Expert: Clifford H. Readout, Jr. - 11/6/2007

Question
My question is. What is the gospel. Jesus stated, "Repent you, and believe the gospel" (mark 1:15). But what is the gospel? Is it about the person of Jesus? Did the Old Testament Prophets preach the Gospel?

Answer
Greetings Warren,

Thank you for your question. It comes at a busy time, as I have just been empanelled as a jury foreman in a trial that will take a couple of weeks.  Accordingly, I will give you the answer today, since I will not be available for weeks!

You actually ask three questions related to Mark 1:15:
1. But what is the gospel?
2. Is it about the person of Jesus?
3. Did the Old Testament Prophets preach the Gospel?
I will answer them in order, recognizing that the answers are interrelated.

1. But what is the gospel?

The actual definition of “the gospel” depends on the context.  First and foremost it simply means “the good news.” (Actually, the Greek noun in the Greek is more complicated, but it does summarize well into the simple, “the good news.”)  In this verse the word is translated “glad tidings”:
Luke 8:1 And it came to pass afterward, that he went throughout every city and village, preaching and shewing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God: and the twelve were with him,

Context is important.  For example, look at Mark 1:15 in the setting of the verse before it:
Mark 1:14 - 15 Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, 15 And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.

We should consider what John’s ministry had to do with the gospel to which the Lord Jesus was referring.

John’s message is well defined, and not only answers your specific question, but will lead us to the answer of the less technical question you were asking:
Mark 1:6 - 8 And John was clothed with camel’s hair, and with a girdle of a skin about his loins; and he did eat locusts and wild honey; 7 And preached, saying, There cometh one mightier than I after me, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to stoop down and unloose. 8 I indeed have baptized you with water: but he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost.

Matthew 3:7 - 12 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance: 9 And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. 10 And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. 11 I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire: 12 Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.

Luke 3:3 - 14 And he came into all the country about Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins; 4 As it is written in the book of the words of Esaias the prophet, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. 5 Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways shall be made smooth; 6 And all flesh shall see the salvation of God. 7 Then said he to the multitude that came forth to be baptized of him, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance, and begin not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, That God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. 9 And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: every tree therefore which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. 10 And the people asked him, saying, What shall we do then? 11 He answereth and saith unto them, He that hath two coats, let him impart to him that hath none; and he that hath meat, let him do likewise. 12 Then came also publicans to be baptized, and said unto him, Master, what shall we do? 13 And he said unto them, Exact no more than that which is appointed you. 14 And the soldiers likewise demanded of him, saying, And what shall we do? And he said unto them, Do violence to no man, neither accuse any falsely; and be content with your wages.
Luke 3:15 - 20  And as the people were in expectation, and all men mused in their hearts of John, whether he were the Christ, or not; 16 John answered, saying unto them all, I indeed baptize you with water; but one mightier than I cometh, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire: 17 Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and will gather the wheat into his garner; but the chaff he will burn with fire unquenchable. 18 And many other things in his exhortation preached he unto the people. 19 But Herod the tetrarch, being reproved by him for Herodias his brother Philip’s wife, and for all the evils which Herod had done, 20 Added yet this above all, that he shut up John in prison.

From those passages you can see that John was telling Israel that The Almighty was about to reveal Himself as Messiah, and bring the prophesied salvation the faithful were waiting for. God was going to become their King once again.

Secondly, the words “the gospel” (in some contexts the presence of the definite article “the” is very significant, specifically when it points to the specific content of the news) came to be used as a title to define the particular content of the good news. In Mark 1:14 and Luke 8:1, for example, the good news concerns “the kingdom of God.” This will be defined by the context of what John was preaching.  It was the good news John preached that the Lord Jesus was telling people to believe.  He told them, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand:” and that was why He commanded them to repent and believe the “good news.”

Thirdly, the word gospel has in our day come to refer to the specific content of Christianity’s news to the rest of the world. Most commentators teach that “The Gospel” is defined as consisting of the message: a) “that Christ died for our sins,” b) “that he was buried,” and c) “that he rose again the third day”.  They derive this from 1 Corinthians 15:1-8:
1 Corinthians 15:1 - 8  Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; 2 By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. 3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; 4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: 5 And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: 6 After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. 7 After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles. 8 And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.

