December 24, 2025 • 31 mins
In this message from Luke 24:27–35, David Platt addresses the task of preaching in honor of his mentor, Jim Shaddix.
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SPEAKER_00 (00:00):
You are listening to David Platt Messages, a weekly
podcast with sermons andmessages from pastor, author,
and teacher David Platt.
SPEAKER_01 (00:08):
Well if you have a Bible, and I I hope you or
somebody around you does thatyou can look on with, I'm gonna
invite you to open me to Lukechapter 24.
Luke chapter 24.
Almost 25 years ago, I steppedinto my first preaching class
(00:39):
with Jim Shaddock.
An older brother in ministry hadtold me when I was looking where
to go to seminary, find somebodyto study under and go learn all
you can from that person.
I knew I wanted to studypreaching, and I'd heard about
Dr.
Shaddocks.
So Heather and I, newly married,traveled to campus to meet him.
(01:02):
I remember the moment when Dr.
Shaddock's asked me if I wouldbe willing to work for him, and
Heather said she could see droolcoming out of my mouth.
Tried to play it cool.
I'll pray about it.
I prayed about it as long aboutas long as you did.
As you mentioned earlier, thisis exactly what I wanted to do
(01:22):
by God's grace.
He gave me the opportunity todo, and a door was open to 25
years of not just uh mentorship,but friendship and family with
this brother.
And family is the right word.
So the Shaddock's family wellremembers when soon after
Heather and I came to campus,the Shaddocks has invited us
(01:43):
over for dinner one weeknight.
We're eating.
I'm just as nervous as I can be,just getting to know Dr.
Shaddox and his family.
At one point we're talking abouthow I was going to be traveling,
preaching that weekend out oftown.
They were sharing about how theywere gonna be doing what one of
their family's favorite things,Friday night movie night.
And that's when my wife,Heather, who's over here, was
(02:04):
not traveling with me thatweekend.
As soon as she heard aboutfamily movie night, she said, I
love family movie night.
Can I come?
I was horrified.
Like, you don't invite yourselfover to the professor's house
for family night.
Like the Shaddoxes looked at mywife's eager face, realized they
would crush her heart if theysaid no.
(02:27):
So they invited her to come, andthat Friday night, she come up
came over and did what she doesat every movie night.
She fell asleep on their couch.
And the Shaddox family foundthemselves looking at each other
like, who's the random seminarygirl sleeping in our living
room?
A joke, but I do want to saythat while this chair of
(02:51):
expository preaching today isobviously about honoring Jim, it
is a testimony to you, Deborah.
And to you, Clint and Shane andDallas, to who you are as a
family, to so many, includingHeather and me.
So 25 years later, I'm standinghere in a seminary chapel with
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the indescribable honor andprivilege and joy to be a part
of this establishment of thischair of expository preaching in
your name, which, brother, Iknow this is somewhat
uncomfortable for you, but justso you know, it feels extremely
appropriate for us.
(03:34):
I feel like I'm standing here onbehalf of two groups of people.
One, all the men and women whohave learned to preach and teach
the Bible through your life andleadership.
By God's grace, God's word isbeing proclaimed to God's glory
in places literally around theworld because people learn to
proclaim it through you.
(03:55):
That's amazing.
That's breathtaking to thinkabout.
And then I'm standing here onbehalf of all the men and women
who, if the Lord tarries, willlearn to preach from professors
who serve in this position, whowill train countless others to
proclaim God's word in placesaround the world.
That's amazing and breathtakingto think about.
(04:16):
This is what you have given somuch of your life to.
And I hope and pray you receiveall of this today as the fruit
of God's grace flowing in andthrough your life.
So here's what I want to do.
I cannot, in good conscience,not do some level of exposition
of a text today.
(04:38):
That would feel totallydishonoring to you.
For you to sit there and think,after all those years, you
didn't even preach a text.
So I can't not preach.
At the same time, the text inRomans 12, 10 tells me to outdo
one another in showing honor.
And this is a chance for me todo that on behalf of a lot of
(04:59):
people.
So if y'all will just permit mea little bit of liberty, not
with exposition, but withillustrations and application, I
want to try to faithfully preachGod's word and personally honor
God's grace in Jim Shaddock atthe same time.
And I think I have a way to dothis.
So first, when it comes to thetext, of all the texts I could
have chosen as I prayed aboutit, one clearly rose to the top.
(05:22):
When I first met Dr.
Shaddocks, he had founded, notlong before that, Burning Heart
Ministries for the purpose ofmentoring and training
preachers.
And the name of that ministrycame from Luke 24.
It's the text more than anyother, in my estimation, that
marks your preaching ministry.
So what I want to do is take usto Luke 24.
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We're going to read the story,and here's what I'm thinking.
So I've had numerous papersgraded by Dr.
Shaddocks.
I've had numerous sermonscritiqued by Dr.
Shaddocks.
Remember one day he took me upinto the preaching lab, put one
of the sermons up on my sermonsup on the big screen, walked me
through things to keep, thingsto throw away.
There are not many things morehumbling than watching one of
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your sermons on a big screenwith your preaching professor
and hero making notes.
So here's here's Dr.
Shaddock's definition ofpreaching back up on the screen.
I'm thinking if there's going tobe a chair of expository
preaching named after someone,we should at least examine his
definition of preaching.
So I want to do that in light ofthis text, Luke 24.
(06:26):
So here's the definition again,the process of laying open a
text in such a way that the HolySpirit's intended meaning and
accompanying power are broughtto bear on the lives of
contemporary listeners.
So let's hold on to thatdefinition and then let's read
the text.
Luke 24, starting in verse 13.
I'll have it on the screen ifthat's helpful.
That very day, two of them weregoing to a village named Emmaus,
(06:50):
about seven miles fromJerusalem, and they were talking
with each other about all thesethings that had happened.
While they were talking anddiscussing together, Jesus
himself drew near and went withthem.
But their eyes were kept fromrecognizing them.
And he said to them, What isthis conversation that you're
holding with each other as youwalk?
And they stood still, lookingsad.
