The Beauty and Power of Biblical Exposition: Preaching the Literary Artistry and Genres of the Bible
Book Review • Douglas Sean O’Donnell and Leland Ryken, The Beauty and Power of Biblical Exposition: Preaching the Literary Artistry and Genres of the Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2022). Kindle. 300 pp. $16.99.
Read time: 7 min
Introduction
Preachers often study the words, syntax, and theology of Scripture but overlook its literary beauty and artistry. Biblical exposition must do more than inform; it must evoke and relive the world of the text. In The Beauty and Power of Biblical Exposition: Preaching the Literary Artistry and Genres of the Bible, Douglas Sean O’Donnell and Leland Ryken issue a timely call to reclaim the literary nature of Scripture as central to faithful expository preaching. O’Donnell is a Reformed pastor-scholar with a Ph.D. from the University of Edinburgh, and Ryken is a literary critic and long-time Wheaton College professor. Together, the authors provide a theologically rich and literarily sensitive model for preaching. O’Donnell’s experience in pastoral ministry and homiletical education shapes his counsel, and Ryken’s expertise in biblical literary forms brings academic weight and stylistic art to the exposition. Together, they urge preachers to recognize that Scripture’s diverse genres—narrative, poetry, parable, epistle, proverb, and apocalyptic vision—are not merely containers of truth but integral to how truth is conveyed. Across six chapters exploring the literary and homiletical dimensions of the major biblical genres, the authors aim to inspire and equip pastors to preach sermons that honor both the content and the craft of God’s Word. O’Donnell and Ryken compellingly demonstrate that faithful exposition must attend not only to what Scripture says but to how its genres and literary forms communicate divine revelation.
Summary
O’Donnell and Ryken’s book, The Beauty and Power of Biblical Exposition, maintains that faithful preaching must engage Scripture’s literary form as well as its theological content. They contend that because the Bible is itself literature, composed of diverse genres intentionally employed by its divine Author, it must be interpreted and proclaimed attentively to its rich literary features—such as structure, tone, symbolism, and aesthetic effect. The authors pursue two main aims: to inspire preachers to appreciate the Bible’s literary artistry and to equip them to preach with genre sensitivity and rhetorical imagination (19).
The book is structured around six central biblical genres: narrative, parables, epistles, poetry, proverbs, and visionary writings. Each chapter follows a two-part format: Ryken offers a literary-theological analysis of the genre, and O’Donnell provides homiletical instruction and methodology. In their introduction, the authors defend literary preaching as a remedy against reductionistic exposition. They posit that form and meaning are mutually informing, noting, “The medium is not the message, but the message cannot be fully obtained without the medium” (15). Literary preaching, they argue, leads congregants to relive the world of the text so that they might faithfully live out its implications (35).
Chapter One addresses biblical narrative. The preacher must trace the theological and rhetorical force of stories by analyzing the setting, characters, and plot (27). Narrative’s prevalence in Scripture demands genre-aware exposition that avoids moralism, doctrinal reduction, or dramatic impersonation. Biblical stories, the authors argue, center on God as the divine protagonist and call for preachers to enter the imaginative world of the text (25). Chapter Two explores the genre of parables. They emphasize their symbolic complexity, fictional realism, and theological depth (62–67). Jesus’s parables are literary constructions that invite both reflection and repentance. They further commend a ten-step interpretive process, encouraging preachers to preserve the parable’s literary tension and rhetorical surprise by paying attention to the layers of context, observation, meaning, and application (74).
In chapter three, the work addresses epistles as literary letters—occasional, pastoral, and rhetorically persuasive. Preaching these texts requires appreciating their personal voice, indicative-imperative logic, and paraenetic aim. The authors urge preachers to embody the same clarity and eloquence modeled by the apostolic writers (103–30). Chapter four turns to biblical poetry. The authors highlight its aesthetic structure—especially parallelism and chiasm—and theological-emotional potency. Poetry must be preached with brevity, imaginative depth, and tonal fidelity (169). Literary devices such as metaphor, hyperbole, and allusion are not decorative but essential to the text’s theological message (145).
Chapter five considers proverbs. It defines a proverb as “a concise, memorable statement of a general truth . . .[,] an insight into the repeatable situations of life, [with the] aim to make an insight permanent by expressing it in a short, memorable saying” to form character and shape ethical living (172). Grounded in the fear of the Lord, proverbs employ humor, parallelism, and vivid imagery. They must be preached proverbially—with rhetorical punch, illustrative concreteness, and theological grounding (197). Chapter six addresses visionary literature, especially apocalyptic texts. This genre’s surreal symbols, cosmic scope, and temporal layering require literary and theological sensitivity. Preachers should proclaim hope and judgment without speculative overreach, preserving the mystery and majesty of divine revelation (236). Throughout their work, O’Donnell and Ryken exhort pastors to preach Scripture not merely by mining its data but by reliving its art, forcefully affirming that literary exegesis is vital for doctrinally sound and imaginatively rich exposition.
