What is the gospel?
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| English: Illumination of Christ before Pilate Deutsch: Jesus vor Pilatus (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
Since Jesus’ proclamation of the Gospel involved telling people that “the kingdom of God is at hand” (Mark 1:14–15), His commissioning of the disciples
to preach the same message in Matthew 10:1–15 gives us a chance to consider the Gospel and the church’s spread of it in missions and evangelism.
Our English term gospel comes from the Greek word euangelion, which literally means “good news.” In the secular Greek culture of the first
century, one who delivered euangelion might be speaking of the birth of a royal heir, a victory in battle, or news about an electoral victory. The New Testament reclaims the common use of this word and invests it with divine revelation, making the Christian Gospel the most important news anyone will ever hear.
As we have said, Jesus in Mark 1:14–15 teaches that the Gospel’s core message concerns God’s kingdom, that place where His saving reign is most powerfully evident among His people. The Old Testament eagerly anticipates the inbreaking of this kingdom. When the Israelites were exiled from the Holy Land and our
Creator left the temple on Mount Zion, the people of God wondered if the
divine glory would ever return (Ps. 137). Yahweh spoke to His nation through
Isaiah, promising them that one day He would cleanse His people of their sin,
restore them to their rightful place as lords over the world, and make His
salvation known to the ends of the earth (52:1–12).
Isaiah also promised that this kingdom would only come through the vicarious
death of the son of David, who would bear the wrath of God against the sins of His people (52:13–53:12). Therefore, the Gospel message not only proclaims the nature of the kingdom, it also declares that trusting in Christ’s life, death, and resurrection for sinners is the only way to enter God’s kingdom (John 14:6; Rom. 1:1–6). If the Gospel is about the kingdom, it is about Jesus, for without Him there is no escape from the Father’s just condemnation.
There have been many attempts in church history to change the meaning of the biblical Gospel. Some have tried to add works as a ground for justification.
Others have eliminated the wrath of the Creator and our need to be holy in His sight, reducing the Gospel to its social implications alone. However, as the Gospel is from God Himself (Rom. 1:1), we are not free to change it. Meditate on Galatians 3 today that you might know and proclaim God’s Gospel.