(07:12):
Then one of them, Mcleopus,answered, Are you the only
visitor to Jerusalem who doesnot know the things that have
happened there in these days?
He said to them, What things?
And they said to him, ConcerningJesus of Nazareth, a man who was
a prophet, mighty indeed andword, before God and all the
people, and how our chiefpriests and rulers delivered him
up to be condemned to death andcrucified him.
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But we had hoped that he was theone to redeem Israel.
Yes, and besides all this, it'snow the third day since these
things happened.
Moreover, some women of ourcompany amazed us.
They were at the tomb early inthe morning, and when they did
not find his body, they cameback, saying that they had even
seen a vision of angels, whosaid that he was alive.
Some of these who were with uswent to the tomb and found it
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just as the women had said.
But him they did not see.
And he said to them, Oh, foolishones, slow of heart to believe
all that the prophets havespoken.
Was it not necessary that theChrist should suffer these
things and enter into his glory?
In the beginning with Moses andall the prophets, he interpreted
to them in all the scripturesthe things concerning himself.
(08:17):
So they drew near to the villagewhich they were going, to which
they were going.
He acted as if he were goingfurther, but they urged him
strongly, saying, Stay with us,for it's toward evening, and the
day is now far spent.
So he went in to stay with them.
When he was at the table withthem, he took the bread and
blessed and broke it and gave itto them.
And their eyes were opened, andthey recognized him, and he
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vanished from their sight.
They said to each other, Did notour hearts burn within us while
he talked to us on the road,while he opened to us the
scriptures.
And they rose that same hour andreturned to Jerusalem, and they
found the eleven and those whowere with them gathered
together, saying, The Lord hasrisen indeed, and has appeared
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to Simon.
And they told what had happenedon the road, and how he was
known to them in the breaking ofthe bread.
What a story.
Two dejected, depressed,disillusioned, confused
followers of Jesus walking alonga road outside of Jerusalem,
saying we thought he was the oneto redeem us.
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Some are saying he's alive, butnobody's actually seen him.
And the stage is set for thefirst people in the book of Luke
to encounter the resurrectedChrist.
And I can't help but think ofall the ways Jesus could have
revealed himself in much granderfashion, to much greater effect.
(09:45):
Think about it.
Why did he not just show up atthe temple in front of the
masses as a massive sign to say,I told you, I am back.
How beautiful is this?
Jesus had just conquered death.
What no one in history has everdone or could ever do on their
(10:06):
own.
And Jesus finds two plain,humble, ordinary, obscure people
on a dusty road and starts aconversation with them.
Jesus is showing us from thestart of his resurrected life
how this good news will spreadthrough the simple power of a
(10:28):
spoken word.
Which leads to another beautifulthing about the story.
Verse 16.
God kept their eyes fromrecognizing it.
Why is that?
Why not just come up and say,guys, cheer up?
I'm here.
It's true, I'm alive.
At least one of the reasons sureseems to be that God wants us to
(10:52):
realize that people don't haveto see the resurrected Christ in
order for their hearts to betransformed.
Instead, what they need issomeone who will be willing to
open the scriptures with them.
And then hearts will betransformed.
That's the phrase Luke uses whenthese two followers recollect
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what had just happened.
Verse 32.
They said to each other, Did notour hearts burn within us while
he talked to us on the road,while he opened to us the
scriptures.
Well, that's interesting.
Because that sounds a lot likethe Shattock's definition of
preaching.
(11:36):
Preaching is the process oflaying open a text to expose the
voice of God in the scriptures.
Expository preaching.
That's a term I had never heardbefore I came to seminary.
It's a term that many peoplehaven't heard.
As a result of Dr.
Shaddock's investment in mylife, I became an assistant
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professor of expositorypreaching.
I remember preaching at acollege conference not long
thereafter, and a sweet collegegirl introduced me as David
Platt, an assistant professor ofsuppository preaching.
I'm on the front row.
Exposite, not supposite.
That's such a drasticdifference.
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So many levels.
Expose.
Lay open a text.
That's the job of a preacher ora teacher.
Not to communicate yourthoughts, your ideas, your
opinions, or even your personalconvictions, but to communicate
God's truth.
Period.
First day in preaching class,remember Dr.
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Shaddocks is saying, if you'regonna say, thus saith the Lord,
you better know what the Lordsaith.
You have one job.
Lay open a text in such a waythat the Holy Spirit's intended
meaning.
So look at verse 27 with me.
Luke says, beginning with Mosesand all the prophets, he
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interpreted to them, see mycircle just made a note, that
word is diermenuo, from which weget hermeneutics.
It means to explain what isthere in a Nehemiah 8.8 kind of
way, to read from the book, thelaw of God clearly, and to give
the sense so that the peopleunderstand the reading.
(13:22):
And can you just imagine whatthis conversation was like?
As Jesus, beginning with Mosesand all the prophets, interprets
to them, does some hermeneuticswith all the scriptures, the
things concerning himself.
One writer said, this wasexegetical, heaven.
Just imagine Jesus looking atthese guys as he talks to them
(13:45):
about himself and the thirdperson.
Like, guys, do you rememberGenesis 3?
As soon as sin entered theworld, God said a seed would
come from the woman.
He told the serpent, You'regonna bruise his heel, but he
will crush your head.
He looks at them and he's like,guys, that's what happened.
He says, Remember Exodus 12?
(14:06):
Passover lamb?
Now it's Jesus' blood thatcovers sinful hearts and keeps
God's people from judgment.
They deserve.
Remember Exodus 16?
Mana from heaven?
That's what he told us.
He's the bread of life.
No one who comes to him willever be hungry again.
Remember the high priest inLeviticus?
(14:27):
Sinner that he was?
We do not need him anymore.
The sinless Savior has died onceand for all on behalf of all who
trust in him.
Remember Numbers 21?
Look at the serpent on the poleand live?
Just like Jesus said in John 3.
Now we look at the Savior on thecross and we live.
(14:49):
Remember the greater prophetMoses promised in Deuteronomy?
It's him.
