Gospel

[NedFlanders]

What is the Gospel or Good News?

The first instance in Scripture of Gospel is found in Matthew:

Matthew 4:23 And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people.

He says the good news of the kingdom and then shares the healing that comes with it.

A few verses before it also states what Jesus preached about:

Matthew 4:17 From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

He doesn’t say Repent or go to hell, He rather mentions that the kingdom of heaven is present.

Go ahead and share what you find in scripture in regards to the Good News Christ came bearing with a scripture reference.
I ask that any post that doesn’t reference scripture be moved or deleted from this thread.

[Praxis+Theodicy]

I once did a dual-word study. I took two colored highlighters and highlighted the word "gospel" (sometimes translated "good news" or "glad tidings") in one color, and the word "kingdom" (mostly just when it references the Kingdom of God/Heaven) in another color. The goal was to study how closely linked the two are. What I found was amazing! I will go dig it up and share the best instances to demonstrate what I found, that the Kingdom of God is at the very heart of the Gospel, and that Jesus is the King.

But in order to include a Bible reference, I do remember this little verse that might seem irrelevant, but I think is cool: the book of Mark identifies itself as "the gospel" in Mark 1:1 - "The beginning of the Gospel of Jesus..."
It's important to remember that the gospel isn't a set of facts or theological propositions, and it isn't just about concepts like the Kingdom of God. It's a story about Jesus.

If you want to actually tell someone the gospel, you'd have to at least sit down and read to them the entire book of Mark (the shortest gospel account), Matthew, Luke, or John!

[Bootstrap]

I once did a dual-word study. I took two colored highlighters and highlighted the word "gospel" (sometimes translated "good news" or "glad tidings") in one color, and the word "kingdom" (mostly just when it references the Kingdom of God/Heaven) in another color. The goal was to study how closely linked the two are. What I found was amazing! I will go dig it up and share the best instances to demonstrate what I found, that the Kingdom of God is at the very heart of the Gospel, and that Jesus is the King.

But in order to include a Bible reference, I do remember this little verse that might seem irrelevant, but I think is cool: the book of Mark identifies itself as "the gospel" in Mark 1:1 - "The beginning of the Gospel of Jesus..."
It's important to remember that the gospel isn't a set of facts or theological propositions, and it isn't just about concepts like the Kingdom of God. It's a story about Jesus.

If you want to actually tell someone the gospel, you'd have to at least sit down and read to them the entire book of Mark (the shortest gospel account), Matthew, Luke, or John!

Yes. Yes. Yes.

And the Kingdom actually starts with Eden:

The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”

And it ends with the Revelation:

“Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to each person according to what they have done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.

“Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city. Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.

[NedFlanders]

The Gospel that Jesus preached according to scripture:

Matthew 9:35 And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.

The gospel of the kingdom.

[Sudsy]

I believe in Jesus time here on earth the Jews, who He came to preach to, were very Kingdom minded and were looking for a Messiah to come and establish a literal Kingdom of God on the earth. Jesus described the Kingdom of God, the realm where God rules, in many ways and said that the Kingdom had already begun to show up in the hearts of some and not just in the way that the Pharisees anticipated it to come.

In Luke 17:21 Jesus said the Kingdom was in there midst at that very moment. Jesus very presence and the miracles He performed gave them a taste of Kingdom life. What He preached was the good news of what this Kingdom looked like.

But there was something that had to take place first before the Kingdom could set up rule in man's heart. It is what Jesus referenced in Mark 8:31. And what had to change in man to experience the Kingdom of God - John 3:3 - “I assure you and most solemnly say to you, unless a person is born again [reborn from above—spiritually transformed, renewed, sanctified], he cannot [ever] see and experience the kingdom of God.” - AMP.

Paul later emphasizes that also and says it is 'of first importance' in the Gospel message and is essential to save us from our sins (the entrance into this Kingdom life). It wasn't a matter of just doing religious things but it involved the same born again experience that Jesus spoke about. We need to be saved from our sins to enter into this Kingdom life.

I believe and have seen many come to be saved and enter the Kingdom life who knew very little about what all Jesus said about the Kingdom. When the Holy Spirit convicted them through the scriptures that it was their sin that kept them from knowing God and entering into eternal life, they had to first deal with their sin issue. What Jesus did to save us from our sins must be believed. This belief opens our eyes to understand what Jesus was talking about regarding Kingdom life in the Gospels.

[Ernie]

I think the Gospel is all the Good News that Jesus revealed through his teaching and by his life.

John 21:25
"And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written." - John

[Bootstrap]

https://bibleproject.com/explore/video/ ... on-gospel/

[danfreed]

Ned - I love this thread!
Thanks for starting it.

The Bible Project video overview of the gospel was excellent (Thanks Boot).
I appreciated that video detail of the Gospel included the "suffering love" and "servant leadership" that Jesus taught and modeled.

Apostle Paul describes the gospel of Jesus in his letter to the Corinthian church like this ....

1.Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand,
2 and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.
3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures,
4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,
5 and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.
6 Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time....
(1 Corinthians 15:1-6 English Standard Version)

The gospel summarized here is that Jesus death, burial and resurrection provides for our salvation; we connect to Him by faith.

Such good news!

[NedFlanders]

I think the Gospel is all the Good News that Jesus revealed through his teaching and by his life.

John 21:25
"And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written." - John

I agree that all His good news was the Good News but it is important to also bear in mind that Jesus calling Pharisees snakes and vipers wasn’t necessarily “good news.”

I believe that is partly why Jesus continually referenced the kingdom when He spoke of the gospel and not things like salvation. While salvation is a part of it - it is just that a part of it. I want to look at Scripture and the words of Christ to see a bigger picture of what He wanted us to know when He said the word Gospel.

Maybe He didn’t specifically preach the Good News to everyone because it says here the poor have the gospel preached to them?:

Matthew 11:5 The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them.
Matthew 11:6 And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me.

[Ernie]

I think the Gospel is all the Good News that Jesus revealed through his teaching and by his life.

John 21:25
"And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written." - John

I agree that all His good news was the Good News but it is important to also bear in mind that Jesus calling Pharisees snakes and vipers wasn’t necessarily “good news.”

I get your point, but wasn't it Good News that these snakes and vipers could become part of Christ's kingdom?
"Romans 2:4 – Or do you despise the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?"
The last number of years I have thought often about how wonderful it is to be able to repent. What if we sinned and there was never anything we or anyone else could do about it?