Proclaimer Blog
The expository wood and the exegetical trees
Welcome back Mr Preacher! Here we are, a new year, a new opportunity to serve, a chance to make some resolutions? Yawn! There are only so many lists of resolutions you can read, so instead here is something I read over Christmas that challenged me afresh when it comes to preaching. It’s not telling you anything you don’t already know, but is a useful reminder. It comes from a book I’m editing on 123 John, written by Mervyn Eloff and due for publication in June 2016. It’s a great read and in his section on 2.28-3.10, Mervyn makes a very important and always timely observation about two great extremes to avoid, especially in complex passages. This is advice I want to particularly take on. Let me invite you to do the same. In other words, just the one resolution this year!
‘Given the exegetical and theological complexity of the passage, it is perhaps easy to fall into one of two errors. On the one hand, we may be tempted to gloss over the passage and to preach our theological framework, thus failing to show our hearers how the passage itself makes the points which we want to make. On the other hand and in a genuine attempt to let the passage speak, we may find ourselves and our hearers bogged down in the detail of the text and so end up missing the expository wood for the exegetical trees. Thus as we approach what is a difficult passage, we are reminded both of the necessity of hard work in the study and of the importance of weighing carefully which work is to be brought to the pulpit and which is to be left behind closed doors. And here perhaps more than anywhere, we will benefit from a clear statement of the theme and aim of the passage as a guide for exposition.’
In a nutshell, make sure you give your people the expository wood, not the exegetical trees!