What’s the Gospel?
The Gospel of Jesus is like the proverbial elephant in the room. Àjànàkú sì kọjáa mo rí ǹkan fìrí. Generations of severing the gospel from Jesus’s Jewish roots have generated much misunderstanding among believers today. We need to reappraise the elephant for what it is. So, what exactly is the euangelion, the Gospel?
Part of the challenge for us is that we are often completely removed from the first-century world that had a profound influence on the New Testament. New Testament authors did not invent the term “gospel.” Indeed, every adult in the Roman Empire was familiar with a gospel long before Jesus was born. The term “Gospel” was often associated with Roman rule and the ascension of a new emperor. It was a gospel maintained with brutal force that crushed opposition triumphantly. In fact, ironically, it was for reasons of upholding the imperial gospel, the Pax Romana, that Jesus was crucified. The crucifixion of Jesus was not a unique event. Rome impaled thousands more before and after.
In the first century, Rome stood as the unrivaled superpower of the known world, and it had its own gospel. Imperial decrees and public inscriptions used the term to announce “good news” about the emperor, including the so‑called gospel of peace tied to the Pax Augusta (the beginning of Pax Romana), a peace inaugurated by Augustus and maintained through the ruthless suppression of opposition. Rome’s might was visible everywhere: disciplined legions, beautiful cities, monumental architecture, and battle-hardened emperors who claimed divine titles such as Divi Filius (“son of god” or “son of the Divine. Palestine was one of Rome’s provinces, living under its military and political shadow.
This was the world Jesus stepped into. He was a Galilean Jew without a military background, an army, or a political office. The closest thing to an army he had was a group of twelve men, who were hardly a model of strategic cohesion. One was a Zealot, committed to resisting Rome, and another was a tax collector who had worked for Rome. Jesus’ decision to have both men on the same team did not particularly convey military competence or tactical expertise. Yet, Jesus proclaimed a different kingdom and gospel, just as Rome did. So, when the disciples began to announce another gospel of Jesus, they were being as political as they were spiritual. This gospel does not directly compete with the emperor’s, but if it’s true, then the emperor’s is false. Unlike the emperors, the soldiers of this other gospel do not kill or maim. On the contrary, they joyfully lay down their lives.
For reasons related to the church’s historical deviation from the Hebrew roots of Christianity, many of us have a truncated understanding of what the Gospel of Christ is about. Consequently, even passages that clearly alert us to the fact that there is more to the story have been explained away. Before going much further, let me sample a few texts to show that New Testament authors had a richer and fuller understanding of the “gospel.”
Mark 1:14-15 ESV
[14] Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, [15] and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”
The Markan Jesus proclaimed the Gospel of God and said the kingdom of God was at hand. This is an insightful passage. Since it’s Jesus himself preaching the gospel, there is no way he preached about his death, burial, and resurrection in the first chapter of Mark! Furthermore, this passage connects the gospel of God with the kingdom of God, thereby clearly challenging Rome’s claims.
Revelation 14:6-7 ESV
[6] Then I saw another angel flying directly overhead, with an eternal gospel to proclaim to those who dwell on earth, to every nation and tribe and language and people. [7] And he said with a loud voice, “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come, and worship him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water.”
Every student of Revelation knows that Rome is the satanic power the book was directed against. Rome was “Babylon the great.” So, the “eternal gospel” the angel preaches is essentially the same as the gospel Jesus and the Apostles preached, as they persuaded people to give their allegiance to God alone, not Rome.
Galatians 3:8 NRSV
And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, declared the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “All the Gentiles shall be blessed in you.”