Critical Evaluation
Strengths
The Beauty and Power of Biblical Exposition excels in grounding homiletics in literary fidelity and theological nuance. First, the authors effectively argue that the Bible must be preached as literature because it is literature, a conviction that shapes the entire volume (13). Second, the authors provide robust genre-specific tools that integrate literary analysis with theological preaching, which, after all, is the book’s point, and the authors execute their objective well as a team of writers with unique strengths yoked to the same plow. Their discussion of parables, for instance, exhorts preachers not to reduce parables to mere morals but to present them as spiritually charged, imaginative narratives. Their affirmation that “every parable has a connection to the gospel” keeps Christ at the center of this genre (86).
Third, their treatment of epistles is particularly persuasive in reestablishing the genre as pastoral, personal, and persuasive. While not all homiletics teachers appreciate the role of eloquence in preaching, O’Donnell demonstrates that preaching epistles requires doctrinal clarity and literary eloquence, insisting that “the Bible itself—especially the Epistles—is full of literary eloquence” (130). This stress informs their homiletical vision for rhetorical style and gospel ethics, connecting indicative truths to imperative commands (120).
Fourth, Ryken’s literary-theological treatment of poetry and proverbs is rich in devotional warmth. He observes that “poetry should be felt in the heart, not just understood in the head” (151). He winsomely describes proverbs as “moments of epiphany” that “distill in a few lines a thousand stories of human experience” (175). Proverbs’ stylistic economy extends to a homiletical model, as O’Donnell advises preachers to craft proverbial sermon theses “with brevity, balance, image, and sound values” (195).
Fifth, their chapter on visionary writings exemplifies the book’s homiletical artistry, combining genre sensitivity with theological awe. The authors assert, “Our sermons need clear structures and precise explanations. They also need to soar with raised song and elevated sights” (243). In doing so, they inspire an imaginatively compelling preaching vision.
Weaknesses
O’Donnell and Ryken’s work contains a few notable weaknesses as well. First, although they offer a thorough literary analysis of Scripture, their approach risks underemphasizing the spiritual and relational aspects of preaching. For instance, they advocate for preachers to “relive the story” and immerse in its imaginative world. Yet, they do not offer sufficient space to discuss how such engagement is spiritually transformative for both the preacher and the congregation (201). By prioritizing genre fidelity and literary artistry, their model leans unbalanced toward preaching as more of an exegetical checklist than a divinely empowered, relational encounter. Other homiletics books will need to supply this balance.
A second issue is the book’s treatment of redemptive-historical theology. It does not adequately connect the dots regarding a Christocentric focus in all of Scripture. O’Donnell and Ryken briefly reference the redemptive-historical context of the Bible’s metanarrative. Still, their approach to expository preaching frequently sidelines the centrality of Christ and the overarching narrative of redemption (49). Without supplemental material, this near-sighted emphasis on literary form and genre analysis may lead to a fragmented treatment of Scripture.
Third, while the authors shine brightly in genre analysis, their helpfulness in applying Scripture to contemporary life is underdeveloped. In instructing how to preach Proverbs, for instance, they do not develop how such timeless truths should shape contemporary Christians’ moral and ethical lives. Likewise, they helpfully suggest that preaching should be “moving” and affect the affections of listeners (127). Nonetheless, the nuts and bolts of application must be found in additional resources, such as in Daniel Doriani’s Putting the Truth to Work.
Conclusion
The Beauty and Power of Biblical Exposition achieves its central aim: to elevate the preacher’s awareness of Scripture’s literary form as essential to faithful proclamation. By guiding readers through the literary contours of six major biblical genres, O’Donnell and Ryken offer a textually rooted and aesthetically attentive model of exposition. Their work sharpened my convictions about the inseparability of form and message, reminding me that effective preaching must engage not only the theological but also the rhetorical architecture of the text.
Pastors, seminary students, and homiletics instructors will find this volume a rich repository of genre-specific insight and literary-theological reflection. It will be particularly fruitful for those already committed to expositional preaching but eager to move beyond propositional outlines toward rhetorically vivid and imaginatively faithful sermons. Those seeking a handbook on application or sermon structure will need to supplement this resource, but its central contributions remain foundational. By drawing attention to the artistic forms of divine speech, the authors call preachers not merely to explain the Word but to represent it in all its literary majesty. Their book will leave readers with a deeper awe for the artistry of Scripture and the sacred task of preaching it well. ❖
Quote this Review
Footnote: Timothy J. Harris, “The Beauty and Power of Biblical Exposition: Preaching the Literary Artistry and Genres of the Bible,” Practical Theologian, September 9, 2024, https://www.practicaltheologian.com/blog/bookreview-4x33w.
Bibliography: Harris, Timothy J. “The Beauty and Power of Biblical Exposition: Preaching the Literary Artistry and Genres of the Bible.” Practical Theologian, September 9, 2024. https://www.practicaltheologian.com/blog/bookreview-4x33w.
