Sermon on the Mount: Jesus’ Model of Expositional Preaching

What Is Expositional Preaching?

What is expositional preaching? To define the process, let me start with something familiar. Many in the church grew up hearing topical sermons. Topical sermons are when a pastor selects a topic (ie missions, love, family, etc.) and selects a few passages of Scripture to clearly exemplify the topic.

Expositional preaching doesn’t start with the topic and select Scripture. Instead the pastor moves verse by verse through a book of the bible. The pastor’s work in expositional preaching is not selecting a topic then searching for verses, but instead mining the verses to understand the meaning of the text in its historical and cultural setting.

Expositional preaching sets forth an explanation of Scripture and then applies it to the lives of the listeners.

Jesus’ Example in the Sermon on the Mount

It might shock you to hear Jesus employ this method of preaching in his sermon on the mount.

Matthew 5:27–29“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell…” 

Jesus gives a text (You shall not commit adultery), then explains the real meaning of the text to the listeners. They had missed the mark, believing lust to only be in error if physically acted upon.

Jesus tells the listeners that lust is sin in the mind, and that sin separates one from the Lord. The listeners needed to do more than stop physically participating in adultery. Those looking on should halt lust altogether. They needed to sort their heart as well as their hands.

Jesus encourages the listeners to consider tearing out their eyes. Well, not literally, but spiritually to avoid even looking upon a woman in lust. This application of the explanation of the text gives us the model to follow.

One of the wonderful things that Jesus does when preaching is desiring the people of Israel to understand the real meaning of God’s Word. We follow the wonderful example when longing for preaching that clearly explains the Word of God, then seeking to rightly apply it to our lives.

We would do well to encourage our pastors to rightly study the Word to expositionally deliver it to the church. Although this takes time and care, it best helps the body grow into mature man/womanhood.

-Pastor John Richardson