Preaching the Hard Sayings of Jesus

Preaching the Hard Sayings of Jesus. By John T. Carroll and James R. Carroll. Peabody: Hendrickson, 1996, 174 pp., $14.95 paper.

Join together a father who has preached for over fifty years and a son well immersed in academic study and teaching NT at Union Theological Seminary (Richmond) and you get a rich collection of insights about Jesus.

In particular, this father and son team write to help readers come to grips with some of the most challenging parts of Jesus' message. In the first three chapters they explore topics concerning discipleship and the "offense of judgment." Some "hard sayings" they discuss are hard not because they are hard to understand but because they are hard to accept. Other hard sayings they investigate are difficult because of the linguistic and cultural barriers between modern readers and antiquity. Chapter 4 examines two parables-the "dishonest steward" (Luke 16:1-8) and 'a friend's help at midnight" (Luke 11:5-8)-that illustrate these problems. In chap. 5 they investigate hard texts where Jesus is all too human and how this relates to the doctrine of Jesus as God.

This book is not an attempt to discuss all of the difficult sayings of Jesus. Rather, the authors prefer a more in-depth look at fewer passages. They also do not get into an analysis of the "historical Jesus" or attempt to sift his "authentic" words from the "inauthentic."

The procedure for each of the sayings treated is to give an original translation, an exegetical analysis of key issues, homiletical observations and suggestions for further reading. Although the authors try to keep the exegetical analysis and the sermonic thoughts in close connection, they are not bound to see all texts alike. For the most part they do, but occasionally they go in slightly different directions.

The Hard Sayings of Jesus by F. F. Bruce (InterVarsity) and Difficult Passages in the Gospels by Robert H. Stein (Baker) have more problem texts but do not offer what this book does. Although all three deal with "hard sayings," only the Carrolls make the distinct move from text analysis to sermon. While some of the exegetical observations may be debated (cf. the comments on divorce, pp. 52-53), overall this is a fine book full of interesting insights about the text and a good resource for those who preach. The homiletical observations can be used for sermon starters and the beginning point for further observations on the text.

Paul Pollard

Harding University, Searcy, AR

Copyright Evangelical Theological Society Jun 1999
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