life of Christ and covers Matthew 1-7.

Volume 2 is called Servant of All and discusses Matthew 8-16.

The final volume is Christ’s Finished Work and it covers Matthew 16-28. It also contains closing thoughts on the Gospel of Matthew as a whole and has a “bonus” sermon based on Mark 11:11 entitled “The Silent Looks of Christ.”