Paul says, the gospel was preached to Abraham a few thousand years before the incarnation. Sometimes, well-meaning and Jesus-loving people claim that the gospel preached to Abraham can’t be the same as the gospel of Jesus. This is understandable. If you already believed that the gospel of Jesus precisely equals the message about his death, burial, and resurrection, then, of course, Abraham couldn’t have received a message about the actual death and rising of the Messiah. But notice that this verse rejects such a truncated understanding. It states that God foresaw that Gentiles would be justified by faith – a faith that had already materialized after Paul preached the gospel of Jesus to the Galatians. So, the gospel preached to Abraham ultimately came true in the Galatian Gentiles. What God foresaw that led Him to preach the gospel to Abraham materialized through Paul’s preaching of the gospel to the Gentiles. Of course, Paul gives no indication that there were multiple divine gospels. So, the gospel preached beforehand to Abraham is THE gospel of Jesus. If there was another gospel, it was the well-known Roman imperial type.
Romans 1:1-5 NRSV
[1] Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, [2] which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy scriptures, [3] the gospel concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh [4] and was declared to be Son of God with power according to the spirit of holiness by resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, [5] through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for the sake of his name,
Paul says here that the “gospel of God” was “promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy scriptures.” Of course, “the holy scriptures” here refers to the Old Testament. Yes, the gospel concerns Jesus, but it predates the incarnation! The gospel was already preached by the prophets in the Hebrew Bible. Notice also that this passage connects “the gospel of God” with Jesus’s death and resurrection. In other words, these events—death and resurrection—play critical roles in effectuating the gospel of God, but they are not the gospel itself.
1 Corinthians 15:3-5 ESV
[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.
The passage affirms that Christ died, was buried, and resurrected for humanity’s sins—the heart of the stories told by Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. For many Christians, this is the entirety of the gospel that must be believed for salvation to be achieved. But it is a manifestly truncated understanding for two reasons. First, as an increasing number of unbelievers continue to ask us today, it is not particularly obvious that the death of a man, especially one that we claim was innocent, equals GOOD news. Yes, the fact of the resurrection does ease the discomfort a bit, but it does not eliminate the unease completely. So, reading the Jesus event in isolation is a disservice.
Second, and more importantly, notice again that the passage from 1 Corinthians above repeatedly states, “in accordance with the Scriptures.” What is that about? Obviously, the “Scriptures” in question are the Hebrew Bible, not the New Testament. In fact, scholars believe that 1 Corinthians 15 is the earliest piece of Christian writing, preceding Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Therefore, it is certain that the “Scriptures” in question refer to the Old Testament. The point should be clear by now, but I want to ensure all doubts are pulverized by extending the exegetical argument.
On the road to Emmaus, after Jesus had been crucified and buried, two disciples were heartbroken and sad as they traveled. Suddenly, Jesus appeared and walked with them, but they didn’t recognize him. The guys were troubled because it seemed that Yahweh had failed them. After all, they had hoped that Jesus would deliver them politically and militarily from Rome’s tyranny. Luke says the following about Jesus’s response to them:
Luke 24:25-27 ESV
[25] And he said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! [26] Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” [27] And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.
So, even the resurrected Jesus relied on “Moses and all the Prophets” as he “interpreted to them in all Scriptures the things concerning himself.” In other words, these passages indicate that the Gospel of Jesus was contained in the Scriptures before any book of the New Testament was written. The Torah, the Prophets, and the Psalms already contain the gospel. This is why Paul could repeatedly say, “according to the Scriptures.” Besides, things had to happen according to the Scriptures for the first-century Jews to ascertain that Jesus was the promised Messiah! How else were they to know?!
So, the gospel of Jesus was already in the Hebrew Bible. Here is Paul’s bold statement to the Galatians again:
Galatians 3:8 ESV
[8] And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you shall all the nations be blessed.”
Paul boldly states that the gospel was preached to Abraham beforehand. The gospel preached to Abraham was that through him, all the nations of the world would be blessed. Jesus was the seed of Abraham offering the real blessing of salvation to all. God is reconciling the world to Himself through Jesus, just as He always wanted it to be. The message about the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus is not the gospel per se. These events effectuate the genuine good news that the Lord of the universe has cleared the road for humans to return home.
For a more extended treatment of this subject, see the entry here.
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