Christocentric Preaching Meets the Historical Jesus

The Christocentric homiletic is considered one of the leading contemporary approaches within the evangelical hermeneutic and homiletic society. This is due to the convincing theological justification, practical guidance, and demonstrative examples of Christocentric sermons from three North American scholars: Sidney Greidanus, Edmund Clowney, and Bryan Chapell. Its popularity, however, has not made this approach immune to criticism. Opponents of the Christocentric approach often criticize the preaching model for operating on a general interpretive level, having repetitive sermon goals, and delivering sermons that lack adequate application, among other things. The suggested antidote to these issues in current scholarship is for the Christocentric homiletic to become less Christocentric and more Theocentric. This book enters the current homiletical debate on Christocentric preaching by placing the homiletical method in conversation with the field of Christology. In doing so, it points out that the Christocentric homiletic is embedded in a Christology from above, contributing to its strengths and weaknesses. This book suggests that if the Christocentric method takes the Christologies "from below" of N. T. Wright and Wolfhart Pannenberg seriously, it can address specific weaknesses and find resources to enhance some of its strengths without negating its central conviction of preaching Christ in every sermon. It defends the unique proposal that the Christocentric method can address its criticisms by becoming more Christocentric and not more Theocentric.