The primary message of the Bible – its unifying theme – is “the gospel of Jesus Christ.” To begin to understand what this means, we must first understand the individual words that make up this phrase.
The Word “Gospel”
The word “gospel” means “good news” or “glad tidings.” Another way of defining “gospel” is to say it is “a proclamation of victory” (or “an announcement of triumph,” “…of a new order of things,” or even “…a new administration”). A “gospel” is a public declaration that implies a struggle (battle, conflict, debate, etc) has been taking place but that a definitive outcome has been achieved – one that is very favorable toward those to whom the proclamation is being addressed.
The word “gospel” was not invented for religious use. It was used in the general culture. For example, when a new king or emperor took the throne a “gospel” was issued and proclaimed. This sometimes happened as an outcome of a battle, but such pronouncements came to be made even when it was simply the peaceful passing of the throne from father to son. Think of “The king is dead; long live the king!”
A “gospel” could be short or long – or there could be short or long versions of the same “gospel.” The pronouncements were usually in writing, but most people heard them as they were read aloud by heralds sent to various locations in the country or region affected by the pronouncement.
Modern conceptions of the word “gospel” – and connotations that are often attached to it – usually miss the mark. Most often, the word is considered “religious” and therefore of only fringe interest to modern society, which is largely secular. To help restore the original meaning of the word, let me repeat the synonyms used above and add some more. Let me also reinforce that the word “gospel” has two essential aspects to its meaning:
A Gospel Is…
| A specific form of communication… | …about something that is… |
| announcement, declaration, decree, disclosure, message, news, notification, proclamation, pronouncement, statement, report, tidings | favorable, glad, grand, good, hopeful, joyful, positive, triumphant, victorious, wonderful |
The Name “Jesus Christ”
The name “Jesus Christ” does not mean that Jesus is “Mr. Christ.” Rather it is a compound name – coined and generally used only after Jesus had been raised from the dead. Therefore, let’s take the names one at a time before we try to understand what they mean in combination.
During His earthly life He was known simply as “Jesus” or “Jesus of Nazareth” or “Jesus the Galilean” or something similar. The title “Christ” was attached to the name “Jesus” to indicate that His resurrection had demonstrated Him to be the “Messiah” long promised by the sacred writings of the Jews.
The term “Christ” comes from the Greek language and “Messiah” comes from Hebrew, but both mean “Anointed.” When the British install a king, they crown him; when the Jews installed a king, they “anointed” him – which meant pouring or smearing oil on his head. Therefore, “the Anointed” came to be a synonym in Israel for the king, just as “the crown” became a synonym in England for the king.
Therefore, to say “Jesus Christ” is to say, “Jesus, the king.” And, therefore, to say “Christ Jesus” is to say, “the king Jesus.” The Bible renders this combination more often as “Jesus Christ” than as “Christ Jesus,” but the two phrases are fully synonymous just as the terms “Augustus Caesar” and “Caesar Augustus” both refer to the same person.
More specifically, this combined name is to say, “Jesus, the king that God promised.” This is because the Jewish Scriptures (that is, the Old Testament) are filled with many promises that God made to send an “Anointed” or “Anointed One” to rescue the world. Thus the gospel of Jesus Christ is the good news about Jesus being raised from the dead to be the king that God had promised for so long (Acts 2:36). It is simple enough to understand the name “Jesus,” for each of us has a name like that, but the title “Christ” requires more thought to understand. This is because all the promises God made about this coming king invested the title “Messiah” (“Christ,” “Anointed”) with much more meaning than the generic term “king” would imply.
The Need for Messiah
God was sending Messiah to solve a problem – the problem of sin and death. The Old Testament records that in the original creation everything God made was good – very good (Genesis 1:31). There was no sin and no death. Although God warned Adam not to sin lest he bring death into the earth, Adam and Eve sinned anyway – introducing sin and death into this universe. This was a profound alteration of the original reality. This Messiah would need to be much more than an ordinary king.
Sin is wrongdoing, and death is the ultimate consequence of that wrongdoing. In dealing with Adam and Eve about this introduction of sin into creation, God promised that He would send someone to address the problem. This someone was called by various names in the many confirming promises God would ultimately make, but the most common name by which he came to be called was Messiah. Here is where that name can be found in the Old Testament, along with some of the other names by which this great promised figure was called:
- the Breaker (Micah 2:13)
- chief cornerstone (Psalm 118:22)
- Eternal Father (Isaiah 9:6-7)
- Immanuel (Isaiah 7:14)
- Messiah (Daniel 9:26)
- Messiah the Prince (Daniel 9:25)
- Mighty God (Isaiah 9:6-7)
- Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6-7
- a prophet like Moses (Deuteronomy 18:15)
- seed of the woman (Genesis 3:15)
- Son of God (2 Samuel 7:14 and Psalm 2:7)
- Son of Man (Psalm 8:4)
- sun of righteousness (Malachi 4:2)
- Wonderful Counselor (Isaiah 9:6-7)
If we didn’t already think sin and death were big problems, messianic titles like these would tell us that these problems must be even more profound than we realize. A messiah wouldn’t need to be that powerful if the problems weren’t that severe.
Conclusion
Now that you understand what the phrase “gospel of Jesus Christ” means, you can begin to discover what the gospel of Jesus Christ is.
The Duty of a Man 