Expository
Preaching: A Dying Craft
The seven churches of Revelation, to
which Jesus through John delivered both individual and personal
messages, represent seven literal churches. Most Bible scholars see
these messages as representing (1) seven types of churches that would
manifest themselves during the Church Age at any given time, and (2)
the seven consecutive eras of Church history, culminating in the coming
of Christ. The Laodicean church is the era in which we live. The most
remarkable trait of the Laodicean church is the Lord Jesus himself on
the outside, standing and knocking at the door, desiring entry into his
own church. One reason why Jesus, the embodiment of truth, is on the
outside is the virtual absence of truth on the inside. Pulpits in this
nation have all but abandoned the exposition of truth. Expository
preaching is a dying craft.
How did this dearth of
exegetical-expository preaching become the norm? First, the
proliferation of watered-down Bible translations has managed
to eviscerate the venerable King James of its theological and doctrinal
themes. The KJV, with an almost slavish faithfulness to the original
text, demands some discipline while doing the excavation work of
researching etymologies, grammar, syntax, verb tenses et al. Such
painstaking study rewards a student with interpretive gems. But
serendipitous translations and paraphrases that 'dumb down' scripture
for 'easy reading' often sacrifice key theological concepts in the
process.
Secondly, seminaries and Bible
colleges often fail to teach young preachers expository skills. During
a three- or four-year course, students usually get their OT and NT
survey courses along with a handful of electives. Professors typically
teach from a course outline, discuss content from 30,000 feet and
then require students to reproduce course notes on exams.
When the graduate gets to his first church, he is often dependent on
commentaries written by other men for his 'insights' and illustrations.
It may be that there was a mentor in his past to serve as an example of
the expository craft. But such men are the exception rather than the
rule. It is even possible for a KJV loyalist to be virtually
exposition-free and think he's actually 'preaching the word' by
embellishing KJV text with a plethora of illustrations and stories.
Even sheep in a KJV church can starve spiritually for a lack of Bible
exposition.
Paul's admonition to Timothy, as a
pastor-preacher, is encapsulated in 2 Timothy 4:2: “Preach the word; be
instant, in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all
longsuffering and doctrine.” The Word Timothy had at his disposal
consisted primarily of OT scriptures – the Torah, Historical books,
Psalms, Proverbs and Prophets – and what Paul taught him concerning the
revelation of Jesus Christ. Therefore the content of Timothy's
preaching would have consisted of OT texts as a platform to preach
Christ and godly living. As NT books were penned, copied, circulated
and accepted as part of the canon of inspired text, so would the boundaries
of that Word expand.
The essence of expository preaching
has roots in the OT. Nehemiah took this responsibility seriously, as
revealed in Nehemiah 8:8: “So they read in the book in the law of God
distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the
reading.” The adverb “distinctly” means “to distinguish or define, to
separate.” Nehemiah provided, in addition to reading the text of
scripture, an analysis that broke down the law into its individual
components, distinguished them. He “gave the sense” of those things he
defined. The word “sense” means “understanding, insight.” As he broke
down and separated out the elements of the inspired text along with
insights, he “caused them to understand the reading.” In other words,
the people learned from Nehemiah WHAT the word meant and HOW to apply
it to their daily lives, both as a nation and as individuals. In
expository preaching, it is NEVER enough to impart mere knowledge of a
text. That knowledge MUST be accompanied by an element of wisdom –
insight on how truth learned translates into truth obeyed. This is what
Nehemiah did.
Another biblical word that supports
the expository concept is “expound.” We find the first usage of this
word, and the only OT usage, in Judges 14. Samson told this riddle to
thirty Philistine men: “Out of the eater came forth meat, and out of
the strong came forth sweetness” (14:14). The scripture says that after
three days of effort, they could not “expound” the riddle. The Hebrew
nagad means “to front, expose, make known.” Think of a student sitting
in the back of a classroom being asked by the teacher to come to the
'front' of the class to read something. In 'front' of the class, the
student can now be seen easily by other students. The thirty
Philistine men were unable to bring the enigmatic meaning of the riddle
to the forefront of their thinking. Expository preaching does just that
– brings the underlying truths of the biblical text to the forefront of
a congregation's thinking.
The Lord Jesus himself is said to
have “expounded” the scriptures as well as his own parables (Mark 4:34;
Luke 24:7). The word “expounded” in Mark 4:34 is epiluo, “to unlose
or untie what is knotted or sealed up, to explain.” The verb is
imperfect tense, signifying ongoing activity. It suggests that perhaps
the disciples needed more than a one-time explanation before 'getting'
it. So must expository preachers be persistent, repetitious if needed,
to ensure the sheep 'get' what God is saying through the scriptures.
On the road to Emaeus, Jesus employed
Moses (Torah), the prophets et al and “expounded” to two of his
disciples things concerning himself (Luke 24:27). The word is diermeneuo, a
combination of dia
(“through”) and hermenueo
(“to expound, interpret, translate what has been spoken or written in a
foreign language into the vernacular”). Our Eng. 'hermeneutics'
(science of interpretation) comes from this root. The verb is
imperfect, signifying an ongoing interpretive session during the long
walk to Emaeus. Like his Lord, the expository preacher is tasked with
taking the language of scripture and breaking it down, thoroughly
interpreting it, so the people of God can consume it. How long has it
been since you heard a truly interpretive message from the Word of
God?
After Jesus parted from the two
disciples, they said to one another: “Did not our heart burn within us,
while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened up to us the
scriptures?” (24:32). Here is yet another dynamic in genuine expository
preaching. The 'burn' was the result of Holy Ghost power that mingled
itself with our Lord's interpretive content. When true expository
preaching takes place, hearers will feel a burning while they're
learning. The mandate for expository preaching is literally 'learn and
burn'. When was the last time you sat in a church pew that was a
learning and burning environment?
The book of Acts tells us Aquila and
Priscilla “expounded” the way of the Lord more perfectly unto a Jew
named Apollos (18:26). The apostle Paul “expounded” to Jews at Rome
things concerning “the kingdom of God, persuading them concerning
Jesus, both out of the law of Moses, and out of the prophets, from
morning to evening” (28:23). The verb in both instances is ektithemi, a
combination of ek
(“out of”) and tithemi
(“to place, put”). It is imperfect tense. For twelve hours, Paul kept
on 'putting out' in open view the meaning of scripture that confirmed
Jesus was Messiah. Here we see two more characteristics of 'learn and
burn' expository preaching. First, it is meant to persuade. Secondly,
Paul's audience was willing to give a whole day of their time to soak
it up. This is not a proof-text to justify long-winded preaching (see
Acts 20:7, where Paul preached till midnight). But it's a poor
reflection on both pulpit and pew in the modern era when a 30-minute
ditty is about all a congregation can endure.
Expository preaching is legitimate
work. The man of God who gives himself to the study of the Word and
prayer, attends to the flock and does the work of an evangelist, making
full proof of his ministry, is worth his salt and earns his keep (2
Timothy 4:5). His congregation will be blessed, fed and grown as he
digs up and exposes spiritual nuggets week-by-week in 'learn and burn'
fashion. I wish I could say most churches have this kind of pulpit
ministry. But, alas, expository preaching is a dying craft!
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