March 23, 2022

The Year of our Lord, Jesus Christ

Mark 1:38

And he said unto them, Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also: for therefore came I forth.

Jesus was a preacher. He preached in synagogues, the temple, on a mountainside, from a boat, while walking through the countryside, and in homes to both enemies and believers alike. He turned the world upside down through preaching. He reproved, rebuked, and exhorted. He preached private messages, like to Nicodemus, He preached to huge crowds, remember the 5,000, He just preached.

He sent forth His disciples to preach, He probably heard John the Baptist preach, He trained preachers, He called preachers, He rebuked His preachers on occasion, and He preached both to kings and paupers. Yes, He was a preacher.

In fact, I’d say that He is the prototypical preacher. In His steps all others follow. In His example preachers today find leadership, context, encouragement, and sometimes reproof. He was the perfect preacher. Yet most of His followers forsook him in John 6:66. At the end of His ministry, during His time of suffering on the cross, only John the Beloved, His mother, and a few other women were with Him. Yet, He preached.

Crowds didn’t change Him, enemies didn’t intimidate Him, VIP’s didn’t impress Him, the imps of Hell didn’t stop Him, and the sufferings of life didn’t derail Him. He did not shrink from the shame of the cross, for He faced that duty with a full determination, He set His face like a flint to finish the job His Father put before Him. He did, He died on that old rugged cross as the Lamb of God of which He preached often.

He was a preacher. He was the Preacher.

Until next time,

William T. Howe, Ph.D.