BOOKS ON PREACHING: Old

A significant work on preaching comes from the Dean of the Institute for Reformed Worship at Erskine Theological Seminary, Hughes Oliphant (“Scoti”) Old. Old’s first volume in the multi-volume work, The Reading and Preaching of the Scriptures in the Worship of the Christian Church is subtitled The Biblical Period (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1998). In the “Introduction,” Old clarifies the focus of his ambitious undertaking. First, he explains that the purpose of his work is not preaching, per se, but preaching as worship, or how preaching “has been done as a sacred service” (7). Second, he notes the five genres of preaching that have “appeared and reappeared throughout the whole history of preaching” (8): Expository Preaching, Evangelistic Preaching, Catechetical Preaching, Festal Preaching, Prophetic Preaching. Third, in the remainder of the introduction, he defines the five genres of preaching and sets the framework for this and subsequent volumes.

The Biblical Period has three major divisions: 1) The Roots of the Christian Ministry of the Word in the Worship of Israel, 2) The Preaching of Christ and the Apostles, and 3) The Second and Third Centuries. The first division begins with chapters on the Torah, the “roots of the reading and preaching of the Word of God in Christian worship” (20-40) and the ministry of the prophets as preachers of the Word, from Samuel and Elijah through Isaiah and Jeremiah (41-83). Chapters three through five look at the ministry of the Word in the Wisdom School (84-93), in the synagogue (94-104), and in the Rabbinical schools (105-110). The third division has three chapters: the first examines historical documents from the sub-apostolic period (255-277); the second analyzes three Christian sermons from the early second century (278-305); and the third considers the relatively expansive corpus of sermons from the third century Alexandrian father, Origen (306-352).

It is the second division, The Preaching of Christ and the Apostles, that is the primary focus of this review. This division has seven chapters, the first three being: “The Ministry of Preaching in the Synoptic Gospels,” “The Ministry of Preaching in the Gospel of John,” and “The Ministry of Preaching in the Acts of the Apostles.” Chapter four is “The Ministry of the Word as Understood by the Pauline Writings” and chapter five “The Teaching of the Word as the Teaching of Wisdom in the Epistle of James.” Chapter six is “The Service of the Word in First Peter.” Chapter seven examines “The Ministry of the Word as Didache in the New Testament.” The focus of this chapter is catechetical preaching in the canonical Scriptures.

Old begins his discussion on the preaching of Christ by noting that his ministry “was above all a preaching ministry” (111). Jesus preached in formal as well as informal settings and the focus of his preaching was the Kingdom of God (113). Per Mark’s Gospel, Jesus was a preacher according to the tradition of the prophets (114) and, per Matthew, the “culmination and fulfillment of the prophetic ministry.” Old discusses the meanings of didaskein and kerussein (126-7), noting that the preaching of Jesus had a strong teaching content (on linkage between preaching and teaching, see also 118, 121-3, 138, 141, 146, 164-5, 197-8, 204, 234-6, 245-7, 250) . He states repeatedly that Jesus was an expository preacher (119, 121, 132-3) and says Jesus was an example of how ministers ought to preach (123). His sermons were well-prepared (129) and often included dialogue (132). His material was well-developed and used frequently in his teaching (139). He made consistent use of parables, similes, and illustrations (145), and “directed an important part of his preaching ministry toward the inner group of disciples” (141). John presents “the ministry of the Word [as] central to our worship” (155) and presents Jesus as the Wisdom of God (157). The “wisdom” theme appears more fully in Old’s discussion of the Epistle of James which he describes as “a compendium of the preaching ministry of a man who understood profoundly what Jesus had to say” (See 220-6).

