The Essence of a Sermon: Preach Christ from the Bible
Introduction to Biblical Preaching course part 2 of 5
[This free four-week course, commencing Tuesday October 7, can also be accessed on Zoom.]
In this study, the second of our five-part series, we look at the heart of what makes a biblical sermon.
1. Two interpretative approaches: exegesis versus eisegesis
Exegesis means reading meaning out of (ex) the Bible. It means approaching the Bible not to affirm our knowledge, but to attain knowledge; not to have our existing conceptions reinforced, but to have them formed, shaped, deepened, and challenged.
If the Bible is the Word of God then we approach it first and last with the intention to listen.
Eisegesis means reading meaning into (eis) the Bible. It means approaching the Bible not to learn, but only to affirm what we think we already know, to look for evidence to prove what we already think. Eisegesis makes it possible for anti-Christian cults like Mormonism to come to the Bible and to cherry pick statements here and there that support their false beliefs. Because the Bible is such a big book and is so full of poetry and metaphor it is not impossible to collate a set of verses, taken out of context, to prove one’s own theories.
How do we guard against eisegesis?
2. Rules of biblical interpretation
Exegesis follows certain rules that make it more difficult to twist the Bible to mean whatever we want it to mean.
1. Interpret Scripture by Scripture. This rule is also called the analogy of faith.
2. Interpret difficult and obscure passages in the light of more simple and straightforward passages. This is to “go with the grain” of the Bible. If we find ourselves trying to hammer round pegs into triangular holes, reinterpreting clear passages with doubtful interpretations of obscure passages, then we know we are doing something wrong.
3. Interpret Scripture according to its genre: whether history, genealogy, law, prophecy, poetry, proverbs, apocalyptic, letters, or Gospel. We must not misinterpret history (like Noah’s Ark) as metaphor; or poetic metaphors (“all your waves and breakers have swept over me”) as prose facts; or apocalyptic numbers (“a thousand years”) as calendar years; or proverbial principles (“honour the Lord with your wealth then your barns will be filled to overflowing”) as laws.
4. Understand the historical and cultural context: the Bible was written by particular people from a particular place and time with a particular language and culture, who engaged with particular people and events. This means that we can only interpret the Bible correctly if we first ask: “What did these words mean coming from this person at this time and place and in this situation?” (Scholars call this grammatical-historical exegesis.) It is only when we understand the words in their original context that we can begin the hard work of bridging them to our own time, place, culture, and events.
3. Interpret the Bible Christologically
The New Testament teaches over and again that the entire Bible is about Jesus Christ.
Luke 24:25–27 [Jesus said to the dejected disciples on the Road to Emmaus] ‘How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?’ And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.
Luke 24:44 ‘This is what I told you while I was still with you: everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.’
John 1:45 Philip found Nathanael and told him, ‘We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.’
John 5:46 ‘If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me.’
Acts 26:22b–23 I am saying nothing beyond what the prophets and Moses said would happen—that the Messiah would suffer and, as the first to rise from the dead, would bring the message of light to his own people and to the Gentiles.’
When studying a Bible passage, whether devotionally or in preparation to teach or preach, we must always ask: “What does this teach me about the Saviour Jesus Christ? What does this teach me about faith in Christ, and life as his disciple?”
4. How does the Old Testament teach us about Jesus Christ?
1. By direct prophecy:
Genesis 3:15 [God said this to the serpent about the coming “seed of the woman”:] “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”
2 Samuel 7:12–16 [God promised this to David:] “When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men, but my steadfast love will not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you. And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.”
Psalm 2:7–9 I will proclaim the Lord’s decree: He said to [the Messiah], ‘You are my son; today I have become your father. Ask me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession. You will break them with a rod of iron; you will dash them to pieces like pottery.’
Isaiah 7:14 The Lord himself will give you a sign: the virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.
Isaiah 9:6–7 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and for ever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.
Isaiah 53:4–6 Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
Daniel 7:13–14 In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshipped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.
2. By preincarnate appearances:
For example one of the three angelic visitors to Abraham (Gen.18); the angel who wrestled with Jacob (Gen. 32); the LORD who spoke to Moses at the burning bush (Exod. 3); the Angel of the Lord who appeared to Joshua (Josh. 5); the one “who looks like a son of the gods”, who helped Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the furnace (Dan. 3).
3. By typological persons:
For instance Joseph, Moses, the High Priest, Joshua, Samson, David, Solomon, Elisha, the Shepherd King in the Song of Solomon, and personified Wisdom in the book of Proverbs. With the exception of the latter, such flawed and mortal figures were manifestly not the Christ, but embodied nonetheless certain vital truths about the Christ. Joseph, for example, taught that the Christ would be despised by his own people, but would be raised up by God to be the saviour of the world. When David slew Goliath he taught that the Christ would defeat the Enemy of God’s people on their behalf.
