BIBLICAL preaching in its various forms has always had something to do directly or indirectly with good news from God to men. The oral communication of the divine promises and commandments from father to children was a universal and obligatory duty in both patriarchal and Levitical times (Gen. 18:19; Deut. 11:19). Private instruction was augmented by public reading on special occasions (Deut. 31:9-13).
In times of spiritual revival, as during the days of Jehoshaphat and Josiah, teaching priests itinerated in Judah to turn the people back to God (2 Chron. 15:3; 17:7-9; 35:3). In Ezra's day, he and the Levites publicly read and expounded the law till the people comprehended the call of God to special dedication.
Whereas the preaching of the Levites was based upon the written word (the Torah), in the days of the prophets God's messages were frequently received directly from God and transmitted to the people viva voce.
Preaching in the New Testament
In the synagogue in the days of Jesus, preaching consisted of public reading of assigned portions of the Law and Prophets, succeeded by homiletic explanation. A great deal of the reading and exhortation had a Messianic content.
In the regular service for the day, the elder read from the prophets, and exhorted the people still to hope for the Coming One, who would bring in a glorious reign, and banish all oppression. He sought to encourage his hearers by rehearsing the evidence that the Messiah's coming was near. He described the glory of His advent, keeping prominent the thought that He would appear at the head of armies to deliver Israel.—The Desire of Ages, p. 236; compare Luke 4:16-30.
In the NT the preaching of John the Baptist, Jesus, the apostles and others is described by the use of some thirty different terms. The most important are keryssein, "to herald," "to proclaim" (used sixty-one times, kerygma about nine times); euaggelizesthai, "to publish good news" (used over fifty times, euaggelion over seventy times); and didaskein, "to teach" (used around ninety times, the nouns didaskalia and didache also being used, especially in the Pastoral Epistles). All of these verbs and substantives, following the pattern of extra-biblical usage or OT equivalents, carry a strong note of authority. The preacher has received his assignment and message from God and he comes with the authority of his Sender.—Baker's Dictionary of Theology, p. 414.
The curtain rises on New Testament preaching with the stern and fearless forerunner proclaiming the coming of the King and Saviour of Israel. "In those days came John the Baptist, preaching" (Matt. 3:1). We may call him the last of the old-style prophets, thundering forth his compelling message from the borderland of the old and new dispensations.
With the passing of John, our Lord came into the center of the world's stage. He was the greatest teacher and preacher of all time. The curtain was lifted on the Capernaum residence of the Master, and we read: "From that time Jesus began to preach" (Matt. 4:17). Then He "went about all Galilee, teaching . . . and preaching" (verse 23). The whole atmosphere of the New Testament days of Jesus is one of preaching, teaching, evangelizing, confronting men with eternal issues.
The words of Christ were as sharp arrows, which went to the mark and wounded the hearts of His hearers. Every time He addressed the people, whether His audience was large or small, His words took saving effect upon the soul of some one. No message that fell from His lips was lost. Every word He spoke placed a new responsibility upon those who heard.—Gospel Workers, pp. 150, 151.
The Preaching of the Apostles
The apostles were the impassioned advocates of Jesus Christ and His coming kingdom. From the moment that Peter "lifted up his voice" and proclaimed the resurrection as the sequel to the crucifixion, and Christ's exaltation at God's right hand (Acts 2:14, 31-33), till the martyrdom of the mighty Paul, whose last acts centered in "preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching those things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ" (chapter 28:30, 31), the world was turned upside down by the greatest surge of spiritual preaching ever heard on God's earth.
This was prophetic preaching in a twofold sense. These apostles superimposed the earthly life of the Lord of glory upon the Messianic content of the Old Testament. They made men see the one as the literal fulfillment of the other. Then they proceeded to preach Jesus as the Lord who would return in glory, "with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God" (1 Thess. 4:16). Some of the prophecies they used derived directly from the words of Jesus; others were Old Testament predictions that extended beyond the first to the Second Advent. This use of sound prophetic interpretation added power to the apostolic preaching.
At the end of the first century the aged John was proclaiming, "Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him" (Rev. 1:7). Powerful, prophetic preaching set the church on her world mission.
What of Preaching Today?
The church has spread into all the world. We have churches large and small, and institutions of all kinds. We have a numerous ministry, and various agencies and all the adjuncts of church machinery. Are we still preaching with the power without which men and women can never be won to Christ? Are we preaching from the Word of God, without which preaching may entertain, perhaps enlighten, but can never convict?
How are we facing the dangers of consolidation that come after nearly 120 years of history? Professionalism, ambition, cynicism, lethargy, frigidity, loss of preaching passion, lack of study and self-improvement —these have swallowed up many a man and ruined many churches during the long course of history. They must not conquer the ministry whose mission is to preach the imminent coming of the Lord with all the eschatological implications thereof.
"The Lord lives and reigns. Soon He wilt arise in majesty to shake terribly the earth. A special message is now to be borne, a message that will pierce the spiritual darkness and convict and convert souls. . . . We must now be terribly in earnest."—Testimonies vol. 8, p. 36.
We shall not shake men into awareness of the coming kingdom by sermons that are of the order described nearly sixty years ago in these words: "My heart is filled with anguish when I think of the tame messages borne by some of our ministers, when they have a message of life and death to bear."—Ibid., p. 37.
Nor can we preach the Advent message with sermons that are wholly anecdotal, popular, topical, philosophical, or psychological, however helpful these may be at times. We must "preach the Word" and preach it with burning souls. "It is the efficiency of the Holy Spirit that makes the ministry of the word effective. When Christ speaks through the minister, the Holy Spirit prepares the hearts of the listeners to receive the word. The Holy Spirit is not a servant, but a controlling power."—Gospel Workers, p. 155. Submission to the Spirit's power and devotion to the sacred Word are great secrets of preaching power.
The man who loves God's Word and is submissive to the Holy Spirit's guidance is also a man of prayer.
"Prayer is the breath of the soul. It is the secret of spiritual power. . . . God's messengers must tarry long with Him, if they would have success in their work. . . .
"Ministers who are truly Christ's representatives will be men of prayer. . . .
"Those who teach and preach the most effectively are those who wait humbly upon God, and watch hungrily for His guidance and His grace."—Ibid., pp. 254-257.
H. W. L.