Remember Joshua, the conquerorof armies who led God's people
into the promised land?
He was just pointing to hisnamesake, Jesus, the defeater of
death, who leads God's peopleinto eternal life.
Jesus is the rescuer fromjudges, the redeemer from Ruth,
(15:10):
the shepherd king and righteousruler and true temple of 1 and 2
Samuel and Kings and Chronicles.
Remember, guys, the prophetsIsaiah told us he would be a
suffering servant who would bepierced for our transgressions
and crushed for our iniquities.
And though we would not beattracted to him, he would cause
many to be accounted righteous.
Micah told us exactly where he'dbe born.
(15:32):
You remember that?
How about Zechariah?
He told us exactly how he'd cometo Jerusalem, riding on a
donkey.
He told us we would look on himwhom they have pierced, and that
a fountain would flow from hisside to cleanse us from all our
sins.
Jesus just rattling off centuryafter century of history that
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all pointed to himself.
In the third person.
So don't miss the point.
It's at least twofold here.
One, this is the Holy Spirit'sintended meaning in the text.
The Holy Spirit of God means topoint us to the Holy Son of God
in the text.
(16:13):
Peter put it this way in hisfirst letter concerning the
salvation, the prophets whoprophesied about the grace that
was to be yours searched andinquired carefully, inquiring
what person or time the spiritof who in them.
(16:42):
Second Peter 1, 21.
For no prophecy was everproduced by the will of men,
man, but men spoke from God asthey were carried along by the
Holy Spirit.
Now, here's where it gets evenmore awesome.
And here's the other pointyou've got to see here.
So back to Luke.
Luke later tells us in thispassage, when Jesus is with all
the disciples in verse 44.
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Jesus said to them, These are mywords that I spoke to you while
I was still with you.
That everything written about mein notice this language, law of
Moses and the prophets and thePsalms must be fulfilled.
Then he, watch this, openedtheir minds to understand the
scriptures.
That's the same language we readearlier.
So it's the same thing Jesus didon the Emmaus road.
(17:26):
Now he's doing it with hisdisciples here.
So then fast forward to Luke'ssecond volume, book of Acts, and
check this out.
Philip is literally physicallycarried along by the Holy Spirit
to the side of an Ethiopianeunuch.
Read Acts chapter 8, verse 35.
Philip opened his mouth, andbeginning with this scripture,
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he told him the good news aboutJesus.
Same language.
He's opening his mouth andbeginning with scripture,
pointing him to Jesus.
Then two chapters later, Peterspeaking to the household of
Cornelius.
Acts 10, 43 says to him, All theprophets bear witness that
everyone who believes in himreceives forgiveness of sins
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through his name.
And while Peter was saying thesethings, the Holy Spirit fell on
all who heard the word.
Peter from the prophets pointsthem to the name of Jesus.
Then Paul before King Agrippa.
Same language, Acts 26, to thisday, he says, I've had the help
that comes from God.
I stand here testifying, boththe small and great, saying
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nothing but what the prophetsand Moses said would come to
pass, that the Christ mustsuffer, and by being the first
to rise from the dead, he wouldproclaim light both to our
people and to the Gentiles.
So are you saying this?
How does the good news of Jesusspread in the world?
(18:52):
Through a line of people,starting in Luke 24, opening the
scriptures and pointing othersto the suffering and the
resurrection of Jesus for thesalvation of sinners among all
the nations.
So to every teacher and preacherof God's word in this room,
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realize this is the line you arein.
Talk about significance andmeaning in ministry.
You and I are in a line ofliterally thousands of years of
men and women who have had thesober responsibility, the pure
privilege, the high honor, andthe inexpressible joy of opening
(19:36):
up the scriptures and saying, Iwant to show you Jesus.
That's preaching.
And Jim Shattox, we jointogether today to praise God for
how you have faithfully takenyour place in that line.
In churches you have shepherded,in interim pastorates you have
served, from conferences toclassrooms, you have faithfully,
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week after week, year afteryear, Taken your place in this
line, and not just your place,you have enlisted, encouraged,
emboldened, and equippedcountless others in this line.
And yes, all of thatalliteration was for you.
In all seriousness, one of thegreatest compliments I could
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possibly give to you is thatafter learning preaching from
you and listening to you preachover the course of decades, and
I know that I'm not alone inwhat I'm about to say, I know of
no other person on the planetwho more faithfully steps behind
a pulpit or podium with the Wordof God to expose the meaning of
(20:40):
the Spirit of God in such a waythat you exalt the beauty,
majesty, and glory of the Son ofGod.
And you do so, not in your ownpower, but in the power of God.
Which just so happens to be thenext part of your preaching
definition.
Preaching is the process oflaying open a text in such a way
(21:00):
the Holy Spirit's intendedmeaning and accompanying power.
So back on the road to Emmaus,on the Emmaus road in Luke 24,
did you notice Luke's masterfulplay on words?
So remember verse 16.
Their eyes were kept fromrecognizing.
It's what some divine colourscall the divine what not divine
scholars, what some biblicalscholars call the divine
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passive.
Their eyes were kept passivevoice.
Their eyes were kept by God fromrecognizing Jesus.
But then you get down to verse30, where we read, well, here's
the table with them.
He took the bread and blessed,broke it, and gave it to them,
and their eyes were opened.
And they recognized him.
And he then turned their sideand they said to each other, the
(21:44):
nine of hearts burn with the buswhile we talked to them, while
they opened us the scriptures.
You see the reversal.
Verse 16, eyes were kept fromrecognizing Jesus.
And verse 31, their eyes wereopened.
Next question (21:58):
Who opened them?
God did.
God opened their eyes.
And how did he do it?
Luke tells us he uses the exactsame word when he says, through
his opening of the scriptures.
And then breaking this bread.
Don't miss this.
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God, as we open scriptures, Godopens eyes.
How do you get to burninghearts?
You open the scriptures and youtrust God to open the eyes.
Mark it down and do not forgetit.
The proclamation of the word ofGod is completely dependent on
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the power of God.
