Steven D. Mathewson. The Art of Preaching Old Testament Narrative.

Grand Rapids, MI: Baker

Academic, 2002.
As stated within the book’s preface, Steven Mathewson’s main goal in writing this work
is to “help other preachers who struggle with the proclamation of the Old Testament narrative
texts” (14). As such, Mathewson has divided his work into three sections, which are aimed at
helping him achieving this goal. Section one, is purposed with moving the reader from text to
concept. Section two, then, moves the reader from concept to sermon. Section three is concerned
with presenting the reader with sermon manuscripts, which “will help you to apply the concepts
described in this volume” (15).
In order for the preacher to move from the narrative text to the concept, Mathewson will
argue that “the quest for meaning in an Old Testament narrative text revolves around four key
elements found in all stories: plot, characters, settings, and point of view” (43). From here,
Mathewson spends chapters three through six providing the pastor with more details on each of
these four elements. These detailed chapters come mostly in the form of Mathewson
summarizing the work of scholars such as Robert Alter, Shimon Bar-Efart, and Jean Ska; all of
whom have done excellent work in the field of Hebrew narratives. Then, in chapter seven,
Mathewson helps provide some guidelines for developing the Big Idea of the narrative text. At
this point, Mathewson is simply restating the methodology of Haddon Robinson found in his
work Biblical Preaching. Thus, many pastors will be familiar with most of this seventh chapter.
The uniqueness of this chapter is found in Mathewson’s discussion of how Paul Borden and
Haddon Robinson have developed different Big Ideas for the same Hebrew narrative.
Mathewson uses this discussion to argue that even though “an interpreter is bound to the author’s
intended meaning” every preacher “will focus on the truth from a unique angle” (85). In other
words, Mathewson argues on the one hand that every Old Testament narrative contains only one
Big Idea and on the other that every pastor ought to present this same idea in a unique way.
Thus, for Mathewson, every message on the same narrative should emphasis the same idea just
nuanced in a different way. Such a situation is not further explained within the book and does not
account for different emphasis on the same Hebrew narrative within the New Testament. For
example, in regard to Genesis 4, the author of Hebrews seems to focus on Abel (Heb 11:4,
12:24), while the authors of 1 John and Jude seem to focus on Cain (1 John 3:12; Jud 1:11).
In section two, Mathewson moves the pastor closer to formulating a sermon. Mathewson
begins by explaining three questions every pastor should seek to answer with every sermon: what
does it mean, is it true, and so what? From here, Mathewson spends chapters nine through fifteen
providing a model for how this can be done effectively. First, the preacher must package the Big
Idea in a memorable statement. Second, the preacher must come up with a clear measurable
purpose for the sermon. Third, the preacher must choose to how they will preach the sermon
(inductively, deductively, first-person, etc.). Fourth, the preacher must create a detailed outline of
the sermon. Fifth, the preacher must create a manuscript of the sermon. In this step, Mathewson
will argue that the preacher needs “to engage the listeners with sensory details” even though ‘in
the Old Testament narrative, other concerns overshadow the need for realistic fullness” (132).
One questions whether this lack of “realistic fullness” was not intentional to the authors
meaning. In other words, why should one add details to the text if the author might have
intentionally excluded them? Though Mathewson uses the “sandal-removal ceremony” in Ruth
as an example of where a preacher might have to provide the audience with more information, he
also notes that “even the writer explains this one” (96). Does this not suggest that the Hebrew
narrative authors were intentional about even the sensory details excluded from within their
texts? Mathewson does not provide a method for how to deal with such textual realties. Then
Mathewson explains the sixth and final step is to create the introduction and conclusion to the
sermon while also practicing how to deliver it.
Mathewson’s work also points the reader in both a positive and negative direction in
regard to the use of biblical Hebrew in preaching. On the negative side, Mathewson states
numerous times that “while Hebrew gives you an edge, you can still do solid exegetical work in
the Old Testament narrative literature” without it (227; see also 27). Mathewson explains in
appendix A, that this “edge” is found primarily in the pastor’s ability to utilize text linguistics in
understanding how Hebrew syntax allows one to identify, main line clauses, subsidiary line
clauses, and possible chiasms. Thus, one finds it hard to believe how such an understanding of
the texts only provides the pastor with “an edge.” In fact, in his interview following his sermon
on 2 Sam 9, Donald Sunukjian explain how he would have missed a verbal connection found in 1
Sam 15 had he not been reading his Hebrew text (186). On the other hand, in the very next
interview, Paul Borden states that he does not read the Hebrew text. Instead, Borden uses “the
best commentaries based on the Hebrew text” and is “trusting their work” even though he would
also say that “not all of them give useful data” (201). Thus, Mathewson appears to be placing
himself in the middle, not arguing for or against the usage of Hebrew in Hebrew narrative
preaching. But such an approach seems unhelpful in the long run. The more recent work of Paul
Wegner (Using Old Testament Hebrew in Preaching) provides a need corrective.
On the positive side, Mathewson provides the reader with twenty-three pages, in
appendix A, summarizing many of the recent research developments in text linguistics. Though
Mathewson does not fully apply this research, he does provide the reader with many example of
how to apply the basics of the research with some preliminary observations. Mathewson’s work
in this appendix alone makes the work valuable to the preachers who desires to truly do
exposition of Old Testament narratives.