Page 82 - A Dissertation for Doctor of Philosophy

The Nature and Function of Jesus’ Preaching

It is a prodigious task to grasp Jesus’ convictions on the nature and function of preaching. The

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reason is, in part, that he did not provide a perspicuous definition or theology of preaching. He
simply preached and proclaimed the Kingdom of God. The Gospel writers also provided no

systematic lesson on Jesus’ preaching. They simply bore witness of what they had experienced

in the preaching of Jesus, directly or indirectly.

If one believes that Jesus is the model of preachers in all the ages, however, and if one

attempts to solve the crisis of preaching today, then it is crucial to investigate and grasp the

nature and function of Jesus’ preaching. Catholic theologian Grasso Domenico concurs,

“Actually it is this crisis of preaching, and the necessity of solving it through a theological

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examination of its nature and function in the life of the Church.”

42 Ronald E. Osborn, A History of Preaching, vol.1, Folly of God: The Rise of Christian
Preaching (St. Louis, MS: Chalice Press, 1999), 235. He expresses the difficulties in two ways:
1) Jesus was not a systematician who provided the definition of abstract concepts and conceptual
structure. Rather, he was a poet, conveying the insights. 2) The gospels that is source of
reflection of preaching is the witness of the experience of the early church.

43 Domenico Grasso, Proclaiming God's Message: A Study in the Theology of Preaching
(Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press, 1965), xxvi.