Greidanus's approach to selecting and preaching biblical texts

¶ … Greidanus, Sidney. "The Modern Preacher Ancient Text." Eerdmans Publishing: Grand Rapids, 1988. Please write separately pages shown.

Chapter Review: 1, 6 &

According to Sidney Greidanus in his book The Modern Preacher and the Ancient Text, although we in modernity often like to say that talk is cheap, words are the way in which God communicates with human beings and preaching is an extension of this fact. The earliest preachers, the apostles, acted as representatives of God on earth and used words to transmit their messages. "Preaching is the proclamation of Christianity to the non-Christian world." [footnoteRef:1] Preaching, however, is not merely the musings of the preacher 'off the cuff' or personal ruminations but must be securely grounded in Christian texts. It is very important that all forms of Christian preaching are yoked in their intention and scope to the Bible. [1: Sidney Greidanus, The Modern Preacher and the Ancient Text. (Eerdmans Publishing: Grand Rapids, 1988), p.6.]

However, this does not mean that there is not a great deal of discretion in the hands of the preacher to select an appropriate text for his congregation. "The question of the purpose of the text and sermon is intimately related to the process of selecting a preaching text, for a preaching text, we have seen, ought to be chosen to meet the needs of the congregation."[footnoteRef:2] Both the theme and the purpose of the text must be context-appropriate. The theme of the text is what the text is actually saying; the purpose of the text is what the text 'does' in terms of conveying the impact of scripture upon the lives of listeners. The purpose of the sermon must be to honor the text and in keeping with the text: also, the sermon must have a coherent purpose and keep on the same thematic track throughout. One of the most common challenges for preachers is not that they have insufficient ambition: rather they must be focused and targeted in how they approach a sermon and not try to integrate too many disparate themes into single speech. [2: Greidanus, p.128.]

Chapters 9, 10-12

It is common amongst many academics to divide scriptures into a series of narrative 'genres' which a preacher must be cognizant of when presenting his sermon to the congregants. These include sagas, tales, novellas, legends, histories, reports, fables, etiologies, and myths.[footnoteRef:3] However, Greidanus points out that within the actual cultural context of the Hebrews themselves, there was no hard-and-fast divides between history and other formats. While today we tend to think of history as something which has to be factually accurate, this is, in fact, a relatively recent designation. The scriptures encompass both stories with a didactic intention and works with a historical intention simultaneously.[footnoteRef:4] Thus, while biographical and character-based sermons may be appropriate for discussing the history narratives of the scriptures, for prophetic narratives, focusing on the life of the prophet is less important than the revelation contained within the text. Predictions, fulfillments, and messianic ideas rather than the narrative arc of the prophetic text should be at the forefront.[footnoteRef:5] [3: Greidanus, p.190.] [4: Greidanus, p.197.] [5: Greidanus, p. 217.]

The Gospels themselves have a simultaneous purpose of both encapsulating real, lived history (the life of Jesus) and also conveying larger spiritual truths. Merely because they do not conform to 19th century ideas of objective historicity does not mean that their original writers lacked historical veracity: the preacher's responsibility is always to 'read' what is most important morally about the text when classifying the genre (to illustrate a point through history story or direct prophesy) rather than to engage in mere typology. [footnoteRef:6] Classification of scripture and reading the intentions of scripture can be useful but the preacher must always have his larger purpose in mind. [6: Greidanus, p.267]

Chapter 8

In Chapter 8, Greidanus grapples with the question that is at the heart of his book -- what is the modern relevance of the sermon today, in light of these various interpretive glosses upon the Bible? Greidanus is wary of the idea of making analogies between today and Biblical stories in a facile manner, which can dilute the full meaning of the original text. He is likewise uncertain of the value of creating an easy identification or association with Biblical characters and the self: "identification runs the risk of neglecting the situational and cultural embedding of the Biblical story."[footnoteRef:10] First of all, it is possible to personally identify with many characters from many literary sources, not simply the Bible. Viewing Biblical sources as valuable solely because they allow 'identification' does not do justice to the full value of reading the Bible. Secondly, Biblical narratives contain many characters and are often morally complex. It is difficult to always pinpoint who is right and who is wrong: there may be lessons to learn both from the example of the adulterous woman and those who wish to stone her, for example. We may wish to identify with Jesus, but that negates Jesus' important roles as a savior and teacher of us: that is why Greidanus says that identification with Biblical characters raises more problems than it solves, much like creating analogies. [footnoteRef:11] Greidanus points out that the Israelites likely listened to these stories originally to learn about themselves as a people, not as a source of personal validation. The modern obsession with the self and the tendency to ask 'what does the mean to me,' in other words, should not dominate readings of Biblical texts. [10: Greidanus, p.176.] [11: Greidanus, p.178.]