We learn from the Gospels that Jesus’ primary mission, apart
from going to the cross to die for our sins, was to preach. He did some miracles along the way – healing,
casting out demons, even calming the storm, multiplying the loaves, and turning
water to wine. But his real interest,
his true purpose in the three years leading up to the cross… was to preach.
We learn this also today from our reading in Luke, where
Jesus visits his hometown of Nazareth.
And we are told that on the Sabbath day he went to the synagogue, “as
was his custom”, read from the scriptures, and sat down to preach.
So the church continues to this day the practice of public
reading of scripture and having someone preach on it. This goes at least back to the time of Ezra,
as we read in our Old Testament lesson, where the entire Law of Moses was read
before the people (and it took half a day to do so!) And they also had someone preach on the
scriptures, or “give the sense of it” as Nehemiah puts it.
So also, faithful pastors today preach the word of God, and
faithful Christians do well to hear it.
But what makes for a good sermon?
What should we be looking and listening for? We can learn quite a bit about all this from
the best preacher of them all – our Lord Jesus Christ, as he visits Nazareth
and preaches on Isaiah.
There’s plenty of bad preaching out there. But we are concerned primarily with substance
over style. Of course you want sermons
that are well-delivered, but far more important is the content. Luke therefore reports to us the “what” of
Jesus’ preaching, and very little about the “how” of it.
So along that line….one thing we preachers learn, by way of
contrast, is that we do not preach ourselves.
Jesus did – as he told them that Isaiah’s prophecy was fulfilled in him,
and as the content of his preaching was about himself and his own work. That in him, the kingdom of God had
arrived. Watch out for any other
preacher who preaches himself! Rather,
we would preach Jesus. Some pulpits even
have a little plaque, affixed right up here where only the preacher can read it
– a plaque that reads, “sir, we would see Jesus!”
For preachers, like all sinners, face temptations even in
our preaching. We may be tempted to
preach our own agenda or some worldly “ism”.
That’s not Christian preaching.
Or we may be tempted to seek the approval of man. To satisfy the itching ears of our
listeners. To preach sermons that feel
good but may not proclaim the truth. And
all of us, as hearers, are likewise tempted to hear what we want to hear, and
not what we need to hear.
Just look at how fickle the congregation was in
Nazareth. At first, they spoke well of
Jesus and his gracious words. But when
he challenged them, they changed their tune!
In wrath, they tried to throw him off a cliff! Preaching can be a dangerous business, it
seems.
But let’s not kill the messenger, nor close our ears to the
uncomfortable word of God. We all need
to hear that word of law that convicts us of our sin. We need the hardness of our hearts to be
tilled by the law of God, to make ready for the seed of the Gospel. The people of Nazareth were not having it.
Another lesson for preachers (and hearers) from this example
of Jesus is this: We preach the
scriptures. Jesus could well have spoken
on any topic, for of course anything he says is de facto the word of God. But notice, he bases his message on a
reading, a text of Scripture. He read
from the prophet Isaiah and sat down to explain and proclaim it.
Just as he defeated the devil in the wilderness by reference
to the written word of God, three times saying, “it is written…” So Jesus, in
his preaching, also references the written word of God. And we ought to take careful note of it. Pastors who wander off into their own
opinions and ideas, or who simply string together a bunch of entertaining
stories, and congregations who go for that sort of thing, should take note of
Jesus’ own preaching.
As a professor once told a group of pastors. “Gentlemen, the
Scriptures are far more interesting than you are.” Just so.
We want to hear the word of God, not the opinions and ideas of any man.
And finally, we preach Christ crucified. Now, Jesus didn’t get to the crucifixion yet,
but it’s sort of hidden in this text.
For when the crowd tried to put him to death, they couldn’t. He mysteriously passed through them. It wasn’t yet his time. But that time would come, and the Gospels
spend many pages telling the details of his arrest, trial, suffering and death. Jews and Romans came together for it, the
crowd cried out with one voice, “Crucify!”
And even the thief on the cross next to him joined in the mockery and
hate.
But Jesus would not be deterred, and even from his cross he
preached, seven precious words – not for himself, but always for us.
Therefore, Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 1:
For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we
preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but
to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the
wisdom of God.
It was true in Nazareth, too. The Jews demanded signs, like Jesus did in
Capernaum. That’s what got them so mad –
he called them out about it.
And doubtless others, even today, others look for wisdom:
helpful hints for living, 5 keys to a health marriage, 12 steps to raising a
healthy teenager, and on and on… preaching anything but Christ crucified.
But here’s a good rule of thumb. A sermon without Christ is not really a
Christian sermon. And a sermon with
Christ only as example is really not a good one either. We want to no longer be blind, but to see
Christ, and him crucified for sinners like us.
We want to hear about the Jesus who died for our sins to set us free
from captivity to death and hell. We
want the preacher to proclaim the year of God’s favor. We want to hear about
Christ who shed his blood for us to make us heirs of eternity.
That’s the good news that he was anointed to preach to the
poor. Himself, and the work he was about
to accomplish. That’s the good news that
we are given to preach and blessed to hear.
Scriptural preaching focused on the written word of God and
proclaiming Christ crucified for sinners.
Some may not like it.
Some may find it scandalous or foolish.
But preaching Christ crucified for sinners – it’s the very wisdom of God
and the power of God. So, hear it, dear
Christian, and believe it.
For Jesus’ sake.
Amen.
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