A. VERBS 1. euangelizo (eujaggelivzw, 2097), is almost always used of the good news about the Son of God, the gospel (eg Gl 1.8b). Exceptions to this are, eg, Luk 1:19; 1Th 3:6, where the phrases “give †¦ good news” and “when †¦ gave good news”, respectively, do not refer to the gospel. With reference to the gospel, it is translated with the verb “preach” as part of the phrase “preach the gospel” in the following passages: Acts 14:7; 17.18; Romans 15:20; 1Co 1:17; 9.18; Gal 1.9; 1Pe 1:12; 4.6; with the verb “preach” it is only translated in Act 5:42; 1Co 15:1,2; 2Co 11:7; Gal 1.16,23; Rev 14:6: In Luk 4:18, “to bring glad tidings” gives the correct citation from Isaiah, rather than “preach the gospel”, as some versions give, eg the English Authorized Version. In the LXX, the verb of any message intended to lift the listeners’ spirits is used; eg, 1Sa 31:9; 2Sa 1:20: See ANNOUNCE, GOOD, GIVE NEWS, GOSPEL, EVANGELIZE, NEWS, NEWS. 2. kerusso (khruvssw, 2784), means: (a) to herald, or, in general, to proclaim (eg, Mat 3:1 “preaching”; Mk 1.45: “publish”; Luk 4:18 “proclaim ”; v. 19: “preach”; Luk 12:3 “will be proclaimed”; Act 10:37 “preached”; Rom 2:21 “that you preach”; Rev 5:2 “that preached”). In 1Pe 3:19 reference is made, probably, not to glad tidings (for which there is no evidence that they were preached by Noah, any more than there is actual evidence that the spirits of the antediluvians are actually “in prison”), but to the act of Christ after his resurrection by proclaiming his victory to the fallen angelic spirits; (b) preach the gospel as a herald (eg, Mat 24:14 “it shall be preached”; Mk 13.10: “let it be preached”; 14.9: “let it be preached”; 16.15: “preach”; v. 20: “ preached”; Luk 8:1 “preaching”; 9.2: “to preach”; 24.47: “to preach”; Act 8:5 “preached”; 19.13: “preaching”; 28.31: “preaching”; Rom 10:14 “who †¦ preaches”, present participle, lit., “one preaching”; 10.15a; 1Co 1:23 “we preach Christ crucified”; 1Th 2:9 “we preach the gospel of God”; 1Ti 3:16 “ preaching to the Gentiles”); (c) preach the word (2Ti 4:2), of the ministry of the Scriptures, with special reference to the gospel. See DISCLOSE, HERALD, PROCLAIM, PROCLAIM, PUBLISH. 3. prokerusso (prokhruvssw, 4296), lit., proclaim as herald (pro, in front, and No. 2). It is used in Act 13:24 “John preached” (VM: “John had preached first”). In TR it also appears in 3.20: “which †¦ was previously announced”; in the most commonly accepted texts it appears proqueirizo, see ANNOUNCE, No. 13.¶ 4. laleo (lalevw, 2980), speak. It is translated “preached” (Mk 2.2); “having preached” (Acts 14:25); see ANNOUNCE, KNOW, TELL, MAKE KNOWN, SAY, ISSUE, SPEAK. Note: For logos, word, translated “preach” in 1Ti 5:17 (lit., “those who labor in the word”), see WORD, No. 1. B. Names kerugma (khvrugma, 2782), proclamation made by a herald (related to A, No. 2). It denotes a message, a preaching, the substance of what is preached in contrast to the act of preaching (Mat 12:41; Luk 11:32; Rom 16:25; 1Co 1:21; 2.4; 15.14; 2Ti 4:17; Tit 1:3).¶ In the LXX, 2Ch 30:5; Pro 9:3; Jon 3:2:¶ Note: In Act 18:5 logos, word, is translated as “preaching”; that is, the communication of the deposit that had been entrusted to him for the disclosure of it, everything that God has made known to be proclaimed.
Source: Vine New Testament Dictionary
Preaching is the proclamation of the word of God to men by men at the command of God. It is the ordained medium for the transmission of the word of God to the world, and it also serves as a means of official grace for the edification of the church of Christ.