You can preach the text, butonly the Spirit of God can open
the eye and change the heart.
Which means the preacher mustpreach in the power of the
Spirit, not in the flesh.
Which is only possible when thepreacher lives in the power of
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the Spirit and not in the flesh.
And this, Jim Shattox, I believeis the key key to your
preaching.
You preach the word of God toget out of the overflow of
intimacy with the Spirit of God.
(23:28):
I remember preaching a sermonwith him together one time.
We were like co-preaching, whichmeant co-preparing that sermon.
And I remember how we started.
He said, David, let's get on ourknees.
And we knelt and we read throughthe text and began to pray just
through the text.
By the time we were finished,Jim was next to me on his knees,
just weeping over the text.
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I remember one day comingunexpectedly upon him in his
private office, and I found himon his face before God.
Again, weeping.
You preach the word of Godbecause you love the God of the
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Word.
I remember running laps aroundcampus with this brother.
I was not a runner, but if Dr.
Shaddocks invited me to run, Iwas up for a marathon.
And I would be totally out ofbreath as he was running and
literally quoting books of theBible to me.
(24:35):
Then last January, when Jim hadhis initial surgeries, I flew
down for the day just to see,spend some time with him and
their family.
And I had a few minutes where itwas just the two of us in his
hospital room.
And during that time, he startedpraying for me.
And as he prayed, he startedmentioning things that I'd not
(24:56):
even shared with him, that myfamily and I specifically needed
prayer for.
In ways that only the Spirit ofJesus in him could know.
And I walked away from thathospital room that day,
worshiping, from being with abrother whose brain was
extremely weak, but in whom themind of God's Spirit was
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stronger than ever.
Preaching is laying open, theprocess of laying open a text in
such a way that the HolySpirit's intended meaning and
accompanying power are broughtto bear on the lives of
contemporary listeners.
So what was the effect of Jesusopening the scriptures?
(25:38):
God opening their eyes?
Those burning hearts.
What a phrase.
What a phrase.
Burning hearts.
He lit us up.
That's what the word means, thelight on fire.
God is telling us that as weopen the scriptures, he opens
the eyes.
A supernatural, otherwiseunexplainable phenomenon happens
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in the human heart.
And I think it's worth notingthat this story didn't actually
happen with a pulpit or apodium, on a stage or in a
crowd.
It happened in a conversationwith two people.
The kind of conversation thatevery spirit-filled brother or
sister can and is called by Godto have from the neighborhoods
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where we live to the nations ofthe earth.
This is how the glory of Godspreads through ordinary
followers of Jesus, filled withthe extraordinary power of
Jesus, sharing the good newsabout Jesus.
As many times as I've heard Jimpreach, I've also heard him
share the gospel with individualpeople.
(26:45):
On the streets, in taxis, incasual conversations.
We will not be faithful if ouronly proclamation of the gospel
is when the most people arewatching us.
No crowd is too small, noconversation is too
insignificant to bring thegospel to bear on the lives of
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contemporary listeners.
With confidence in the power ofthat gospel to save.
And the power of God's Spirit tosend.
Did you notice what these twodid just as soon as Jesus
vanished?
They rose that same hour andreturned to Jerusalem.
(27:36):
Don't you love this?
Death could not stop thisMessiah.
And mark it down, death cannotstop his messengers.
So I want to put all thistogether.
Dr.
Shadek's good news.
I think it is clear to all of usthat your definition of
preaching is biblical.
(27:58):
Preaching is the process oflaying open a text in such a way
that the Holy Spirit's intendedmeaning and accompanying power
are brought to bear in the livesof contemporary listeners.
And even better news, brother,especially for us, we honor you
today because by God's grace,you have faithfully demonstrated
this definition of preaching inyour life.
(28:22):
And here's the best news.
And I trust you know this, but Isimply want to remind you of it
today.
Because of your faithfulness, tonot only preach like this, but
to pour out your life bytraining men and women like me
and many others to preach thisword.
Your fruitfulness will not stopwith your time in this world.
(28:48):
I hope, I pray with many othersthat you have many, many, many
more days in this world.
At the same time, there iscoming a day when you and well
all of us are one day going toleave this world.
It could be today for any one ofus.
(29:08):
But know this, brother, wheneverthat day comes, in the sovereign
providence of God, the risenLord Himself is going to welcome
you into glory as his good andfaithful servant, as a good and
faithful husband, as a good andfaithful dad, as a good and
(29:30):
faithful papa, and as a good andfaithful steward of this work.
And that won't be the end of thestory.
Because you know what else therisen Lord is gonna do?
He's gonna continue the work youhave given your life to in your
wife and in your children andyour grandchildren and your sons
(29:54):
and daughters in ministry.
That's what today is about.
It's about a commitment from aseminary to keep raising up
faithful preachers and teachersof God's word who will carry on
this work far beyond you.
As Dr.
Aiken said, until Jesus comesagain.
And it's just one picture of howthe fruit of your faithfulness
(30:16):
with God's word is going to faroutlast you in this world.
I think about the night when Igot a call from my brother that
my dad had passed awayunexpectedly from a heart
attack.
And the first person thatHeather called.
And the first person to walkthrough the doors of my house
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that night was Jim Shadows.
And he came over to me and heheld me and he hugged me and he
cried with me.
And then he got into a car andhe drove Heather and me through
the night from New Orleans toAtlanta so we could sleep along
the way.
Jim, I honor you today as aspiritual father to me.
(30:58):
And I join with many others whowill be grateful in eternity to
have been one of your manychildren in ministry.
And I say to every brother orsister in Christ, within the
sound of my voice, andparticularly to preachers and
teachers of God's word, based onthe authority of the scriptures
and Luke 24, let's give ourlives in individual
(31:20):
conversations and in churchesaround the world to laying open
the text in such a way that theHoly Spirit's intended meaning
and accompanying power arebrought to bear on the lives of
contemporary listeners untilJesus brings us all home.net.
You are listening to David Platt Messages, a weekly
podcast with sermons andmessages from pastor, author,
and teacher David Platt.
