Gospel

There’s a concept in Biblical studies with regard to many teachings that could be called “both/and”. This happens frequently and there are many examples we could show that would illustrate the principle well. It’s a valuable tool that can help us in our studies when we are working through passages on our own or together.

One example has to do with prophecy. When reading prophecy, we should keep in mind that it is God’s word. God’s word is relevant and powerful. We see often that predictive prophecy was fulfilled in the life of Jesus. But, it should come as no surprise that the prophecies given also had relevance for the time in which it was given.

One example of such a prophecy comes from Isaiah 7:14, “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.” This should be a familiar passage for you, I hope. We know of it because according to Matthew 1:22-23, this prophecy is given concerning Jesus as one more of the many signs that Jesus is who He says He is.

Yet, this isn’t the only fulfilment of the prophecy. Isaiah continues, “but before the boy knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right, the land of the two kings you dread will be laid waste.” Isaiah is also providing an immediate context fulfilment for King Ahaz. This is one example of the both/and nature of Biblical teaching in general and prophecy in particular.

Another situation in which we see the “both/and” interpretative tool being used has to do with the Gospel. In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul describes the Gospel (15:1-2) this way: Christ died (3), Christ was buried (4), and Christ was raised (5ff). Within each verse, Paul ties these facts of the Gospel to “the Scriptures” which shows the ongoing importance of the whole Bible as it reveals to us how God has been working to reconcile His people to Himself. That is, salvation history.

However, this is not the only definition of Gospel the Bible provides. Remember, “gospel” is not an English word. It comes from the original Greek text of the Bible in which you would have found the phrase “good news”. When we read the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John we see Jesus preaching and teaching throughout the Promised Land. But, we also know that everyone, including Jesus’s disciples, were shocked at the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. Therefore, as much as 1 Cor. 15 accurately describes and defines the Gospel, what then was it that Jesus taught throughout the Land?  

Luke 4:43 states, “But he said, “I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent.” This is just one verse of several where we see Jesus defining His mission as preaching the “good news of the kingdom”.

We see the Gospel then is BOTH the teachings ABOUT Jesus AND the teaching OF Jesus.

What then did Jesus teach? This is the subject of our present study. This good news that Jesus proclaimed focused on: love, kingdom, repentance, faith, worship, discipleship, and judgement – to name a few.

If we are to be followers of Jesus, we need to make sure we understand how to be followers of Jesus. We can only do that through knowing what he taught.