“From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” – Matthew 4:17
In Preaching: A Biblical Theology Jason Meyer channels Gordon Hugenberger to amplify what it means to herald (kerusso) God’s word. He writes,
The ‘herald’ is the town crier that speaks with the forceful ton of ‘hear, ye.’ In other words, the herald made his proclamation with a rousing “attention-getting noise” that could not be ignored.
Gordon Hugenberger reinforces the gravity of the herald’s task by stressing the political or military associations of the word. He points to the work of Suidas, the tenth-century AD Greek lexicographer, who said, ‘A herald is in time of war what an ambassador is in peace.’ The herald would go into ‘enemy territory ahead of an advancing army to warn the enemy of certain destruction unless they accepted the proffered terms for peace.’ Therefore, the king would invest the herald with power ‘either [to] accept surrender on behalf of his king or to declare war if those terms were rejected.’ The herald’s authority is completely derived and is legitimate only to the degree that he faithfully represents the one who sent him. (23)
Meyer is right to say, “Preaching is not discussing or explaining something with the tone and tenor of a fireside chat.” Preaching instead is the publishing of a King’s reign and rule, it is an announcement calling sinners to lay down their arms of iniquity and surrender their souls to Jesus Christ, the great Warrior King. If preaching is heralding, after the manner Hugenberger recounts, what are some characteristics that ought to be present in the preacher’s heraldic delivery? I can think of four.
4 DISTINGUISHING MARKS OF HERALDING THE GOSPEL
Heralding the gospel means preaching with authority. I am thinking here of a palpable sense of strength in the preacher’s message and delivery. We would go astray if we think the preacher has any authority within himself. No, his authority is derived from the King. The man of God stands behind the sacred desk as the King’s ambassador announcing the terms of the New Covenant. The terms are clear and certain, thus he proclaims them with all the authority the Spirit gives. We would also go astray if we think authority means a particular volume level flowing forth from the preacher’s mouth. I have seen men who are meek in tone preach with more authority than the young pastors who love to dwell in the upper register at all times. An analogy to parenting works well here. There are times when a father needs to raise his voice, but a calm word of instruction or discipline carries no less authority. A herald will have a demeanor of authority.
Heralding the gospel means preaching with confidence. Heralding with authority assumes a peculiar confidence within the herald. He is confident in the King who commissioned him and confident in the word he was sent to announce. If a preacher isn’t confident or assured in the truth he stands to proclaim he will not herald the gospel. Just like authority, heraldic confidence is outward looking. The preacher cannot be confident in his own persuasive power or attractive personality. Persuasive personalities have led many a hearer to hell. No, the herald’s confidence is in the Spirit he received and the Word the Spirit illuminates. Preachers should be careful on these first two marks because misplaced authoritative confidence can slide into arrogance. Heralding is a humble declaration, for the herald preaches not himself.
Heralding the gospel means preaching with urgency. Life and death hang in the balance during every sermon. The herald nor the hearer has any guarantee of tomorrow, of another chance to speak or listen. I can’t improve on the Prince of Preachers words here, “Oh my brothers and sisters in Christ, if sinners will be damned, at least let them leap to hell over our bodies. And if they will perish, let them perish with our arms about their knees, imploring them to stay, and not madly to destroy themselves. If hell must be filled, at least let it be filled in the teeth of our exertions, and let not one go there unwarned and unprayed for.”
Heralding the gospel means preaching with fearlessness. This is the overriding mark that Meyer is concerned with, and rightfully so. Heralding means not fearing man, but fearing the King of Kings. It is His word, thus it must not be tampered with. The preacher is to obey the command of old, “Cry aloud; do not hold back; lift up your voice like a trumpet; declare to my people their transgression, to the house of Jacob their sins” (Isa. 58:1). Jesus knows heraldic preaching will be opposed, will bring persecution, and will often bring death, but the herald must fear God alone: “So have no fear of them, for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known.What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matt. 10:26-28).
Preacher, you are a herald. Will you climb to the sacred desk this weekend? If so, make your ascent and then open your mouth with authority, confidence, urgency, and fearlessness.