But this definition is, I think, a bit short sighted and arbitrary, since it does not include the rest of Paul’s sentence!  Why not include in the detail of “The Gospel” the rest of it? d) “that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve:” and e) “After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once,” and f) “After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles,” and finally g) “And last of all he was seen of me also.”  It seems more reasonable to allow that “The Gospel” includes the three significant details (death, burial and resurrection of Christ), but that those things are not the focus of the good news.  The focus, or heart of “The Gospel” is not just what was done, but Who did it!  It is the proclamation that God has become Messiah to bring righteousness, peace and joy n the Holy Ghost (Romans 14:17) into the lives of men. Christ is “The Good News”! God manifest in flesh (1 Timothy 3:16)!  All the fullness of the Godhead manifested bodily (Colossians 2:9)!  After all, it was not crucifixion that was significant in our salvation, but the identity of the One who was crucified!

This is why you will find other applications of the word “gospel,” and they support the broader context of the identity of Christ as God and Saviour.   Look at this one in Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians:
2 Corinthians 4:3 But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: 4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. 5 For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus’ sake. 6 For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. 7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.

Those to whom our gospel is hidden are those who do not see the truth of the identity of Christ as God manifested in flesh: “Christ, who is the image of God” and  “Christ Jesus the Lord” and “the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”


2. Is it about the person of Jesus?

Absolutely. Again, the question arises from limiting the word “gospel” to meaning specifically a message about the death, burial and resurrection.  If we broaden our definition of the word to encompass all the Bible uses it to mean the question becomes relatively meaningless. However, if we define “the gospel” in the full measure of its Biblical use, we can say with certainty that the prophets did, indeed, preach that God would become Savior some day! Here are some examples:

Isaiah 43:10 - 12  “Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen:  that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he:  before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me.  I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no saviour.  I have declared, and have saved, and I have showed, when there was no strange god among you:  therefore ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, that I am God.”

Isaiah 44:6-8  “Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God.  And who, as I, shall call, and shall declare it, and set it in order for me, since I appointed the ancient people?  and the things that are coming, and shall come, let them show unto them.  Fear ye not, neither be afraid:  have not I told thee from that time, and have declared it?  ye are even my witnesses. Is there a God beside me?  yea, there is no God; I know not any.”

Isaiah 45:21-23  “Tell ye, and bring them near; yea, let them take counsel together:  who hath declared this from ancient time?  who hath told it from that time?  have not I the LORD?  and there is no God else beside me; a just God and a Saviour; there is none beside me.  Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth:  for I am God, and there is none else.  I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear.”

Isaiah 7:14  “Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.”  (Matthew 1:23.)

Isaiah 9:6  “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.”

Exodus 15:2 The LORD is MY STRENGTH AND SONG, AND HE IS BECOME MY SALVATION: HE IS my God, and I will prepare him an habitation; my father’s God, and I will exalt him.
Psalms 118:14 The LORD is my strength and song, and is become my salvation.
Psalms 118:21 I will praise thee: for thou hast heard me, and art become my salvation.
Isaiah 12:2  “Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the LORD JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation.”
  (In these four verses the Hebrew word translated “salvation” is the Hebrew name “Yeshua,” which is the English name “Jesus”.)

Hosea 13:4  “Yet I am the LORD thy God from the land of Egypt, and thou shalt know no god but me:  for there is no saviour beside me.”

Micah 5:2  “But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.”

I could go on and on about this, and if you want more details, write me at readout@earthlink.net.  But, give me some time, I am going to be unavailable for two weeks.


3. Did the Old Testament Prophets preach the Gospel?

There are some texts that indicate that the prophets did preach “good news,” and even “the good news.” Here are a few:

Romans 10:15 - 16 And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things! 16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report?
(This indicates that the “report” of Isaiah [Esaias] was concerning Christ, and I will show you some of the proof in a few paragraphs to come.)

Galatians 3:8 And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed.

Hebrews 4:2 For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.

1 Peter 1:10 -12 Of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you: 11 Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow. 12 Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into.

1 Peter 4:6 For for this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit.


Well, that is probably more than you wanted, but the question was worthy, and the answer important for you to know.  I hope it helps you.  If I can be of further service, let me know.  Again, please consider that I will be unavailable until after November 20th.

Yours for Truth,

CR