This book is an edited version of five sermons that Carson preached at a Resurgence conference in Mars Hill, Seattle. Carson attempts not only to detail events surrounding the death and resurrection of Christ but also to explain what they mean. He does so by “unpacking” (a favorite word of the author) five sections of the Bible. By doing so Carson gives solid teaching on the gospel message.
Scandalous is meaty yet readable and contains detailed explanations yet is nicely illustrated. One issue that I would take is Carson’s covenantal view of the book of Revelation (pp. 80-90). With this aside I believe Scandalous well worth reading. I especially appreciated Carson’s statement about idolatry:
If you want something bad enough, that thing becomes god for you. It is idolatry, which means that instead of wanting God, you want the thing which de-gods God (p. 46).