4. By typological objects
For example Noah’s Ark; the ram sacrificed in the place of Isaac; the staircase to heaven in Jacob’s dream; the pillar of fire and cloud; the manna; the rock from which came water in the desert; the bronze serpent on the pole; the Temple; the Passover Lamb and other Levitical sacrifices. Each of these taught certain important facts about the person and work of the Messiah.
The same principle applied to Old Testament days and festivals:
Colossians 2:16–17 Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.
5. Preaching must be Christocentric
If the Bible is about Jesus Christ then biblical preaching must be Christ-centred: Christocentric. Paul said:
1 Corinthians 2:2 I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.
Galatians 6:14–15 May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.
The most important thing is to “preach Christ.” So much so that even badly motivated preachers who nonetheless preach Christ still bring Paul joy:
Philippians 1:17–18 The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains. But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice. Yes, and I will continue to rejoice.
6. The vocabulary of preaching
If preaching is derived from exegesis, which listens to what the Bible teaches about Jesus, and which is Christocentric, then the preacher will never teach as a guru, sage, or philosopher; he will never present his wisdom, his insights, his rules for life, his discoveries, his policies, his predictions, or anything else that derives from him.
That is why the New Testament words which describe preaching define the preacher not as speakers of their own words, but as the conduits of God’s Word:
Herald
2 Timothy 1:11 Of this gospel I was appointed a herald and an apostle and a teacher.
A herald (κηρυξ, kēryx) is a town-crier who heralds and proclaims (κηρυσσω, kēryssō) news that they have heard and received, in the city square. kēryssō is most often translated “preach.” The herald’s message is the kērygma (κηρυγμα), an official announcement or public declaration:
2 Timothy 4:17a The Lord stood at my side and gave me strength, so that through me the message (kērygma) might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it.
1 Corinthians 2:4–5 My message and my preaching (kērygma) were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power.
Apostle
An apostle (ἀποστολος, apostolos) is someone sent or commissioned by another. The Apostles had seen the risen Christ, were commissioned by him to announce his resurrection, and were authenticated as his messengers by signs and wonders. They did not go and teach what they wanted to teach, on their own authority, or on any earthly authority. They went as Christ’s sent messengers, on his authority, with his message.
All apostles were appointed by Christ within the first generation of the church. Since then Christian preachers share in the apostolic task of proclaiming Christ’s resurrection.
Teacher
A teacher (διδασκολος, didaskolos) teaches and instructs (διδασκω, didaskō) others a certain body of teaching or instruction (διδαχη, didachē). Christian teachers teach what they have been instructed to teach by the LORD:
Acts 2:42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching (didachē) and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.
Titus 1:9 [An elder] must hold firmly to the teaching (didachē) of the trustworthy message, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it.
Evangelist
2 Timothy 4:5 But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.
An evangelist (εὐαγγελιστής, euangelistēs) proclaims the Gospel (εὐαγγελιον, euangelion), which is a word compounded from good (εὐ, eu) and message (ἀγγελια, angeliα). (An angel (ἀγγελος, angelos) is literally a messenger.) The Christian preacher evangelises (εὐαγγελιζομαι, euangelizomai): proclaims the Good News.
Ambassador
2 Corinthians 5:20 We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: be reconciled to God.
Ephesians 6:20 I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare [the Gospel] fearlessly, as I should.
The verb presbeuō (πρεσβευω) means “to be an ambassador”, “to act as a representative.” Ambassadors proclaim not their own words, but those of their king or government. This is essential to the role of the Christian preacher.
Prophet
We have already seen that prophets speak only those words which God has put into their mouths. Sometimes Paul seems to use the words prophet and prophesy in a “small-p” way to signify church preaching. (This is probably the case in 1 Corinthians 12 to 14.) Certainly the Christian preacher is “prophetic” in that he must only say what God has given him to say, has put into his mouth.
Pastor
Ephesians 4:11–12 Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up.
A pastor is a shepherd (ποιμην, poimēn), and shepherds are tasked with leading, protecting, and feeding their sheep. Christian shepherds must only feed the LORD’s sheep the food that they themselves have received from the Chief Shepherd – the Word of the LORD Jesus Christ himself.
All of this is reinforced by one of the most magnificent declarations of what it means to be a Christian teacher in all of the Bible. Here is part of Paul’s farewell address to the Ephesian elders, virtually a manifesto of biblical preaching:
Acts 20:26–31 Therefore, I declare to you today that I am innocent of the blood of any of you. 27For I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole will of God. 28Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood. 29I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. 30Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. 31So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears.
The biblical vision and vocabulary of preaching mandates that the Christian preacher’s words must derive not from himself, but God. Anything else, or anything less, is false and unfaithful.
To preach is to proclaim Jesus Christ from the Word of God.