SPEAKER_01 (00:08):
Well if you have a Bible, and I I hope you or
somebody around you does thatyou can look on with, I'm gonna
invite you to open me to Lukechapter 24.
Luke chapter 24.
Almost 25 years ago, I steppedinto my first preaching class
(00:39):
with Jim Shaddock.
An older brother in ministry hadtold me when I was looking where
to go to seminary, find somebodyto study under and go learn all
you can from that person.
I knew I wanted to studypreaching, and I'd heard about
Dr.
Shaddocks.
So Heather and I, newly married,traveled to campus to meet him.
(01:02):
I remember the moment when Dr.
Shaddock's asked me if I wouldbe willing to work for him, and
Heather said she could see droolcoming out of my mouth.
Tried to play it cool.
I'll pray about it.
I prayed about it as long aboutas long as you did.
As you mentioned earlier, thisis exactly what I wanted to do
(01:22):
by God's grace.
He gave me the opportunity todo, and a door was open to 25
years of not just uh mentorship,but friendship and family with
this brother.
And family is the right word.
So the Shaddock's family wellremembers when soon after
Heather and I came to campus,the Shaddocks has invited us
(01:43):
over for dinner one weeknight.
We're eating.
I'm just as nervous as I can be,just getting to know Dr.
Shaddox and his family.
At one point we're talking abouthow I was going to be traveling,
preaching that weekend out oftown.
They were sharing about how theywere gonna be doing what one of
their family's favorite things,Friday night movie night.
And that's when my wife,Heather, who's over here, was
(02:04):
not traveling with me thatweekend.
As soon as she heard aboutfamily movie night, she said, I
love family movie night.
Can I come?
I was horrified.
Like, you don't invite yourselfover to the professor's house
for family night.
Like the Shaddoxes looked at mywife's eager face, realized they
would crush her heart if theysaid no.
(02:27):
So they invited her to come, andthat Friday night, she come up
came over and did what she doesat every movie night.
She fell asleep on their couch.
And the Shaddox family foundthemselves looking at each other
like, who's the random seminarygirl sleeping in our living
room?
A joke, but I do want to saythat while this chair of
(02:51):
expository preaching today isobviously about honoring Jim, it
is a testimony to you, Deborah.
And to you, Clint and Shane andDallas, to who you are as a
family, to so many, includingHeather and me.
So 25 years later, I'm standinghere in a seminary chapel with
(03:12):
the indescribable honor andprivilege and joy to be a part
of this establishment of thischair of expository preaching in
your name, which, brother, Iknow this is somewhat
uncomfortable for you, but justso you know, it feels extremely
appropriate for us.
(03:34):
I feel like I'm standing here onbehalf of two groups of people.
One, all the men and women whohave learned to preach and teach
the Bible through your life andleadership.
By God's grace, God's word isbeing proclaimed to God's glory
in places literally around theworld because people learn to
proclaim it through you.
(03:55):
That's amazing.
That's breathtaking to thinkabout.
And then I'm standing here onbehalf of all the men and women
who, if the Lord tarries, willlearn to preach from professors
who serve in this position, whowill train countless others to
proclaim God's word in placesaround the world.
That's amazing and breathtakingto think about.
(04:16):
This is what you have given somuch of your life to.
And I hope and pray you receiveall of this today as the fruit
of God's grace flowing in andthrough your life.
So here's what I want to do.
I cannot, in good conscience,not do some level of exposition
of a text today.
(04:38):
That would feel totallydishonoring to you.
For you to sit there and think,after all those years, you
didn't even preach a text.
So I can't not preach.
At the same time, the text inRomans 12, 10 tells me to outdo
one another in showing honor.
And this is a chance for me todo that on behalf of a lot of
(04:59):
people.
So if y'all will just permit mea little bit of liberty, not
with exposition, but withillustrations and application, I
want to try to faithfully preachGod's word and personally honor
God's grace in Jim Shaddock atthe same time.
And I think I have a way to dothis.
So first, when it comes to thetext, of all the texts I could
have chosen as I prayed aboutit, one clearly rose to the top.
(05:22):
When I first met Dr.
Shaddocks, he had founded, notlong before that, Burning Heart
Ministries for the purpose ofmentoring and training
preachers.
And the name of that ministrycame from Luke 24.
It's the text more than anyother, in my estimation, that
marks your preaching ministry.
So what I want to do is take usto Luke 24.
(05:43):
We're going to read the story,and here's what I'm thinking.
So I've had numerous papersgraded by Dr.
Shaddocks.
I've had numerous sermonscritiqued by Dr.
Shaddocks.
Remember one day he took me upinto the preaching lab, put one
of the sermons up on my sermonsup on the big screen, walked me
through things to keep, thingsto throw away.
There are not many things morehumbling than watching one of
(06:06):
your sermons on a big screenwith your preaching professor
and hero making notes.
So here's here's Dr.
Shaddock's definition ofpreaching back up on the screen.
I'm thinking if there's going tobe a chair of expository
preaching named after someone,we should at least examine his
definition of preaching.
So I want to do that in light ofthis text, Luke 24.
(06:26):
So here's the definition again,the process of laying open a
text in such a way that the HolySpirit's intended meaning and
accompanying power are broughtto bear on the lives of
contemporary listeners.
So let's hold on to thatdefinition and then let's read
the text.
Luke 24, starting in verse 13.
I'll have it on the screen ifthat's helpful.
That very day, two of them weregoing to a village named Emmaus,
(06:50):
about seven miles fromJerusalem, and they were talking
with each other about all thesethings that had happened.
While they were talking anddiscussing together, Jesus
himself drew near and went withthem.
But their eyes were kept fromrecognizing them.
And he said to them, What isthis conversation that you're
holding with each other as youwalk?
And they stood still, lookingsad.
(07:12):
Then one of them, Mcleopus,answered, Are you the only
visitor to Jerusalem who doesnot know the things that have
happened there in these days?
He said to them, What things?
