The Preaching of Jesus: Gospel Proclamation, Then and Now

by William Brosend, Marcus J. Borg (Foreword by)

Overview

Using the findings of historical Jesus studies, William Brosend asks, what is the rhetoric that characterized the preaching of Jesus in the Synoptic Gospels, and how may today's preaching benefit from it? This book for preachers and students of preaching helps the reader see four distinct aspects of the rhetoric of Jesus: dialogical (preaching in response to challenges and questions); proclamatory (making bold and authoritative statements); occasionally self-referential (though less so than in the Fourth Gospel); and persistently figurative (illustrating his message through metaphor). Brosend spends one chapter on each of these methods, closing each chapter with a sermon that models that approach and his analysis of it. Sample sermons are by well-known preachers including Fred Craddock, Michael Curry, Tom Long, and Barbara Brown Taylor. Brosend concludes with the implications for modern preaching and a sermon of his own.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780664232153
Publisher:	Westminster John Knox Press
Publication date:	02/01/2010
Pages:	200
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

William Brosend is Associate Professor of Homiletics at the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee.

Table of Contents

Foreword Marcus Borg ix

Acknowledgments xiii

Introduction xv

1 Jesus the Preacher/Preaching Jesus 1

2 Dialogical Preaching 35

3 Proclamatory Preaching 69

4 Self-Reference in Preaching 98

5 Persistently Figurative Preaching 124

Conclusion 153

Appendix: Analysis of Jesus' Sayings in the Synoptics 161

Notes 173

Editorial Reviews

"Combining careful exegetical work with insightful homiletical reflection, this engagingly written book provides valuable guidance for preaching that is shaped by both the content and rhetoric of the gospel. A wonderful resource for preachers." Charles L. Campbell, Duke Divinity School

"Readable, readily accessible, historically informed with good critical judgment, this book is full of wisdom about the message of Jesus and the means of preaching it today. Highly recommended." Dr. Ben Witherington, III, Amos Professor of New Testament for Doctoral Studies, Asbury Theological Seminary

From the Publisher