Preaching in the New Testament

By the time of the New Testament, preaching seemed to have developed into its own genre of oration that involved not only the announcement of some message, but usually also an explanation—much like the preaching at a synagogue service (Rankin, “Extent,” 175–176). The terms used most frequently to convey the act of preaching are κήρυγμα (kērygma) or εὐαγγέλιον (euangelion) (Dodd, Apostolic, 3; Runia, “What,” 7–10). The Gospels portray John the Baptist as “proclaiming a baptism of repentance” involving not only the declaration of a message from God, but interpretation and application of that message (Luke 3:3–14; Fitzmyer, “Preaching,” 20–21). The Gospels also depict Jesus as preaching the gospel wherever He goes, speaking on many diverse topics, and often using the text of the Hebrew Scriptures as the core of His teachings (compare Mark 1:14–15; Luke 4:43). Jesus delivers His first major public discourse in the Sermon on the Mount (Matt 5–7; Old, Reading, 138–139). This exegetical dimension is a unique development in the history of preaching (Carroll, Preaching, 13–14; Brilioth, Brief, 6–7; Stitzinger, “History,” 9–10).

The book of Acts contains the majority of evidence of early Christian preaching. It preserves four major sermons:

1. Acts 2:14–36, in which Peter addresses the participants at Pentecost, offers an interpretation of Joel and an exposition of Jesus’ teachings, and commands the crowd to believe (compare Old, Reading, 167–72)

2. Acts 3:12–26, in which Peter explains the legitimacy of Jesus and urges the Jews to repent at Solomon’s Portico

3. Acts 13:16–41, in which Paul addresses a crowd of mixed religious descent at Antioch in Pisidia, connecting Jesus to the God of Israel and exhorting them to believe (compare Old, Reading, 174–75)

4. Acts 17:22–31, in which Paul explains the validity of Christianity to a group of Gentiles at the Areopagus and encourages them to believe (compare Old, Reading, 176–78).

Dodd notes that the message Paul communicates in his letters is essentially the apostolic preaching (κήρυγμα, kērygma) pertaining to the death and resurrection of Christ (Dodd, Apostolic, 11). Carroll notes that the Christian preacher is tied to the preaching of the prophets in the Old Testament since their prophecies spoke to the person and work of Christ (Carroll, Preaching, 17–18). Paul is aware of his calling to preach the gospel and commissions his own students likewise (Fitzmyer, “Preaching,” 22–24; Stitzinger, “History,” 11).