Page 90 - A Dissertation for Doctor of Philosophy

Therefore, the teachings of Jesus need to be understood in the context of the Kingdom

proclamation and Christ as the Kingdom of God. The sacrificial challenge to discipleship, the

paradoxical teachings of personal and social ethics, and the dispute over tradition and laws

culminate their meaning in Jesus, the present Kingdom of God. Otherwise, apart from this

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understanding, they are incomprehensible. The nature and function of Jesus’ preaching,
therefore, is the revelation of Jesus Christ himself as the present Kingdom of God.

Preaching as Exposition of the Word of God

When Jesus preached, he often quoted from the Old Testament and subsequently

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expounded it. He used the Scripture in his preaching because he believed “these writings were
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the revelation of God through faithful prophets.” He accepted the Old Testament as the

authoritative word of God and announced, “For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away,

not one letter, not one stroke of a letter, will pass from the law until all is accomplished” (Matt.

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5:18). In Matthew 19:4-7, when Jesus preached against the Pharisees concerning the issue of

divorce, he quoted Gen. 1:27 and 2:24. According to Matthew’s report, Jesus bespeaks his

opinion that the Scripture is the Word of God when he regarded “the editorial comment of the

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Perrin, Rediscovering, 54.
75 For example, only in the book of Luke, there are eight pericopes of Jesus’ exposition on
the Old Testament in 4:1-13, 4:16-30, 10:25-37, 18:18-30, 20:9-19, 20:27-40, 20:41-44, and
21:25-28. See Charles A. Kimball III., “Jesus’ Exposition of the Old Testament in Luke’s
Gospel” (Ph.D. diss., Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, 1991).

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E. Earle Ellis, The Old Testament in Early Christianity: Canon and Interpretation in the
Light of Modern Research (Grand Rapids, MI.: Baker Book House, 1991), 126.

77 See also Matt. 9:13, 12:3-5, 19:4-5, 21:16, 21:42, Mk. 12:24.