PREACHING FROM THE CROSS. A STUDY OF PAUL’S PREACHING

This essay addresses three questions: Why did Paul preach? What did Paul preach? How did Paul preach? It argues that Paul preached because he was commissioned to do so at his call/conversion when the risen Christ was revealed to him. To preach the gospel was not Paul’s decision. He was commissioned and sent to preach, and so the content of his proclamation was not his own. Like a “herald” of the ancient world, he proclaimed the message of the gospel, the announcement of Christ’s death and resurrection that was entrusted to him. Because he was a herald of the gospel, Paul did not preach with rhetorical eloquence lest he conceal the scandal of the crucified Christ. Rather, he proclaimed the gospel in a way that those who heard it had to choose whether to believe or reject the message of the cross he proclaimed. Thus, there is an intimate connection between why Paul preached, what he preached, and how he preached, which has implications for preaching today.