Christian preaching of the Old Testament:
A Study of Sidney Greidanus and Abraham Kuruvilla on Genesis 22.

Abstract

The interpretive movement from text, to Christ, to pulpit, combines a number of theological disciplines. It is the multifaceted nature of this task that means preachers face a complex challenge. Preachers seek to do justice to both the text of Scripture, and the ‘rule of centrality’ in the hermeneutic movement to Christ. This movement finds its ultimate challenge in preaching Christ from the ancient Old Testament text. It is this task that this thesis is concerned with.
Two scholars will be studied and compared in terms of their theoretical programmes of methodology, their interpretation of text and their preaching – Sidney Greidanus and Abraham Kuruvilla. These scholars have been chosen because of their similarity of published works, evangelical traditions and geographical location - USA (for one’s context always influences one’s interpretation). They are also selected due to their diverse approaches to preaching. Further to this, both use the Akedah in Genesis 22 as an example text, thus making a clear comparison possible.
This comparison will form the majority of this study and other scholars and preachers will be brought in where relevant. These will include evangelical preachers that are either ‘classic voices’ or have been recorded in text, or audio file, from the latter half of the twentieth century to the present.
In conclusion it will be argued that each scholar appeals to distinct theological principles. Greidanus gives weight to the Bible in regards to what God has done, and so preaches justification. Kuruvilla gives weight to the Bible with regards to human obedience, and so preaches sanctification. However, both unite in defaulting to the use of ‘parallel narrative resonance’ (Genesis 22 with Golgotha) – a position that appears to fall outside presented method (Kuruvilla), and interpretation (Greidanus).