Page 117 - A Dissertation for Doctor of Philosophy

Adapting to the Frames of Reference of His Hearers

Jesus noted in the Parable of the Sower (Matt. 13:18-23) that the disposition of the audience was

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essential for preaching to fulfill its purpose. The Gospels reveal that Jesus tailored his message
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to each audience. In his preaching, then, Jesus skillfully adapted his contents and methods to

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the life situations and experiences of the listeners to help them relate and understand.
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Sometimes he adapted only method, others times, both contents and method. Jesus operated

48 Matt. 13:18-23. For further discussion on the important role of the audience in the first
century Mediterranean oral culture, see F. Gerald Downing, Doing Things with Words in the
First Christian Century, Journal for the Study of the New Testament Supplement Series, 2000
(Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press Ltd., 2000), 75-94. He explains that the audience is part of
the oral performance. Thus, they had “considerable control over the contents of what was being
performed.” Ibid., 78.

49 Thomas W. Manson, The Teaching of Jesus: Studies of Its Form and Content
(Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1959), 17-20. He is regarded as the pioneer of so
called “Audience Criticism.” Cf. Warren Carter and John Paul Heil, Matthew’s Parables:
Audience-Oriented Perspective, The Catholic Biblical Quarterly Monograph Series, 30
(Washington D.C.: The Catholic Biblical Association of America, 1998).

50 For the topic of adaptation in speech, see Lester Thonssen, A. Craig Baird, and Waldo

W. Braden, Speech Criticism, 2nd ed. (New York: The Ronald Press Company, 1970), 429.
They define adaptation as “adjustment to the variables of human behavior as found in a specific
group of hearers.” In order to be effective in speech, they insist, the speaker must adapt “both
himself and his ideas” to the audience, since they are “the most important element” in a speech.
For further discussion, see K.R. Williams, “Audience Analysis and Adaptation: A Conceptual
Clarification” Ph.D. diss., Pennsylvania State University, 1964). For the topic of preaching and
adaptation, see B.A. Hinsdale, Jesus As a Teacher and the Making of the New Testament (St.
Louis, MS. Christian Publishing Company, 1895), 124-134 and Grasso, Proclaming God’s
Message, 197-210.

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For example, see John 3 and 4. Jesus’ message of repentance and new generation was
the same. Yet, he employed different methods.

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J. Arthur Baird, Audience Criticism and the Historical Jesus (Philadelphia, PN: The
Westminster Press, 1969), 121-135. See also Manson, The Teaching of Jesus, 19. He writes, “as
to matter and method the teaching of Jesus is conditioned by the nature of the audience.”