What other person could say in complete confidence, “The prince of this world approaches me. He has no power over me” (John 14:30) because He knew His own character was sinless and impervious to Satan’s temptation?  His preaching was filled with ethical exhortations as His life was filled with the perfect application and that divine standard.

While we will always feel the chill wind of the space between our preaching and our performance, we still must unflinchingly relate the theological teaching of the Word and of Jesus Himself to the everyday life we and our congregations live.  Whether our members work in corporate boardrooms or local junkyards, they need to see the relation between the truth of the Word and their everyday behavior.  Though Jesus is not merely an example for living, He is indeed our greatest example, and our preaching must reflect an uncompromising commitment to holiness in our lives just as His did.

Jesus Preached about Himself Scripturally

Jesus’ preaching was saturated with Scripture. His teaching had the smell of leather scrolls on it.  His words dripped with the language of the prophets.  He was as comfortable with Moses as He was making a table in His carpenter’s shop.  He was as familiar with the Psalms as the streets of Nazareth.  He used the Old Testament authoritatively and easily. 

From the beginning to the end of His ministry, Jesus relied on the Scriptures. Scripture signaled His ministry’s inauguration, both privately and publicly.  In the wilderness He rebuked Satan’s temptation with scriptural truth.  In the synagogue of Capernaum, He read a messianic prophecy of Isaiah’s, rolled up the scroll, and informed His audience, “Today . . . this Scripture has been fulfilled” (Luke 4:18-19).  In other words, He was saying “Folks, that is about me!”  In each case, Jesus revealed His identity and authority through the authoritative use of the holy text.

His use of Scripture in the Sermon on the Mount showed not only His reverence for the Scripture, but His authority over it.  Several times He quoted Scripture and then added layers of meaning to it.  Using the formula, “You have heard it said . . . but I say to you . . .” Jesus exercised His rights as God in the flesh to add to the biblical mandates.  His ethical standard went deeper than the outward performance of the law, and just as significantly, this particular treatment of Scripture established Him as its definitive interpreter.

His discourses were textured with the landscape and characters of the Old Testament. Unlike every other preacher, His authority was not derivative of the sacred writings, yet He was always consistent with it, frequently using it to silence His critics.  When the Sadducees questioned Him about the resurrection, He flatly told them that they had been deceived because they didn’t know the Scriptures and then cited Genesis 3:6, saying, “I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living” (Matt. 22:32).  When the Pharisees tried to trick Him about the parentage of the Messiah, His answer and subsequent citation of Psalm 110:1 so intimidated them that they dared ask him no more questions after that (Mt. 22:41-46).  Even as He hung on the cross, preparing to lay down His life, He cited the prophetic words of Psalm 22:1.