The Biblical Period

by Hughes Oliphant Old

Overview

The Reading and Preaching of the Scriptures in the Worship of the Christian Church is a multivolume study by Hughes Oliphant Old that canvasses the history of preaching from the words of Moses at Mount Sinai through modern times. In Volume 1, The Biblical Period, Old begins his survey by discussing the roots of the Christian ministry of the Word in the worship of Israel. He then examines the preaching of Christ and the Apostles. Finally, Old looks at the development and practice of Christian preaching in the second and third centuries, concluding with the ministry of Origen.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780802843562
Publisher:	Eerdmans, William B. Publishing Company
Publication date:	02/01/1998
Series:	Reading and Preaching of the Scriptures Series , #1
Pages:	396
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.89(d)

About the Author

Hughes Oliphant Old (1933–2016) was John H. Leith Professor of Reformed Theology and Dean of the Institute for Reformed Worship, Erskine Theological Seminary, Columbia, South Carolina.

Table of Contents

	Introduction	1
I.	The Focus of Our Study	7
II.	The Scope of Our Study	8
Chapter I	The Roots of the Christian Ministry of the Word in the Worship of Israel	19
I.	The Reading and Preaching of the Law	20
A.	Exodus	21
B.	Deuteronomy	28
II.	The Ministry of the Word among the Prophets	41
A.	Samuel and Elijah	43
B.	Amos	47
C.	Isaiah	60
D.	Deutero-Isaiah	69
E.	Jeremiah	74
III.	The Ministry of the Word as Understood by the Wisdom School	84
IV.	The Ministry of the Word in the Synagogue	94
V.	The Ministry of the Word in the Rabbinical Schools	105
Chapter II	The Preaching of Christ and the Apostles	111
I.	The Ministry of Preaching in the Synoptic Gospels	113
A.	The Gospel of Mark	113
B.	The Gospel of Luke	128
C.	The Gospel of Matthew	137
II.	The Ministry of Preaching in the Gospel of John	152
A.	Jesus as the Word	153
B.	John the Baptist as Minister of the Word	155
C.	The Feast of Holy Wisdom	156
D.	The Sermon on the Bread of Life	158
III.	The Ministry of Preaching in the Acts of the Apostles	164
A.	The Proclamation of Peter	167
B.	The Sermon of Stephen	172
C.	Paul's Sermon in a Synagogue of the Diaspora	174
D.	Paul's Sermon to the Philosophers of Athens	176
E.	Paul's Witness	178
IV.	The Ministry of the Word as Understood by the Pauline Writings	180
A.	Romans 10:14-17: Faith Comes by Hearing	181
B.	Romans 15:15-16: Preaching as Sacrifice	187
C.	I Corinthians 1 and 2: On Pulpit Eloquence	189
D.	I Corinthians 12-14: Various Forms of the Ministry of the Word	195
E.	I Corinthians 15: Preaching as the Proclamation of the Resurrection	200
F.	Galatians and the Charismatic Authority of the Preacher	203
G.	Ephesians and the Proclamation of the Mystery	210
V.	The Teaching of the Word as the Teaching of Wisdom in the Epistle of James	220
VI.	The Service of the Word in First Peter	226
VII.	The Ministry of the Word as Didache in the New Testament: The Beginnings of Catechetical Preaching	234
A.	I Peter 2:11-5:11	236
B.	Ephesians 4:1-6:20	239
C.	I Timothy	244
Chapter III	The Second and Third Centuries	251
I.	The Historical Documents	255
A.	The Didache (ca. 80-ca. 110)	255
B.	Justin Martyr's Apology (ca. 100-ca. 165)	265
C.	Tertullian (ca. 150-ca. 225)	269
D.	Hippolytus (ca. 170-ca. 236)	273
II.	The First Christian Sermons	278
A.	A Sermon from the Church of Corinth (ca. 125)	278
B.	Melito of Sardis (ca. 130-ca. 190)	285
C.	Clement of Alexandria (ca. 150-215)	294
III.	Origen and Our First Comprehensive Picture of Christian Preaching	306
A.	Origen's Hermeneutic, On First Principles	308
B.	Sermons on Genesis	313
C.	Sermons on the Gospel of Luke	321
D.	Allegory and Typology	333
E.	The Liturgical Setting of Origen's Preaching	341
	Bibliography	353
	Index	373

Editorial Reviews

There is no doubt that every serious preacher, theologian and Christian thinker will have to buy and ponder these important volumes. Dr. Old has done the church an enormous service in bringing this aspect of our heritage back into the prominence which it deserves, and it can only be hoped that his message will be widely heard and heeded in the days ahead.

Churchman

Here is a book that Augustine of Hippo would have loved because it links the pastoral ministry of preaching with its liturgical context of praise and thanks. Old writes not only from an extensive experience in the ministry of preaching but also with impeccable scholarly credentials.... Old has achieved something exceptional in this first volume. As a gifted teacher, he reviews familiar material and makes it new again by his studied insights and his ministerial concerns. His writing is both clear and elegant. Above all, he renews our own commitment to the preached and celebrated Word by his own vigorous reading of its ministry. Both pastors and scholars will benefit from a similar reading of his account.

Princeton Seminary Bulletin