Walter Kaiser, a leading evangelical scholar, issued a simple but striking statement in his commencement address at Dallas Theological Seminary in April 2000. “When a man preaches, he should never remove his finger from the Scriptures, Kaiser affirmed. If he is gesturing with his right hand, he should keep his left hand’s finger on the text. If he reverses hands for gesturing, then he should also reverse hands for holding his spot in the text. He should always be pointing to the Scriptures” (Steven J. Lawson, The Pattern of Biblical Preaching: An Expository Study of Ezra 7:10 and Nehemiah 8:1-18, Bibliotheca Sacra 158 October-December 200: 451).
· Why do you think Kaiser made this extreme statement?
· To what are we pointing when we preach God’s Word?
· What is the centerpiece of our sermons?
· What do our listeners walk away talking about?
· Do our listeners say something like the Emmaus disciples in Luke 24:32: “Did not our hearts burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?”
Expository preaching can be traced back to Ezra. Ezra was described as “a ready or skilled scribe (Ezra 7:6) in the law of Moses.” Ezra is a prototype or pattern for expositors today.
What is expository preaching?
Expository preaching is the product of exegesis which is used to determine the normal meaning of Scripture which is then applied to God’s people in a persuasive sermon (David Deuel, An Old Testament Pattern for Expository Preaching: The Master’s Journal, p. 125).
1. Exegesis is the method of Bible study which employs the Historical/Grammatical Hermeneutic which studies the context and the content of the text. Roy Zuck defines hermeneutics as the principles of interpretation and exegesis as the application of those principles.
2. Expository preaching is the result of that method of Bible study. First, expository preaching is public hermeneutics.
Not only was Ezra an expository preacher but a leader of expository preachers as seen in Nehemiah 8:1-8. The way you and I preach will influence the present and next generation of preachers.
We must be committed to the exegesis and exposition of Scripture!
Judaism followed the pattern set by Ezra. Detailed exegesis of the text was part of the scribal expertise (Neh. 8:8). Ezra’s model of expository preaching was followed in the synagogues. Ezra is believed to have founded the “Great Synagogue” (R. J. Coggins, “Ezra-Nehemiah,” in A Dictionary of Biblical Interpretation, eds. By R. J. Coggins and J. L. Houlden; London: SCM, 1990, 229). See Luke 4:15 for the example of Jesus preaching in the synagogue.
The early church duplicated some of the synagogue’s practices such as elders (Acts 6:12) and teaching Scriptures (Acts 9:20; 13:14-15). Ezra provides an example of the heritage of expository preaching that should be followed today.
The Reason for Expository Preaching
Ezra’s mandate was in Dt. 31:11-12 which was given by Moses before his death: “When all Israel is come to appear before the LORD you God in the place which he shall choose, you shall read this law before all Israel in their hearing. Gather the people together, men, and women, and children, and your stranger that is within your gates, that they may hear, and that they may learn, and fear the LORD your God, and observe to do all the words of this law.” Ezra obeyed this command explicitly in Nehemiah 8.
Our mandate is in 2 Tim. 4:1-4 which was given also by Paul before his death. What was the last great emphasis in the OT? Preaching by Ezra (Ezra 7:10; Neh. 8:1-10), Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi (Ezra 5:1). What was the first Christian ministry of the church after its beginning? Preaching by Peter in Acts 2.
The Procedure of Expository Preaching
Because the priests and scribes failed to obey Dt. 31:11-12 or the people disobeyed, Israel went into the 70-year captivity. Now God returns His people to the land and Himself. How God use Ezra to bring revival to God’s backslidden people?
1. Zerubbabel in 538 B.C. rebuilt the temple that had been destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar in 597 B.C. which is recorded in Ezra 1-6. What good is a building of worship without God’s Word? What good is Joel Osteen’s converted basketball stadium in Houston?
2. Ezra in 458 B.C. returns to Israel and restores the Word of God to its place of preeminence which is recorded in Ezra 7-10. God’s hand was on Ezra (7:9) because (“For”) he had committed himself to expository preaching as outlined in verse 10. Ezra “had prepared his heart.” The words “prepared his heart” are used by Rehoboam who did not set his heart to learn (2 Chron. 12:14), and Hezekiah (30:19) who did set their hearts to learn. Ezra had one all-consuming passion. Expository preaching was not just his ministry; it was his life. Alexander McClaren would not accept extra church activities because it would distract from sermon preparation. He did not even accept the prestigious Yale Lectures Series on Preaching. Maybe that is the reason we still read his sermons in Exposition of Holy Scripture.
First, we must study the Word of God “to seek the law of the Lord.”
In Exodus 18:15, the word “seek” means to learn new information not previously known. Ezra was not satisfied with warmed-over stale sermons. We need to cork pot not microwave our sermons.
Paul in 2 Timothy 4:13 wrote of his desire to keep learning at the end of his life even as he faced death. Homer Kent in his commentary on The Pastoral Epistles said to listen to many preachers today shows that they have not read one serious book since their graduation from seminary (Homer Kent The Pastoral Epistles). In an interview, Billy Graham was asked, “If you had to live your life over again, what would you do differently?” His answer was, “One of my great regrets is that I have not studied enough, I wish I had studied more and preached less. People have pressured me into speaking to groups when I should have been studying and preparing. Donald Grey Barnhouse said that if he knew the Lord was coming in three years, he would spend two of them studying and one preaching” (“Taking the World’s Temperature: An Interview with Billy Graham,” Christianity Today, Sept. 23, 1977, 19).
