Did Jesus have to die for this sermon?

...That was a question often posed to us at seminary as we trodged our way through the world of composing sermons. One professor, it is rumored, would follow student preachers back to the sacristy after daily chapel and confront them with this question if he felt that it didn't bring the hearer to the critical answer of relying on Jesus' encompassing sacrifice on the cross. The question has been set up through the ages as a kind of standard by which to measure the effectiveness of a sermon. (And it seems, it's been a particularly Lutheran question to ask.)

Many of us would-be preachers, to avoid the professor-ial confrontation, inserted quick notes on Jesus' death in our sermons, hoping against hope that a mention of his death would suffice as an answer to this standard bearing question.

The question is built in such a way that it helps preachers discern whether their words are simply self-help or true gospel--that is, that the words we preach bring hearers to the place where they must cling to the hope of the cross or face eternal peril. Did Jesus have to die for this sermon? Or did Oprah help you with your research? The question has a good deal of merit.

But where I begin to sweat coldly is in the venture of preaching through the Old Testament. It's much easier to mention the death of Jesus when you're talking about him as explicity as the New Testament does. In the Old Testament, it's a much harder deal to help hearers appreciate the good news of Jesus' death.

Yet, it's precisely in the Old Testament where Jesus gets his good news in the first place. In the Psalms, buried in the codes of Leviticus, under the sub-text of Abraham, Jesus discerns the message that will become his life -- the kingdom of God is at hand. And wasn't it this message that led Jesus to his death? Wouldn't a more fitting question be asked: did your sermon show people the kingdom of God in our world?

After all, that's what is happening in Jesus' death. God is reigning. That's what is happening in Jesus' miracles. God is reigning. That's what's happening in Jesus' teachings. God is reigning. And wouldn't it be a fuller standard if we pushed people to ask the question of their sermons: did your hearers see more of God's kingdom in our world?

My biggest beef with the "did Jesus have to die for your sermon" question is its narrow focus on the atoning work of Jesus. While this is huge (don't get me wrong, it's very huge!), its narrow focus drives us only to see part of the story. The whole story is that God reigns with Jesus, and his death and resurrection are confirmation of that fact.

What say y'all? Is the question a helpful one for preachers to continue to lift up as a standard for measuring effectiveness in preaching? Are there others? What about this kingdom of God question?