And they said to him, ConcerningJesus of Nazareth, a man who was
a prophet, mighty indeed andword, before God and all the
people, and how our chiefpriests and rulers delivered him
up to be condemned to death andcrucified him.
(07:33):
But we had hoped that he was theone to redeem Israel.
Yes, and besides all this, it'snow the third day since these
things happened.
Moreover, some women of ourcompany amazed us.
They were at the tomb early inthe morning, and when they did
not find his body, they cameback, saying that they had even
seen a vision of angels, whosaid that he was alive.
Some of these who were with uswent to the tomb and found it
(07:54):
just as the women had said.
But him they did not see.
And he said to them, Oh, foolishones, slow of heart to believe
all that the prophets havespoken.
Was it not necessary that theChrist should suffer these
things and enter into his glory?
In the beginning with Moses andall the prophets, he interpreted
to them in all the scripturesthe things concerning himself.
(08:17):
So they drew near to the villagewhich they were going, to which
they were going.
He acted as if he were goingfurther, but they urged him
strongly, saying, Stay with us,for it's toward evening, and the
day is now far spent.
So he went in to stay with them.
When he was at the table withthem, he took the bread and
blessed and broke it and gave itto them.
And their eyes were opened, andthey recognized him, and he
(08:41):
vanished from their sight.
They said to each other, Did notour hearts burn within us while
he talked to us on the road,while he opened to us the
scriptures.
And they rose that same hour andreturned to Jerusalem, and they
found the eleven and those whowere with them gathered
together, saying, The Lord hasrisen indeed, and has appeared
(09:01):
to Simon.
And they told what had happenedon the road, and how he was
known to them in the breaking ofthe bread.
What a story.
Two dejected, depressed,disillusioned, confused
followers of Jesus walking alonga road outside of Jerusalem,
saying we thought he was the oneto redeem us.
(09:24):
Some are saying he's alive, butnobody's actually seen him.
And the stage is set for thefirst people in the book of Luke
to encounter the resurrectedChrist.
And I can't help but think ofall the ways Jesus could have
revealed himself in much granderfashion, to much greater effect.
(09:45):
Think about it.
Why did he not just show up atthe temple in front of the
masses as a massive sign to say,I told you, I am back.
How beautiful is this?
Jesus had just conquered death.
What no one in history has everdone or could ever do on their
(10:06):
own.
And Jesus finds two plain,humble, ordinary, obscure people
on a dusty road and starts aconversation with them.
Jesus is showing us from thestart of his resurrected life
how this good news will spreadthrough the simple power of a
(10:28):
spoken word.
Which leads to another beautifulthing about the story.
Verse 16.
God kept their eyes fromrecognizing it.
Why is that?
Why not just come up and say,guys, cheer up?
I'm here.
It's true, I'm alive.
At least one of the reasons sureseems to be that God wants us to
(10:52):
realize that people don't haveto see the resurrected Christ in
order for their hearts to betransformed.
Instead, what they need issomeone who will be willing to
open the scriptures with them.
And then hearts will betransformed.
That's the phrase Luke uses whenthese two followers recollect
(11:16):
what had just happened.
Verse 32.
They said to each other, Did notour hearts burn within us while
he talked to us on the road,while he opened to us the
scriptures.
Well, that's interesting.
Because that sounds a lot likethe Shattock's definition of
preaching.
(11:36):
Preaching is the process oflaying open a text to expose the
voice of God in the scriptures.
Expository preaching.
That's a term I had never heardbefore I came to seminary.
It's a term that many peoplehaven't heard.
As a result of Dr.
Shaddock's investment in mylife, I became an assistant
(11:58):
professor of expositorypreaching.
I remember preaching at acollege conference not long
thereafter, and a sweet collegegirl introduced me as David
Platt, an assistant professor ofsuppository preaching.
I'm on the front row.
Exposite, not supposite.
That's such a drasticdifference.
(12:18):
So many levels.
Expose.
Lay open a text.
That's the job of a preacher ora teacher.
Not to communicate yourthoughts, your ideas, your
opinions, or even your personalconvictions, but to communicate
God's truth.
Period.
First day in preaching class,remember Dr.
(12:39):
Shaddocks is saying, if you'regonna say, thus saith the Lord,
you better know what the Lordsaith.
You have one job.
Lay open a text in such a waythat the Holy Spirit's intended
meaning.
So look at verse 27 with me.
Luke says, beginning with Mosesand all the prophets, he
(13:01):
interpreted to them, see mycircle just made a note, that
word is diermenuo, from which weget hermeneutics.
It means to explain what isthere in a Nehemiah 8.8 kind of
way, to read from the book, thelaw of God clearly, and to give
the sense so that the peopleunderstand the reading.
(13:22):
And can you just imagine whatthis conversation was like?
As Jesus, beginning with Mosesand all the prophets, interprets
to them, does some hermeneuticswith all the scriptures, the
things concerning himself.
One writer said, this wasexegetical, heaven.
Just imagine Jesus looking atthese guys as he talks to them
(13:45):
about himself and the thirdperson.
Like, guys, do you rememberGenesis 3?
As soon as sin entered theworld, God said a seed would
come from the woman.
He told the serpent, You'regonna bruise his heel, but he
will crush your head.
He looks at them and he's like,guys, that's what happened.
He says, Remember Exodus 12?
(14:06):
Passover lamb?
Now it's Jesus' blood thatcovers sinful hearts and keeps
God's people from judgment.
They deserve.
Remember Exodus 16?
Mana from heaven?
That's what he told us.
He's the bread of life.
No one who comes to him willever be hungry again.
Remember the high priest inLeviticus?
(14:27):
Sinner that he was?
We do not need him anymore.
The sinless Savior has died onceand for all on behalf of all who
trust in him.
Remember Numbers 21?
Look at the serpent on the poleand live?
Just like Jesus said in John 3.
Now we look at the Savior on thecross and we live.
(14:49):
Remember the greater prophetMoses promised in Deuteronomy?
It's him.
Remember Joshua, the conquerorof armies who led God's people
into the promised land?
He was just pointing to hisnamesake, Jesus, the defeater of
death, who leads God's peopleinto eternal life.
