Steemchurch: The Gospel of Jesus

Mark 16:15-20 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover. So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God. And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with [them], and confirming the word with signs following. Amen.

What is The Gospel?
Note: Words have meanings in the sentences they are used.
When you hear the word Gospel... The question is "What Gospel?"

The word "Gospel" in simple terms is the news of someone's work on your behalf.

The message must be good the same way to everybody. Every creature must hear the same message, the same gospel.

By reading the text above only, you are not likely to know what THE GOSPEL means.
There must have been a prior discussion that pointed to a particular gospel.

P/S: The basic reason we gather in church is to be taught the word. Thus, our attention span is very much needed. Let your attention be undivided in the word.

Matthew 10:5-8 These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into [any] city of the Samaritans enter ye not: But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.

Luke 9:2 And he sent them to preach the kingdom of God, and to heal the sick.

The above instances are with different directions and messages from Mark 16. In the two instances, there's no mention of Salvation or Forgiveness of sins.

Back to Mark 16
Mark 16:15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.

Note: A text of Scripture today can never mean what it didn't mean the time it was written. It is wise to read the pretext and the post text.

Now Consider the Pretext:
Mark 16:14 Afterward he appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen.

The discussion was about Christ's resurrection. People came to tell them about the fact that Christ had risen. They reacted with unbelief in hardness of heart.

Unbelief- To refuse to be persuaded.
Hardness of heart- difficult in heart.

At the point Jesus rose from the dead, these folks had not believed the gospel.

Prior to that, Jesus sent them out to preach. And so He asked them this
Matthew 16:13-15 When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? And they said, Some [say that thou art] John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?

This shows that from works and power of God, you don't really know who God is. It is WHAT HE SAYS that lets you know what He does

Matthew 16:15-19 He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed [it] unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

What Peter said afterwards shows that he didn't have an understanding of what Jesus was saying. Peter was not listening.

Matthew 16:21-23 From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day. Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee. But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.

Peter was speaking against the most crucial fact of the gospel. Thus, Christ rebuked him.

These people were miracle workers but not yet believers.

Every sight of the Cross makes all other things become shadows in your eyes.

That thief on the cross knew.... What Peter didn't know. He believed what they didn't believe at first. He got into Paradise.

And so Jesus described them thus:
Luke 24:25-27 Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken: Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory? And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.

The word "All" is not all as it sounds. It must be defined.
The question is "All what?"
You'd find the definition within the context.

All in that context is All the Prophets said about the suffering of Christ and the glories that follow. The focus was on Christ's death, burial, resurrection and Ascension.

While Mark 16 vs 14 was a summary, Luke's account broke it down.

The disciples were still in unbelief after what they heard.
Luke 24:36-40 And as they thus spake, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them, and saith unto them, Peace [be] unto you. But they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they had seen a spirit. And he said unto them, Why are ye troubled? and why do thoughts arise in your hearts? Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have. And when he had thus spoken, he shewed them [his] hands and [his] feet.

After Christ showed them by experience that he rose, he said.
Luke 24:44 And he said unto them, These [are] the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and [in] the prophets, and [in] the psalms, concerning me.

Thereafter, He took them from experience to revelation.
Luke 24:45 Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures,

Their understanding was only open by the word. No amount of experience can birth faith. It is only the word that can birth faith.

Understanding there means a mindset and an already perceived notion.
It also means putting similar things together.

Luke 24:46 And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day:

This is the summary of what He explained to them. He preached the gospel to them. At this point, the disciples got Born-again.

Luke 24:47 And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.
Repentance- Means to change your mindset about Christ, God. It doesn't mean to feel sorry. It comes before a change of behaviour.

The disciples were the first partakers of this so they could teach others.
They heard the gospel and so they could go into to world and preach the gospel to every creature.

We are preaching Christ who is alive today.
1 Corinthians 15:14 And if Christ be not risen, then [is] our preaching vain, and your faith [is] also vain.

If Christ is today, not alive, our preaching and faith is in vain.

Christ is a present saviour. We are not preaching a historical Jesus. He is a present day reality.