Second, we must practice the Word of God “and to do it” means “to build.” In Genesis 1:7, 16, 25, 26, 31 we see that God built creation: “And God saw everything that he had built.” In Genesis 6:14 God said to Noah, “Build you an ark.” Genesis 33:17 declares: “and Jacob built him a house.” Ezra built a holy life through the study and obedience to the Scriptures. What are you building your life with or on? Paul admonishes Timothy to build his life and ministry on God’s Word (1 Timothy 4:14-16).
Third, we must teach the Word. Did Ezra teach or preach the Word? Yes!
Teaching and preaching are used interchangeably in these passages: Matthew 4:23 and 9:35; Luke 4:15; 44; Acts 28:31. In 1 Timothy 3:2; 6:2 the qualification for a preacher is “to teach” and preaching is not mentioned.
In 2 Timothy 4:2 “Preach the Word” means “Teach the Word.” Billy Sunday versus Jonathan Edwards in styles but both preached the Word. What did Ezra teach? All the Word at that time which was the first five books or “all the counsel of God” (Acts 20:27).
Nehemiah 8 is an example of Ezra preaching. In Nehemiah 1-6 the walls of Jerusalem are rebuilt. In Nehemiah 7-11, the people are revived through the preached Word.
To whom do we preach? How can listeners help us to be better expository preachers?
a) When listeners are obedient (8:1). The peopled “gathered” in obedience to Dt. 31:12. Today believers gather in obedience to Heb. 10:25. Another example is in Acts 10:25 and 10:33.
b) When listeners are united (8:1) which is seen in the word “one.” In Acts 2:1 and 4:32, the believers were united and experienced God’s blessings.
c) When listeners are hungry for God’s Word (8:1) and ask their preacher to “bring the book.” What are church members clamoring for at church today?
Ezra read the Scriptures for five hours. Acts 20:6-12 describe a scene in the early church where Paul had been long preaching.
d) When listeners have developed their skill of listening (8:2). The word “understand” is found six times in Nehemiah 8. The word for “understand” is also used in 1 Kings 3:9; Neh. 13:7; 1 Chronicle 15:22. There are three different words for “understand” in 8:1-13. Ezra appealed to the intellect, not the emotion. What is the difference between persuasion and manipulation?
One difference is when preachers appeal to emotions for a response instead of appealing with God’s Word to the intellect.
Another difference is when the preacher tricks people into responding at the end of a sermon instead of simply inviting and depending on the Holy Spirit to draw people.
e) When believers respect God’s Word (8:4). Ezra mounted a pulpit of wood and in verse five was above the people, not because he put himself on a pedestal but so he could exalt God’s Word. The people stood (8:5) and said, “Amen, Amen” (8:6).
“At about the same period in Israel’s history, this is the response given in a court case as the witnesses affirm the truth of the plaintiff’s statement before the court official. The connection is simply that stating the facts accurately deserves an affirmative ‘Amen,’ i.e. ‘This is true’” (David C. Duel, An Old Testament Pattern for Expository Preaching. The Master’s Seminary, p. 134). Not only do we need good expository preachers but we need good expository listeners. And then “all the people wept” (8:9).
How do we expositorily preach?
a) Read the Book (8:3, 8)
G. Campbell Morgan, who is called the Prince of expository preachers, would not preach through a book of the Bible until he had read through it 40 times.
1) This was the public reading of God’s Word with great energy. The word for read וַיִּקְרָא is the same used in Jonah 3:4 “and Jonah cried and said, ‘Yet 40 days and Nineveh shall be overthrown.”
2) Jesus read (Lk. 4:15-17)
a. Peter read (Acts 2) the following: Joel 2:28-32; Ps. 16:8-11; 89:3; 110:1-2
b. Paul commanded the church to read publically (1 Tim.4:13)
Stephen Olford wisely said: “The reading of Scriptures is the only part of your message that is infallible. Read it as though you believe it.”
b) Interpret the Book (8:8) is seen in the word “distinctly.”
1) All three words for “understand” are in this verse. In hermeneutics, the question answered is, “What did it mean to the original audience?” This is called the Historical/Grammatical method of interpretation. What is the context? (Historical) What is the content? (Grammatical).
2) They were reading from Lev. 23:34-42. What did it mean to Moses’ audience in 1500 B.C.? We answer this question with the Introduce the subject step in the introduction of the sermon and the rhetorical process of explanation.
c) Apply the Book (8:13-18).
Ezra must answer the question, “What does this passage mean to the present audience in 445 B.C. In our sermons, we must ask and answer,
“What does this text mean to me or my modern audience?
1) Do we go prune the trees in our yards?
2) 2 Tim. 3:16 declares that all Scripture is profitable. “All Scripture was not written to me but for me”
Conclusion: The final word on preaching is in 2 Tim. 4:2 “Preach the Word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.”