Preach the Word
I can’t imagine a more serious set of words to begin a command than Paul’s words to Timothy in 2 Timothy 4:
“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…”
What command for Timothy is so serious that he needs to remember that he stands before God the Father and Christ Jesus his Son? What command is so serious that he needs to remember that God will judge the living and the dead, and that Christ will come back and that his kindgom will reign? I’m not sure what command I would expect here. I might expect him to say, “Stay away from sin,” or “I charge you… to refrain from greed and pride and love the church,” or maybe “I charge you, in light of all these serious things about God, to listen to the Lord.” All these commands would be good and are found in various forms throughout the New Testament. But that is not the command that Paul gives to Timothy in 2 Timothy 4.
Remember, Paul is encouraging and instructing a young, nervous Timothy on how to pastor the church in Ephesus faithfully, and many believe, including myself, that 2 Timothy was the last letter that Paul wrote. So this letter carries the weight of Paul’s last words to this young pastor. In chapter 3 of 2 Timothy, Paul has just reminded Timothy of the truth he had been taught in Scripture, of the teachings he received from Paul, and that all Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for training the church. Now in chapter 4, after establishing the seriousness of the charge he was about to give by reminding him that God was there, that He is the judge, that Christ is coming back and his kingdom will reign, Paul commands Timothy,
“Preach the word. Be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching.”
We have been considering the things that please God when we gather for worship. We have seen that we ought to read the Word in our service together. Now, Paul tells us we ought to preach the word.
This command is not one of those, “if you get time, you should consider this” commands nor “it’s just one of those things you have to do” commands. No, Paul sandwiches this charge between some very serious statements. As we’ve said, on one side of the command is the weighty reminder: “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.” Preaching is not a wise suggestion from Paul to young Timothy; it is a God-ordained act done in His presence. Then on the other side of the command, Paul tells Timothy to “be ready in season and out of season… with complete patience…” There is no offseason for preaching. Timothy is to be ready to preach the word all the time. Preaching is not a sprint, but a marathon.
So, what does Paul mean by “preach the word?” If this is so serious, we want to get this right.
First, to preach is to herald. The word “preach” here carries the idea of a messenger, perhaps the messenger of a king, who makes “a loud, attention-getting noise… or announcement” (John Piper, Expository Exultation, 56). Another word that the New Testament writers use for “preach” has to do with “proclaiming good news.” So imagine a messenger of a king returns from the battlefield and runs into the city, shouting for people to listen up because he has news from the battlefield: “Attention: Our King is victorious! Long live the King!” That is preaching. John Piper says it has a “gladness and gravity.” Both terms for “preach” are “serious; both are weighty. Neither is frivolous, glib, or trivial.”
Each week, when we gather, I am not preaching to fill time or fill seats or fill air space. Lord willing and by His grace, I am proclaiming the great news of what God has done through Christ “with all its roots and branches.” Now, you may argue about the quality of that proclamation each Sunday, but we should remember the great gladness and gravity of what we are doing when we preach.
Second, to preach is to bring out what is in the word. Paul does not say, “preach.” He says, “preach the word.” This is the Word that Paul just said was “breathed out by God.” This is the Word that Timothy was acquainted with growing up, the Word that Timothy had been taught by Paul, and the Word that we have in our Bibles today. That is the Word that we ought to preach. If I preach rightly, I am heralding what has already been heralded. I am proclaiming what has already been proclaimed. I am preaching the word. That simply means that the goal of every sermon is to draw out the meaning of the words of the Bible and proclaim it. That is called exposition.
Here is John Stott on the meaning of expositional preaching:
“To expound Scripture is to bring out of the text what is there and expose it to view. The expositor pries open what appears to be closed, makes plain what is obscure, unravels what is knotted and unfolds what is tightly packed… The size of the text is immaterial, so long as it is biblical. What matters is what we do with it. Whether it is long or short, our responsibility as expositors is to open it up in such a way that it speaks its message clearly, plainly, accurately, relevantly, without addition, subtraction or falsification.”
Church, what a great privilege it is for us to be able to gather weekly and hear the preaching of the Word. I pray that our church would always be a place where the word is rightly handled and rightly heralded.
May our worship be pleasing in His sight!
Pastor Mark