Many words in the Bible are misunderstood. Gospel is one of those words. A Google search of the word, brings up music in that style, Kirk Franklin heading the list of artists – Can I get a witness up in here? Most people would say it’s a religious term. And it is. But it wasn’t in its original use. Probably, most people familiar with the Bible and Christianity know that it means good news. But probably, most of them don’t know the specific kind of good news for which it was used during and before New Testament times. This English word gospel comes from a Greek word that transliterates to our word evangelism. It represented the good news, which wasn’t always good, or even true, that came along with the establishment of a new government, kingdom or regime over a people.
The Roman Empire established their dominance over Israel in 63 B.C. So by the time Jesus began His earthly ministry around 26 A.D., Rome had been in power over Israel for more than sixty years. That generation of Jews had been living under the “good news” of Rome for all that time when Jesus introduced them to a different good news – His good news. Jesus’ gospel contrasted greatly from Rome’s or any other kingdom’s. If Rome sent a herald to Jerusalem after General Pompey’s successful siege of the city in 63 B.C., he probably announced something to this effect:
Ceasar is in power here and you are now subjects of the Roman Empire. This is good news for you if you are wealthy, for you can purchase positions of power. This is also good news to you if you are ambitious, for you can collect taxes for Ceasar and become rich. If you are part of the Herod dynasty, this is good news for you, for you will reign over Judea under the authority of Ceasar.
We can see how different Jesus’ gospel was when He announced it to Jewish people in this way:
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven. (Matthew 5:3 NKJV)
Strong’s defines the poor in this verse as beggar. So Jesus was speaking of beggars for spiritual things. The thing about beggars is that they’re aware of their need and they’re willing to ask for help. Here’s a verbal characature of what a spiritual beggar could look like in our culture: You’re driving in your car and you roll up to a red light at an intersection. You see a man who looks like he’s probably homeless holding a homemade cardboard sign. You assume the sign says something like:
Homeless Veteran.
Need Money for Food
God bless.
But you look at the sign and the words are:
Terrible sinner
Need forgiveness
Want to be reconciled with God
That’s the person who thrives in the Kingdom of Heaven, not the rich (those who think they’re self sufficient and don’t need God), or the ambitious (those who pursue earthly wealth and have no desire for the eternal blessings that God gives), or the powerful (those who see themselves as better than others)
Jesus’ gospel is good news for those of us who know we need God’s forgiveness, believe that Jesus rose from the grave after paying our sin debt on a Roman cross, and surrender our lives to become members of His eternal family and kingdom.
There’s a Christian song from the nineties that goes “I believe the good Lord helps those who cry for help.” Very true. That’s the gospel.