Tyndale Open Bible Dictionary

KERYGMA*

Basic evangelistic message proclaimed by the earliest Christians. More fully, it is the proclamation of the death, resurrection, and exaltation of Jesus that leads to an evaluation of his person as both Lord and Christ, confronts one with the necessity of repentance, and promises the forgiveness of sins. The kerygma is drawn from two sources: (1) the fragments of pre-Pauline tradition that lie embedded in the writings of the apostle, and (2) the early evangelistic speeches of Peter in the book of Acts. When these two sources are compared, a single basic message emerges.

The kerygma is essentially the same as the gospel, although the term itself emphasizes the manner of delivery somewhat more than the message that is being proclaimed. In the ancient world the king made known his decrees by means of a kerux (a town crier or herald). This person, who often served as a close confidant of the king, would travel throughout the realm announcing to the people whatever the king wished to make known. It is this note of authoritative declaration that is so appropriately transferred to the evangelizing activities of the primitive church.

The simplest outline of the kerygma is made up of (1) a proclamation of the death, resurrection, and exaltation of Jesus, seen as the fulfillment of prophecy and involving human responsibility; (2) the resultant evaluation of Jesus as both Lord and Christ; and (3) a summons to repent and receive forgiveness of sins. However, on the basis of a careful study of the actual texts themselves, the kerygma did not contain (1) a declaration of the dawn of the messianic age; (2) any reference to the life and ministry of Jesus (in contrast to his death and resurrection); or (3) a major emphasis on the Second Coming as part of the evangelistic proclamation. While all of these issues are part of the larger theological presentation of the NT, they do not appear to have been included in the essential apostolic gospel. In any case, they are missing from the various texts that provide the source for the kerygma.

It is evident that the resurrection plays the central role in the drama of redemption. The kerygma always focuses on the resurrection. This supernatural act of God in history authenticates the words and works of Jesus and constitutes the basis for the Christian hope of immortality. Without the resurrection, the church would be no more than a group of well-intentioned religious people who had placed their faith in the superior philosophical and ethical teachings of an unusually fine man. The resurrection is proof positive that Jesus is who he said he was. Only if he is the Son of God can his death provide an appropriate and sufficient sacrifice for human sin. Essentially, the kerygma is a declaration that Christ is risen from the dead and that by that great act God has brought salvation.

The kerygma is not a dull recital of historical facts but a dynamic confrontation between the Holy Spirit and the sinful heart of man at the point of its basic need. Who can deny that the reality of the resurrection validates the claims of Christ? Who can resist the compelling logic of the resurrection as it leads irresistibly to the conclusion that Jesus of Nazareth is the living Lord? To repent and believe is to enter the kingdom of God. The kerygma has as its ultimate goal not a sophisticated theology but a transformed life. It is the declaration that in Christ the new order of eternal life has already entered into time and history.