Jesus is the rescuer fromjudges, the redeemer from Ruth,
(15:10):
the shepherd king and righteousruler and true temple of 1 and 2
Samuel and Kings and Chronicles.
Remember, guys, the prophetsIsaiah told us he would be a
suffering servant who would bepierced for our transgressions
and crushed for our iniquities.
And though we would not beattracted to him, he would cause
many to be accounted righteous.
Micah told us exactly where he'dbe born.
(15:32):
You remember that?
How about Zechariah?
He told us exactly how he'd cometo Jerusalem, riding on a
donkey.
He told us we would look on himwhom they have pierced, and that
a fountain would flow from hisside to cleanse us from all our
sins.
Jesus just rattling off centuryafter century of history that
(15:52):
all pointed to himself.
In the third person.
So don't miss the point.
It's at least twofold here.
One, this is the Holy Spirit'sintended meaning in the text.
The Holy Spirit of God means topoint us to the Holy Son of God
in the text.
(16:13):
Peter put it this way in hisfirst letter concerning the
salvation, the prophets whoprophesied about the grace that
was to be yours searched andinquired carefully, inquiring
what person or time the spiritof who in them.
(16:42):
Second Peter 1, 21.
For no prophecy was everproduced by the will of men,
man, but men spoke from God asthey were carried along by the
Holy Spirit.
Now, here's where it gets evenmore awesome.
And here's the other pointyou've got to see here.
So back to Luke.
Luke later tells us in thispassage, when Jesus is with all
the disciples in verse 44.
(17:04):
Jesus said to them, These are mywords that I spoke to you while
I was still with you.
That everything written about mein notice this language, law of
Moses and the prophets and thePsalms must be fulfilled.
Then he, watch this, openedtheir minds to understand the
scriptures.
That's the same language we readearlier.
So it's the same thing Jesus didon the Emmaus road.
(17:26):
Now he's doing it with hisdisciples here.
So then fast forward to Luke'ssecond volume, book of Acts, and
check this out.
Philip is literally physicallycarried along by the Holy Spirit
to the side of an Ethiopianeunuch.
Read Acts chapter 8, verse 35.
Philip opened his mouth, andbeginning with this scripture,
(17:47):
he told him the good news aboutJesus.
Same language.
He's opening his mouth andbeginning with scripture,
pointing him to Jesus.
Then two chapters later, Peterspeaking to the household of
Cornelius.
Acts 10, 43 says to him, All theprophets bear witness that
everyone who believes in himreceives forgiveness of sins
(18:10):
through his name.
And while Peter was saying thesethings, the Holy Spirit fell on
all who heard the word.
Peter from the prophets pointsthem to the name of Jesus.
Then Paul before King Agrippa.
Same language, Acts 26, to thisday, he says, I've had the help
that comes from God.
I stand here testifying, boththe small and great, saying
(18:30):
nothing but what the prophetsand Moses said would come to
pass, that the Christ mustsuffer, and by being the first
to rise from the dead, he wouldproclaim light both to our
people and to the Gentiles.
So are you saying this?
How does the good news of Jesusspread in the world?
(18:52):
Through a line of people,starting in Luke 24, opening the
scriptures and pointing othersto the suffering and the
resurrection of Jesus for thesalvation of sinners among all
the nations.
So to every teacher and preacherof God's word in this room,
(19:14):
realize this is the line you arein.
Talk about significance andmeaning in ministry.
You and I are in a line ofliterally thousands of years of
men and women who have had thesober responsibility, the pure
privilege, the high honor, andthe inexpressible joy of opening
(19:36):
up the scriptures and saying, Iwant to show you Jesus.
That's preaching.
And Jim Shattox, we jointogether today to praise God for
how you have faithfully takenyour place in that line.
In churches you have shepherded,in interim pastorates you have
served, from conferences toclassrooms, you have faithfully,
(19:58):
week after week, year afteryear, Taken your place in this
line, and not just your place,you have enlisted, encouraged,
emboldened, and equippedcountless others in this line.
And yes, all of thatalliteration was for you.
In all seriousness, one of thegreatest compliments I could
(20:18):
possibly give to you is thatafter learning preaching from
you and listening to you preachover the course of decades, and
I know that I'm not alone inwhat I'm about to say, I know of
no other person on the planetwho more faithfully steps behind
a pulpit or podium with the Wordof God to expose the meaning of
(20:40):
the Spirit of God in such a waythat you exalt the beauty,
majesty, and glory of the Son ofGod.
And you do so, not in your ownpower, but in the power of God.
Which just so happens to be thenext part of your preaching
definition.
Preaching is the process oflaying open a text in such a way
(21:00):
the Holy Spirit's intendedmeaning and accompanying power.
So back on the road to Emmaus,on the Emmaus road in Luke 24,
did you notice Luke's masterfulplay on words?
So remember verse 16.
Their eyes were kept fromrecognizing.
It's what some divine colourscall the divine what not divine
scholars, what some biblicalscholars call the divine
(21:22):
passive.
Their eyes were kept passivevoice.
Their eyes were kept by God fromrecognizing Jesus.
But then you get down to verse30, where we read, well, here's
the table with them.
He took the bread and blessed,broke it, and gave it to them,
and their eyes were opened.
And they recognized him.
And he then turned their sideand they said to each other, the
(21:44):
nine of hearts burn with the buswhile we talked to them, while
they opened us the scriptures.
You see the reversal.
Verse 16, eyes were kept fromrecognizing Jesus.
And verse 31, their eyes wereopened.
Next question (21:58):
Who opened them?
God did.
God opened their eyes.
And how did he do it?
Luke tells us he uses the exactsame word when he says, through
his opening of the scriptures.
And then breaking this bread.
Don't miss this.
(22:19):
God, as we open scriptures, Godopens eyes.
How do you get to burninghearts?
You open the scriptures and youtrust God to open the eyes.
Mark it down and do not forgetit.
The proclamation of the word ofGod is completely dependent on
(22:43):
the power of God.
