I don’t remember the first time I picked up one of Don Carson’s books. I suspect it was in college when I was thumbing through his John commentary.
What I do remember, though, was working through the first edition of his Introduction to the New Testament, cowritten with Douglas Moo and Leon Morris.
Engaging Carson’s Work
I later engaged with Don’s work on a deeper level when I started my doctoral work at Wheaton College. My research focused on the biblical conception of “mystery” and how that framework relates to the New Testament’s use of the Old Testament. One of Don’s interests—he had many!—was to study the apostles’ use of Israel’s Scripture. In 2004, Don penned what I think is one of the finest essays of his career, “Mystery and Fulfillment: Toward a More Comprehensive Paradigm of Paul’s Understanding of the Old and the New.”
Carson’s essay argues that Paul holds two things simultaneously: the genuine yet surprising fulfillment of Old Testament promises. Christ indeed fulfills Old Testament promises, yet he often does so in an unexpected manner. Such insight gets at the heart of how the apostles read vast portions of the Old Testament. This line of argumentation left an indelible mark on how I (and many others) approach the relationship between the two Testaments.
Don’s work left an indelible mark on how I (and many others) approach the relationship between the two Testaments.
It wasn’t until 2017 that I started working with Don directly on a Baker Academic book, Dictionary of the New Testament Use of the Old Testament. The massive project involved four editors: Don, G. K. Beale, Andrew Naselli, and me, requiring considerable coordination and editorial acumen. The 900,000-word dictionary finally made an appearance in fall 2023 at the Evangelical Theological Society conference in Austin, Texas.
During this time, the four editors exchanged hundreds of emails. And while much of our correspondence was electronic, I learned how Don approached editing large-scale projects. He was, after all, the editor of the Pillar New Testament Commentary, New Studies in Biblical Theology, and Questions for Restless Minds series, to name a few. I was stunned at Don’s speedy replies to my emails and his ability to examine a problem from various angles. I was also grateful for his comfort and personal words of encouragement when my father passed away in spring 2021.
Furthering Carson’s Legacy
My final point of reflection is to draw attention to Don’s vision of The Carson Center for Theological Renewal. Don was a consummate pastor-scholar, one who cared deeply about the local church. He spent his life traveling to and raising up church leaders, especially pastors from every church size in every corner of the globe, by preaching hundreds of sermons that spanned both Testaments, were biblical-theological in nature, were sensitive to the culture, and aimed at the heart.
He spent his life traveling to and raising up church leaders, especially pastors from every church size in every corner of the globe.
This is precisely why The Carson Center exists: to foster spiritual renewal around the world by providing excellent theological resources for the whole church. While only 30 percent of U.S. households have read just a few paragraphs of the Bible, all those households have internet access. Outside the U.S., 85 percent of pastors don’t possess any formal theological training.
My goal as the executive director of The Carson Center is to close this gap, by the grace of God, and foster biblical literacy here and abroad. I want to come alongside pastors to remind them of God’s grace and give them tools for ministry.
I miss Don. We all do. But we’re thankful for God’s grace in using Don to spread the gospel to the ends of the earth.
