What the gospels don’t tell us: How did thousands hear Jesus preach?

Listen to the audio version of this article (generated by AI).

What the gospels don’t tell us: How did thousands hear Jesus preach?

A reflection on how questions about Jesus’ preaching lead to a deeper truth: belief grows through love and lived faith, not by answering every mystery. 

By Julie A. Ferraro | FāVS News Columnist

The views expressed in this opinion column are those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect the views of FāVS News. 

Anyone who’s stood on an auditorium or theater stage — without a microphone, with or without an audience — and tried to be heard in the back row can probably relate to my confusion regarding a few gospel stories.

For instance, John the Baptist preached at the Jordan River, sometimes shown standing on the opposite bank from the crowds, or in the water itself. The total hearing his message was estimated in the hundreds, even thousands.

How did they hear him?

John had no megaphone, in the style of Rudy Vallee from the 1930s and 40s, no bullhorn — or, as the British call it, a “loud hailer” — no mode of amplification.

Having been involved in high school and community theater productions, I know it requires a good set of lungs to project that much volume to be heard, especially when other noises, like a flowing river, interferes.

Maybe John, given that his words called for the people to repent of their sins and “Prepare the way of the Lord!” — a precursor to “fire and brimstone” sermons that priests and ministers have proclaimed from their pulpits in the centuries that followed — may have shouted his words and reached those many pairs of ears. 

How did the crowds hear the gospel?

What about Jesus?

The story of the loaves and the fishes, when 5,000 men — and who knows how many women and children — gathered to hear his words and spent most of the day outdoors, later needing to be fed, is a good example.

It’s hard to imagine Jesus yelling just so he could be heard.

Or, perhaps, did he speak to those nearest, who shared his wisdom with those farther from the source, like a game of post office?

Another story places Jesus in a boat, rowed slightly off shore so he can escape the crush of the throngs. He sits on deck and preaches from there.

Same issue: how was he heard?

This may seem, to some, a trifling detail. The gospels and the Old Testament weren’t written in the style of Charles Dickens or Jules Verne, who spent paragraphs detailing minutiae of landscapes, furniture and weather conditions, their characters’ clothes, personality flaws, sorrows and joys. 

Those who took the oral accounts of Jesus’ travels and consigned them to the written page weren’t really concerned about these externals. They were sharing a message of faith for believers and non-believers, capturing the wisdom that had been imparted in parable form to those seeking truth, the miracles that served as proof of the carpenter of Nazareth’s divinity.

Still, each time these gospel readings come up in the lectionary rotation for Mass, or as part of a lectio divina meditation, that niggling issue overrides whatever deeper message I might glean from the passage. The problem may be that I’m a writer, myself — primarily mystery stories — and the absence of such tidbits hinders the smooth narrative (for me, anyway).

When questions lead to deeper faith 

Others, given their natural predilections, might focus on the violent references in the Psalms, puzzled how David and those who composed these poetic prayers petitioned God for victory over their enemies, smiting the wicked and so forth. Some may not grasp the symbolic meaning of the Song of Songs, or the hundreds of laws beyond the Ten Commandments that are included in the Jewish Scriptures.

Some of what St. Paul wrote in his letters seems to contradict what is written in the gospels, as well.

When we reach the point where understanding these discrepancies seems hopeless, do we simply throw up our hands in defeat?

Perhaps, when push comes to shove, that “voice in the wilderness” is meant to speak to our hearts, little more than a whisper — whether or not our ears really hear it — reminding us that faith is about more than what we read, see or hear.

It’s about living and sharing love.

FāVS News uses professional journalists and thoughtful commentary to explore faith, values and ethics. Support journalism like this by making a tax-deductible donation. FāVS is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. © FāVS News. All rights reserved. Reproduction permitted only to authorized media partners or with written permission.