Listening to the Text

“A major reason for seeking the purpose of the author is, therefore, consciously to shift attention away from ourselves to the Scriptures, away from our concerns to the author’s concerns, away from our purposes to the author’s purpose. In other words, asking for the author’s purpose is an attempt at genuine listening by cutting out all subjective interference” (David Murray quoting Sidney Greidanus in How Sermons Work, 47)