The word gospel translates the Greek euangelion, literally “good message” or “good news.” Gospel is a crucial concept throughout Scripture. Indeed, the whole Bible, from start to finish, is the story of how God lovingly proclaims good news to a rebellious world and then accomplishes what he has promised. In the Old Testament, this good news comes in the form of God’s promises to save the world from sin and death, and those promises are finally kept in the New Testament through the life, death, resurrection, and exaltation of the Messiah, Jesus. Thus, we might define gospel like this: the good news of what God has done, is doing, and will do in and through Jesus Christ to save his people from their sin.
The Gospel: Salvation Accomplished
The New Testament’s proclamation of the gospel about Jesus has its roots in the story of the Old Testament. There we read a moving and epic narrative of how humanity first rebels against its Creator God and of how that God promises that he will ultimately save his sinful people through a King who will suffer and die in the place of his people and yet will somehow live and reign forever in a new heavens and new earth.
With the opening of the New Testament, this promised salvation comes to full flower in the person of Jesus, who himself fulfills all of the promises God makes in the Old Testament. Thus the Gospel of Matthew begins by showing Jesus to be the rightful heir of King David (Matt. 1:1–17). Jesus is no ordinary king, though. He is fully human but also the fully divine Son of God. God himself proclaims Jesus to be “my beloved Son” (Matt. 3:17), and John writes that in the beginning Jesus “was with God, and . . . was God” (John 1:1).
Through his words and deeds, Jesus reveals who he is and what he has come to accomplish. He confronts Satan’s kingdom, destroys Satan’s works, and delivers people from their bondage to sin. The kingdom of God has come, and Jesus is the King (Matt. 4:23; 9:35; 24:14; Mark 1:15)!
There is another aspect to the New Testament’s presentation of the gospel, however. It is not just that the promised King has finally come. It is that King Jesus comes precisely to win forgiveness for God’s people so that they might live in his kingdom. Even before Jesus’ birth, an angel announces, “He will save his people from their sins” (Matt. 1:21). And Jesus himself repeatedly explains the purpose of his death and resurrection. He will lay down his life “as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). He will pour out his blood “for the forgiveness of sins” (Matt. 26:28).
By willingly laying down his life on the cross, Jesus accomplishes the salvation from sin that God had promised (John 10:11, 17–18). Just before his death, Jesus cries out the words of David in Psalm 22: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Ps. 22:1; Matt. 27:46). David’s heir is also the long-prophesied suffering servant (Isaiah 53). Dying in his people’s place, he takes the wrath of God for their sin upon himself and qualifies them to live in his kingdom (1 Pet. 3:18; Col. 1:12–13). Jesus not only inaugurates the kingdom; he also does away with the sin that would separate impure people from a holy God in that kingdom (Rev. 5:9–10).
On the third day after his death, Jesus rises bodily from the dead (Matt. 28:6). Then, for the next forty days, he appears at various times to the disciples, teaching (Luke 24:27), forgiving (John 21:15–19), and instructing (Acts 1:1–3) them. He then ascends into heaven to be enthroned at the right hand of God the Father (Acts 1:9; Heb. 1:3).
Jesus’ resurrection from the dead crowns his redemptive work. It demonstrates to the world that he is indeed the Son of God (Rom. 1:4) and guarantees God’s intention to raise Jesus’ people from the dead as well (Rom. 6:1–11; 1 Cor. 15:20–23). The resurrection therefore points to God’s determination to destroy death, redeem humanity, and make all things new.
The Gospel: Salvation Proclaimed and Displayed
Before his ascension, Jesus commissions his followers to bear witness to him and his saving work and to call on people to repent of their sin and trust in him for salvation (Matt. 28:19–20; Luke 24:44–49). The book of Acts tells how the early Christians take the good news about Jesus to all the known world, “proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ” (Acts 28:31).
The apostles also write letters to instruct believers in the faith. They again explain the good news about Jesus and teach Christians how they should live as people transformed by the Holy Spirit’s power. The gospel is good news not just about the past but about the present as well.
The Gospel: Salvation Consummated
The gospel is also good news about the future, about what God will do in and through Jesus. Though we suffer in this age, Christians persevere as we look forward to the day in which our King Jesus will return to earth to consummate his reign (Acts 1:10–11). On that day, those who have died in Christ will be raised from their graves to glory. Sin and evil will be destroyed, the world will be released from its bondage to decay, and Jesus will make all things new (Rev. 21:4; Rom. 8:19–21; Rev. 21:5).
The best news of all, though, is that the separation between God and humans caused by sin will be removed forever. Because of Jesus’ life and death in our place, and through the power of his resurrection, we will dwell in God’s presence forever, with joy unending. We will see his face and worship him forever (Rev. 22:1–5)!
Key Themes:
Jesus. Jesus is God, the “I am.” He existed before the creation of the world, and he has supernatural knowledge. He fulfills the Jewish festivals and institutions. As the sent Son of God, he reflects the Sender. Signs and witnesses demonstrate that he is the Messiah.
The Trinity. Father, Son, and Spirit are united in their work of revelation and redemption.
Salvation. God is sovereign in salvation. Jesus’ death is the basis of salvation, which is obtained through believing in the living Jesus as the Son of God.
Eternal Life. Jesus is the giver of eternal life. Believers can experience some of salvation’s benefits during this present evil age.
Mission. Believers are called to continue Jesus’ mission.
References:
All contents are reposted from ESV.org.
“Scripture quotations are from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission.
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