The Medieval Period, 476–1500
Late medieval sermons were characterized by allegorical interpretation with its faulty exegetical method just as it was employed by the interpreters of Homer and introduced into the church by the second- and third-century fathers. While the period produced some famous preachers, such as Peter the Hermit, Bernard of Clairvaux, and Thomas Aquinas, none handled the text in an expository fashion. Faint hints of Bible exposition have been detected among independent groups such as the Paulicians, Waldenses, and Albigenses, despite the fact that these groups are commonly dismissed as “heretics.”
As the medieval period drew to a close, several pre-Reformation leaders rekindled the fire of expository preaching. Among these was John Wyclif (1330–1384), who was deeply concerned about proclaiming the Word. He denounced the preaching of his day, stating that all sermons that did not treat the Scripture should be rejected.32 William Tyndale (1494–1536) held a similar opinion. A glimpse of his preaching is reflected in this comment on methods of interpretation in his day:
They divide scripture into four senses, the literal, typological, allegorical, and analogical. The literal sense is become nothing at all: for the pope hath taken it clean away, and hath made it his possession. He hath partly locked it up with the false and counterfeited keys of his traditions, ceremonies, and feigned lies; and driveth men from it with violence of sword: for no man dare abide by the literal sense of the text, but under a protestation, ‘If it shall please the pope.’ … Thou shalt understand, therefore, that the scriptures hath but one sense, which is the literal sense. And that literal sense is the root and ground of all, and the anchor that never faileth, whereunto if thou cleave, thou canst never err or go out of the way.
Others, including John Huss (1373–1415) and Girolamo Savonarola (1452–98), became students and preachers of Scripture. Unwittingly, humanists like Erasmus (1469–1536) and John Colet (1466–1519) helped lay the groundwork for the expositional preaching to come. Their emphasis upon the publishing and study of original documents such as the Greek New Testament had this effect. Erasmus’s Greek New Testament published as Novum Instrumentum (1516) and Novum Testamentum (1518) led to an intense study of Scripture. Despite their contributions, however, none of the humanists became faithful expositors. Insead, they rather provided a basis for the revival of expository preaching during the Reformation.
Stitzinger, James F. “The History of Expository Preaching.” Rediscovering Expository Preaching. Dallas: Word Publishing, 1992. 45–47. Print.
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