Tell the Story

Recently I sat in a pastor’s conference where I heard something said that has really bugged me lately. The comment was not intended to be offensive, but rather instructive; however, I’m afraid that it had succumbed to the lie that our churches have bought. The comment was that Jesus never used expository preaching in His sermons and that we should always seek to tell a story in our messages. On the surface, these comments seem perfectly harmless; however, deep down, they hold to a fallacy that can be deadly. Let’s see what the Bible has to say on the subject to clarify.

Did Jesus, in fact, not use expository preaching? Well, that depends on what you mean by expository preaching. By expository preaching, we mean that one expounds on a text of Scripture to bring out the true meaning of the text. All of the text of Scripture is Christocentric, or focused on Christ (Acts 24:13-35). So with this definition in mind, did Jesus not, in fact, preach expository messages every time? He certainly did! A perfect occasion of this is found in Luke 4:16-30. In this passage, Jesus goes into the synagogue, opens the scroll to Isaiah, and begins to read to them the Scriptures. They knew the story. These are men who were devout students and teachers of the law. It was their life. What did Jesus do, though? He explained to them what the Scriptures meant and how they pointed to Messiah. This is exactly what expository sermons do!

But what about the method of preaching? Do we always need to tell stories? The Bible says that Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables, but does this mean that He never spoke plainly to the people. In Mark 4:10-20, the Bible tells us the reason Jesus used parables. He spoke in parables so that those who did not understand and had hardened their heart would hear but not perceive(v.11). But the disciples had been given the kingdom of heaven and they still did not understand. In Luke’s account (Lk. 13) the disciples come to Jesus asking Him why He always spoke in parables. His response was so that the unbelieving who had hardened their hearts would not hear, though they heard with their ears. Those who had not hardened their hearts would hear the message and understand. But when this happens, the disciples who are following Christ don’t seem to understand the parable. They are the ones on whom the church would be founded! So what does Jesus do? He explains to them the meaning of the parable. We must remember that Jesus is speaking to the crowd that is filled with lost people. When we preach, we preach to the lost as well, but primarily to the saved. Perhaps our failure to understand this comes from a failure to realize that the primary evangelism ministry of the church is to be done outside of the walls of the church. We come together in a worship service to praise God and hear His Word taught. If an unbeliever comes in to hear this, great! However, we do not build our services around the lost, but the saved! For how can an unbeliever praise the God of whom they do not know? We need to also understand that if we are explaining Scripture so that a person can hear and understand who is a believer, how much greater does that benefit one who does not have the Holy Spirit within them to help them discern what the Scripture teaches? I am not saying that Jesus never told stories, in fact he always used parables with the crowds, but this does not mean that he never exposited the Scriptures.

In closing, I want to simply direct our attention to the words of Paul to young Timothy as he was facing heresy in the church. Paul is encouraging him and says in 2 Tim 4:1-2,

“I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: ­preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.”

This is exactly what it is to put the Word of God on a shelf to suit someone’s fancy. I am not opposed to narratives in preaching, but don’t forget to preach the Word! Explain what it means. I can have a lot of stories and no understanding, so that “hearing I may not hear and seeing I may not see.” Let’s preach the Word, and let the Holy Spirit work!