The Absolute Preacher
Without doubt, God has graced certain men in the history of the Church with an extraordinary ability to preach. For decades Christians have scanned the pages of Spurgeon’s sermons, wondering what it must have been like to actually hear the man termed the Prince of Preachers. Then there’s the preaching of John Wesley and George Whitfield, where thousands fell on their faces weeping and trembling under the deep conviction of sin. Going further into history we find John Bunyan, whose fame is not restricted to being the author of Pilgrim’s Progress but one whom people thronged to hear preach. Spurgeon once described him as “a living Bible” whose blood was “Bibline,” noting that he could not speak without quoting Scripture. Such was the man’s spiritual character that on one occasion, having been complimented for his powerful preaching, Bunyan replied, “You’re late; the devil told me that before I left the pulpit.” Returning to the first century, how many of us would love to have been on Mars Hill to hear the masterly apostle Paul at work, his speech and preaching a demonstration of Holy Spirit power.
However, we unanimously agree that towering above every mortal who’s ever had the honour of speaking for God stands our blessed Saviour! Pause for a moment to visualise what it must have been to witness God incarnate preaching truth into this world of darkness. His eyes, though at times filled with grief-stricken tears or flaming with righteous indignation, never concealed a countenance that radiated the joy of the Lord. Imagine listening to the voice of inescapable authority, “Ye have heard … but I say unto you,” the conscience tingling as new truths were dispensed for the first time to human ears. The absolute Preacher had arrived.
The Authoritative Preacher
Concluding his record of Christ’s teaching on the Mount, Matthew details that the people were utterly “astonished at his doctrine: For he taught them as one having authority, and [absolutely] not as the scribes” (Mat 7:28-29).1 In his Gospel record, Luke documents for us “of all that Jesus began both to do and to teach,” setting forth the only Man ever to grace this planet who perfectly did what He preached and guiltlessly preached what He did.
You may remember the words of the Lord Jesus in His final public preaching to the people in Matthew chapter 23. He warned them of some exceedingly important lessons that we, too, would do well to heed. Having instructed His listeners to ensure they observe whatever the scribes and Pharisees bid them from the Word of God, He emphatically stated, “Do not ye after their works” (Mat 23:3). They, He said, do “their works … to be seen of men” (v5), attempting to impress the people with their particular clothing, prominent seating and preeminent titles. Second, they “bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men’s shoulders” (v4), forcing the people to keep religious traditions, implying that any refusal to do so was tantamount to divine irreverence. Further, they subtracted from the Word in an attempt to suit their own desires. It was indeed His fearless preaching opposing such behaviour that increasingly incensed these religious leaders, enhancing their desire to be rid of Him. They hated Him without a cause. Any preacher whose lifestyle contradicts Scripture, who performs in order to be seen of men, who leaves people with the impression that human tradition is equivalent to God’s Word, or who subtracts from Holy Scripture is a failed preacher. Not so Christ! The authoritative Preacher was in their midst.
The Approved Preacher
In any study of the Bible, it’s always essential that we compare Scripture with Scripture in order to glean a complete picture of recorded narratives. Although Matthew states (ch5) that our blessed Lord “went up into a mountain” to be “seated” and teach the people, Luke identifies in his testimony that Christ “came down” and “stood in the plain” to teach (Luk 6:17). Why the difference?
First, Matthew is the Gospel of the King. How appropriate that he notes our Lord ascending a mountain to open His teaching on subjects concerning the kingdom. We read elsewhere in Scripture that a mountain is seen figuratively as a kingdom (Dan 2:34-45). The stone (Christ) that is cut out of the mountain by God will smash the final kingdoms of this world and become a mountain (millennial kingdom) which fills the whole earth. Moreover, the mountain is a place of elevation, and, fittingly, Christ would indicate that this truth was not from men but from God. May every preacher of the Lord be reminded of the immense dignity of handling divine, elevated matters far above human wisdom and the minds of men.
Second, Luke provides for us information that Matthew 5 and Mark 3, in their parallel accounts, do not. He informs us that farther up that same mount our blessed Saviour spent the entire previous night in prayer to His God. He had with Him a multitude of followers, from whom, when it was day, He chose the 12 disciples. It was following this, as the multitude ascended the mountain to find Him, that He appropriately descended slightly to an area of a plain on the mountain perfectly accommodated to such large crowds who had come to hear Him. What practical lessons we learn from this. How essential it is for a man to be in touch with his God before he can be in touch with the people. Every preacher should also remember that he must descend from the heights of the closet to the plain of the pulpit. The difference between exegesis and exposition is illustrated this way: The unmixed ingredients of a cake would be unpalatable, but mixed and baked taste delicious. Likewise, to deliver only complicated word studies to your audience will largely leave them scratching their heads, but to expound in plain language what you have gleaned after the exegesis is done in the study will be for edification. Lastly, what Christ was and taught before His disciples in private was what He was and taught the people in public. Neither God nor any disciple raised an eyebrow when this blessed Man spoke. He was indeed a preacher “approved of God” (Act 2:22).
Lord willing, in successive articles we’ll focus our attention on the opening and closing public ministry of Christ. We invite you to stand with us upon the mountain in Galilee, before making our way directly to Jerusalem where just days before His crucifixion our Master will deliver His final message to the people. May we glean truth and allow it to transform our lives.
1 Bible quotations in this article are from the KJV.