Shifting focus to apostolic preaching, Old notes that the central focus of the ministry of the Word was kerygmatic and included “daily study sessions like those held in the rabbinical schools” (165). The preaching of the Word was sometimes accompanied by “the prophetic sign,” as at Pentecost (167) and often involved the exposition of Scripture (169). Apostolic sermons included redemptive historical elements (173, 175), were evangelistic or missionary (172-3, 176), polemical (173, 177), and sometimes reflected elements of rabbinical sermons (174). Apostolic preaching often included “the recounting of the missionaries’ [apostles’] own conversion experience” (179). Old notes that while there was continuity between the preaching of the synagogue and that of the church, there is discontinuity as well since Christian preaching includes the “Good News” of the Gospel (185).

Old discusses preaching as sacrifice, i.e., as “God ignites our hearts in sacrifice to himself” (189) and explains Paul’s preference for clear preaching in the power of the Holy Spirit to displays of eloquence and rhetorical flourish (189-95). He suggests that “prophecy” may include ecstatic elements, but is often used as a synonym (more or less) for preaching (197) and where ecstatic elements are present, it is because the regular reading and preaching of the Word have been compromised (199). Old also views the gift of tongues in a similar light: “It is when the priest and the prophet ‘err in vision’ and ‘stumble in giving judgment’ (Isa. 28:7) that God uses strange tongues. If the legitimate ministry is unfaithful, God will still be heard” (199). He discusses the many questions related to Paul’s conversion and call to ministry (206-7). Old affirms the necessity of tradition but makes this important observation about irregular or charismatic elements in the Church: “The Church needs its exciting young charismatics and the Church needs solid elders and learned scholars” (208; see also 210). Paul’s preaching identified the gospel of Jesus Christ as the revelation of the mystery that had previously been hidden (217).
The Epistle of James gives a broad outline of Christian worship which shows its connection to the Jewish synagogue (223-4). James gives evidence that the words of Jesus were already recognized as God’s Word (225). Peter gives testimony to the life-giving power of the Word (227) and describes the spiritual nature of Christian worship, namely, “the sort of worship, maintained in the synagogue, that put the emphasis on prayer, the study of the Scriptures, and the service of praise” (233). The final chapter looks at passages in the canonical Scripture that indicate the beginning of “catechetical preaching” (234-6).

Anyone who reads this volume will be impressed with the depth of scholarship that underlies the discussion. Old ranges all over the theological curriculum, discussing text-critical issues, exegetical and hermeneutical questions, historical chronology and events, theological constructs, and liturgical disputes, all apparently with the same ease and facility. Moreover, his mastery of the literature extends beyond a comprehensive knowledge of English literature in all these fields. Old is equally comfortable in the Biblical languages, as well as in Latin, French, and German. The foundation is firm, building sequentially on Old Testament preaching, Dominical preaching, apostolic preaching, and preaching in the early post-apostolic period. The direction is clear as Old develops the various genres of preaching and establishes certain themes that will occur frequently, such as the importance of Jesus’ example for preaching and teaching, the essential connection between preaching and teaching, the necessity of expository preaching, and the importance of Scripture as a guide to preaching and worship.

This volume raises some questions that need to be explored further. First, Old describes Jesus as an expository preacher, yet much of the recorded preaching and teaching of Jesus appears to be narrative or story-based, often without any apparent reference to Scripture. Second, the genres of Scripture are multiple, and there is evidence of multiple genres of preaching in Scripture and in church history. On what basis, then, is expository preaching privileged above all other types of preaching as listed on page eight of this work? Third, NT scholars have identified a number of rhetorical devices in Paul’s epistles. More information is needed to square this with the assertion that Paul opposed the use of oratorical/rhetorical flourish. [This is an intriguing issue. See the discussions on Paul’s use of classical rhetoric in James Thompson, Preaching Like Paul (Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2001), 33, 47, and especially 66-79 and 83-84. See also John D. Harvey, Listening to the Text: Oral Patterning in Paul’s Letters (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1998)]. Nevertheless, this book covers a great deal of ground in a relatively short number of pages; there are few that address as many issues in as much detail in as interesting a fashion.