Exposition, Explanation, and the Myth of the Plain Sense. 1.18.2024

     If you did not grow up reading the Bible or hearing it preached there are some things that will strike you as odd. Cultural customs which have been eclipsed. Ancient practices which have never been well understood. Assumptions about the nature of created reality which no longer comport with our understanding of the world. To tell someone who lacks any connection with Scripture that “it all makes sense,” or “It takes faith.” Is not to explain the Bible but to obfuscate it. 

    Last month while studying for my sermon taken from Mary’s meeting with Elizabeth, I became a little amused by some word study work on the Greek word ποιέω. The way that this word is used in the NT should give pause to anyone who wants to focus on the mythical “plain” meaning of the text. The word ποιέω is used 567 times in 513 verses in the Greek New Testament. The entry in BDAG, the premier Lexical tool for New Testament work, is fourteen pages long listing 7 primary definitions and dozens of sub-definitions. Ποιέω is a core vocabulary word. You see it all the time. Most of the time it falls within a clear semantic range. That semantic range is defined by context. It is not inaccurate to say that you don’t know how ποιέω is used in a given sentence until you know how it is used. Which is to say there is no abstract plain sense of Scripture or anything else! There is only understanding that real words are deployed by authors to make their point in any given text. 

    It is not always easy. You are the expert in your congregation, Sunday after Sunday, to ensure that people understand what God intends for them to know.  Our topic this month, broadly speaking has been hermeneutics. Last week we focused on the exegetical process. This week we deal with the next steps exposition and explanation. And you cannot really do a good job of either until you dispense with the magical pixie dust of “plain sense.” 

Generally, when someone claims to be discussing the “plain sense” of the text the discussion goes like this:

“This is what the NIV says…

This is what (insert your favorite English-based word study tool) says…

This is what (your favorite commentator) says…

This is what _______, on the TV says…

This is what I heard on K-LOVE...

This is my opinion.”

This does not help the church, and it certainly does a disservice to the Text of Scripture.  If you want to explain a text, you must know it. If you want to know it, you have to do the work. The work is hard, exacting, and often frustrating. There is no shortcut. No easy path. You’ve got to do the work. When you do the work, you spend less time trying to trap the elusive unicorn promised by a simplistic “plain sense” and will embrace the text for what it is. 

    When we preach, the explanation part of the process is where we unpack meaning. The text is not mysterious or secretive—it merely embodies a different communications strategy from what is common in our culture. In the 21st century, we expect the wants, needs, attitudes, and expectations of the reader to determine meaning. This works to the detriment of understanding In the NT world the expectation was that the reader (more properly, the auditor) would understand the author’s intent from the text and apply a reading strategy appropriate to the genre and form of the literature. 

    A real reason that the church does not read the Bible well and explain it clearly is that we don’t read anything carefully, diligently, or strategically. Virtually every communication has become a canvas upon which the reader/listener projects his or her own prejudices, needs, desires, or conjectures. 

    Good preaching begins by affirming “there is a central, intended, guiding truth to this text.” Next, good preaching explains that there is a distance between our contemporary reading culture and the expectations of this text. To understand requires us to read the text according to its own internal rules—that is how the author expected it to be approached.  Another vital step for good preaching is clearly stating what kind of literary genre you are preaching from, “This is a parable. This is a series of aphorisms. This is narrative. This is a teaching unit.” This is the critical step where your congregation understands that you are the expert on this text for this congregation, here and now.

    These expository and explanatory steps should be a part of the structural framework of the sermon. Too much contemporary preaching uses the text as an anecdote or a caption duct-taped to the sermon the preacher already was determined to preach. This model of preaching does not explain the text. It does not draw the listener closer to the mind of God. It does not deepen the commitment to discipleship. In a Biblical sense; it is not really preaching. 

    This current trend of explanation-free preaching allows heresy to flourish, personality to dominate, and narcissism to define the current Church. Explanation-free preaching turns “pastors” into celebrities—celebrated for their ability to create a crowd without challenging the masses with the message of Christ. Explanation-free preaching elevates the audience's expectations and reduces the role of history and theology in the name of relevance. Explanation-free preaching severs current expressions of the “faith once and for all delivered to the Saints” from the historic roots that have always nourished believers. Explanation-free preaching cripples the Church in the name of equipping it—like a surgeon who solves the problem of a broken leg by amputating it. 

    It will not be easy, and it will take time to preach God’s Word clearly, accurately, and appropriately. You will need to analyze the text; you will need to prepare a clear explanation of what it says. You will need to creatively articulate that message. You must pray! You must read! You must think! You must write! You must do the work! If you do that work, if you do the digging your reward will be a look of understanding and ardor in the eyes of those who hear, learn, and obey through the clearly explained preaching of the Word. What are you waiting for?