You can preach the text, butonly the Spirit of God can open
the eye and change the heart.
Which means the preacher mustpreach in the power of the
Spirit, not in the flesh.
Which is only possible when thepreacher lives in the power of
(23:08):
the Spirit and not in the flesh.
And this, Jim Shattox, I believeis the key key to your
preaching.
You preach the word of God toget out of the overflow of
intimacy with the Spirit of God.
(23:28):
I remember preaching a sermonwith him together one time.
We were like co-preaching, whichmeant co-preparing that sermon.
And I remember how we started.
He said, David, let's get on ourknees.
And we knelt and we read throughthe text and began to pray just
through the text.
By the time we were finished,Jim was next to me on his knees,
just weeping over the text.
(23:52):
I remember one day comingunexpectedly upon him in his
private office, and I found himon his face before God.
Again, weeping.
You preach the word of Godbecause you love the God of the
(24:15):
Word.
I remember running laps aroundcampus with this brother.
I was not a runner, but if Dr.
Shaddocks invited me to run, Iwas up for a marathon.
And I would be totally out ofbreath as he was running and
literally quoting books of theBible to me.
(24:35):
Then last January, when Jim hadhis initial surgeries, I flew
down for the day just to see,spend some time with him and
their family.
And I had a few minutes where itwas just the two of us in his
hospital room.
And during that time, he startedpraying for me.
And as he prayed, he startedmentioning things that I'd not
(24:56):
even shared with him, that myfamily and I specifically needed
prayer for.
In ways that only the Spirit ofJesus in him could know.
And I walked away from thathospital room that day,
worshiping, from being with abrother whose brain was
extremely weak, but in whom themind of God's Spirit was
(25:18):
stronger than ever.
Preaching is laying open, theprocess of laying open a text in
such a way that the HolySpirit's intended meaning and
accompanying power are broughtto bear on the lives of
contemporary listeners.
So what was the effect of Jesusopening the scriptures?
(25:38):
God opening their eyes?
Those burning hearts.
What a phrase.
What a phrase.
Burning hearts.
He lit us up.
That's what the word means, thelight on fire.
God is telling us that as weopen the scriptures, he opens
the eyes.
A supernatural, otherwiseunexplainable phenomenon happens
(26:01):
in the human heart.
And I think it's worth notingthat this story didn't actually
happen with a pulpit or apodium, on a stage or in a
crowd.
It happened in a conversationwith two people.
The kind of conversation thatevery spirit-filled brother or
sister can and is called by Godto have from the neighborhoods
(26:25):
where we live to the nations ofthe earth.
This is how the glory of Godspreads through ordinary
followers of Jesus, filled withthe extraordinary power of
Jesus, sharing the good newsabout Jesus.
As many times as I've heard Jimpreach, I've also heard him
share the gospel with individualpeople.
(26:45):
On the streets, in taxis, incasual conversations.
We will not be faithful if ouronly proclamation of the gospel
is when the most people arewatching us.
No crowd is too small, noconversation is too
insignificant to bring thegospel to bear on the lives of
(27:07):
contemporary listeners.
With confidence in the power ofthat gospel to save.
And the power of God's Spirit tosend.
Did you notice what these twodid just as soon as Jesus
vanished?
They rose that same hour andreturned to Jerusalem.
(27:36):
Don't you love this?
Death could not stop thisMessiah.
And mark it down, death cannotstop his messengers.
So I want to put all thistogether.
Dr.
Shadek's good news.
I think it is clear to all of usthat your definition of
preaching is biblical.
(27:58):
Preaching is the process oflaying open a text in such a way
that the Holy Spirit's intendedmeaning and accompanying power
are brought to bear in the livesof contemporary listeners.
And even better news, brother,especially for us, we honor you
today because by God's grace,you have faithfully demonstrated
this definition of preaching inyour life.
(28:22):
And here's the best news.
And I trust you know this, but Isimply want to remind you of it
today.
Because of your faithfulness, tonot only preach like this, but
to pour out your life bytraining men and women like me
and many others to preach thisword.
Your fruitfulness will not stopwith your time in this world.
(28:48):
I hope, I pray with many othersthat you have many, many, many
more days in this world.
At the same time, there iscoming a day when you and well
all of us are one day going toleave this world.
It could be today for any one ofus.
(29:08):
But know this, brother, wheneverthat day comes, in the sovereign
providence of God, the risenLord Himself is going to welcome
you into glory as his good andfaithful servant, as a good and
faithful husband, as a good andfaithful dad, as a good and
(29:30):
faithful papa, and as a good andfaithful steward of this work.
And that won't be the end of thestory.
Because you know what else therisen Lord is gonna do?
He's gonna continue the work youhave given your life to in your
wife and in your children andyour grandchildren and your sons
(29:54):
and daughters in ministry.
That's what today is about.
It's about a commitment from aseminary to keep raising up
faithful preachers and teachersof God's word who will carry on
this work far beyond you.
As Dr.
Aiken said, until Jesus comesagain.
And it's just one picture of howthe fruit of your faithfulness
(30:16):
with God's word is going to faroutlast you in this world.
I think about the night when Igot a call from my brother that
my dad had passed awayunexpectedly from a heart
attack.
And the first person thatHeather called.
And the first person to walkthrough the doors of my house
(30:38):
that night was Jim Shadows.
And he came over to me and heheld me and he hugged me and he
cried with me.
And then he got into a car andhe drove Heather and me through
the night from New Orleans toAtlanta so we could sleep along
the way.
Jim, I honor you today as aspiritual father to me.
(30:58):
And I join with many others whowill be grateful in eternity to
have been one of your manychildren in ministry.
And I say to every brother orsister in Christ, within the
sound of my voice, andparticularly to preachers and
teachers of God's word, based onthe authority of the scriptures
and Luke 24, let's give ourlives in individual
(31:20):
conversations and in churchesaround the world to laying open
the text in such a way that theHoly Spirit's intended meaning
and accompanying power arebrought to bear on the lives of
contemporary listeners untilJesus brings us all home.net.
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