In the patriarchal period and even after Sinai, believers were to communicate God’s promises and commandments to their children (Gen. 18:19; Deut. 11:19). In Israel, this private instruction was to be supplemented by a public reading of the law every seven years during the Feast of Tabernacles (Deut. 31:9–13). During the revivals in the reigns of Jehoshaphat and Josiah, the Levites went from city to city in Judea publicly reading the law (2 Chron. 15:3; 17:7–9; 35:3). Ezra and those who assisted him interpreted the law as they read publicly after the return from captivity (Neh. 8:7, 8). In the synagogues, the public reading of portions of the law and the prophets was followed by homiletical interpretations.
The prophets were active in Israel from the time of Moses to the days of the kings, but prophecy constituted the most extraordinary mode of divine revelation in the days of Israel’s apostasy. The great prophets were the heralds of God who declared (forms of nāḡad) judgment and future hope of salvation, and they preached against iniquities (forms of qārāʾ) of the people and their leaders. The preaching of the prophets was often given by God immediately and transmitted as it was received, while the preaching of the Levites was based on the written word, the Torah.
In the NT, the preaching of John the Baptist, Jesus, the apostles, and others is described by thirty different terms. The most important are kērussein“announce”, “proclaim” (used sixty-one times, kērugma about nine times); euangelidseszai“publish the good news” (used over fifty times, euangelion about seventy times); Y didaskein“teach” (used about ninety times, the nouns didaskalia Y didache are also used, especially in the pastoral epistles). All of these verbs and nouns, modeled after extra-biblical usage or the OT equivalent, carry a strong note of authority. The preacher has received his mandate and message from God and arrives with the authority of the one who sends him. The NT terms for preaching cannot be separated from the idea of apostleship and its foundation in the arch-apostolate of Jesus Christ (Jn. 20:21). This is especially true of the most frequently used word in John, martureinmeaning “to testify judicially as a witness”.
The primary message (kērugma, euangelion) of the apostles consists of a declaration of the redemptive-historical facts of the life of Christ, his death, resurrection, ascension and second coming, together with the call to repentance (see) and faith (see). The kērugma it is fundamental to the life of the church and to the apostolic teaching which serves for the edification of the church (didacheteaching, paraklēsisexhortation, and nouzesia, admonition, etc.). “The contents of kērugma and the didache in the New Testament they are the same, but the modality is different…what in the beginning of the New Testament is identified with the ‘kērugma’ of the kingdom not of Heaven, in the latter part it takes a different form, that is, of religious teaching and doctrine” (Herman N. Ridderbos, When the Time Had Fully Come, Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, Mich., 1957, pp. 94 and 95).
Paul’s letters to Timothy describe the transitional stage from apostolate to pastorate and evangelism. Timothy must quickly uphold the apostolic teaching and the OT Scriptures and communicate that teaching in pastoral preaching and evangelism (1 Tim. 4:13, 14; 2 Tim. 2:15; 3:14–16; 4:1 -5). The transmission of the word is ensured by the church in history by commissioning faithful men to teach others (2 Tim. 2:2).
Origen’s preaching marks a shift from the hortatory homily to the expository sermon, but his exposition was obscured by the use of the allegorical method in the interpretation of Scripture. The defects of this method passed into the Western Church through Augustine, as reflected in the preaching up to the time of the Reformation. The Reformers expounded and applied Scripture directly, often preaching in series based on entire books of the Bible. Radical reinterpretation of the Bible has influenced the Bible for the worse, but some see encouraging signs in the twentieth century of a return to preaching whose principles are based on an understanding of the message given to the church by the Holy Spirit in Holy Scripture.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
EC Dargan, A History of Preaching; CH Dodd, The Apostolic Preaching and its Developments, p. 7–13; K. Dijk, De dienst der prediking; THL Parker, The Oracles of God; H N Ridderbos, When the Time Had Fully Come; J.Stewart, Heralds of God; JB Weatherspoon, Sent Forth to Preach; G. Wingren, Die Predigt.
Carl G. Kromminga
Harrison, EF, Bromiley, GW, & Henry, CFH (2006). Dictionary of Theology (482). Grand Rapids, MI: Challenge Books.
Source: Dictionary of Theology