un-covering the GOSPEL OF GOD*

(vouchsafed to us in the scriptures of God) 

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The scriptures are the in-house writing within the household of God, not to be given out as tracts or announcements to non-believers; that is what the Gospel of God* is for. We use the term Word of God for both, but they are each meant for different audiences, so it helps to clarify their distinctions.

• The Son of God, the Lord of the Earth, the Saviour of the world, the Great Bridge Builder or Great High Priest (Pontifex Maximus), whose coins recorded his titles, & whose gospel (euangelion) was proclaimed throughout the known world, was …    at first, in the first Century, (NOT Jesus called the Christ, but) Caesars, especially Octavian, called Augustus, then to a slightly lesser extent Tiberius and following Caesars.

• The euangellion is designed to be heralded, proclaimed, by heralds in their livery as Empire Heralds. This is political news sent from, & designed and supported by the current leadership of an Empire, not religious preaching, teaching or exposition.

• Though not its focus,  (maybe?*)  this Greek term euangelion can possibly be understood in a  broader sense, to include good news stories that illustrate and show the reality or specific nature of this core news/ announcement (euangelion).

• Tiberius is said to have had his gospel (euangellion) heralded throughout his Empire, every year on his birthday.

• Jesus is said to have heralded the gospel (euangelion) of God* throughout every village in Galilee* before he got to Jerusalem. 

Your task/ assignment/ challenge (should you accept it) is to 

• Identify for us what this Gospel (euangelion) of God* was. We are told it in various (not the same, but roughly only 10-20) Greek words. From the four renditions of the one gospel - (Matthew, Mark, Luke & John) we learn not to get caught up in the words themselves, but as we compare and contrast and read deeply we can  identify the (say 5, that I think I can see) clear points held for us in the gospel accounts. Some instances refer to the whole by mentioning one or two, but when seen and understood, you can see by the way they illustrate them and talk about them, that Jesus and the gospel writers have all (5?) in mind all the time, though they don’t actually have to be said every time. (I suspect that The Herald has the trust of the one who sent him, as to what must be emphasised when.  But the Herald also trusts the one who sent him, so as not to miss out any point on a whim.)

• The gospel (euangelion) of God is:

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• While/since doing the above, note the different ways of talking about each of these main points in each of the 4 First Century Evangelist's and the apostles’ writing* and speaking.. and also other synonyms used to refer to this overall heralded message of the gospel (euangelion): this is very interesting and helpful to flesh out contextual variations. (Note also, the ethnicity, and focus of the author and the audience, and the setting). Things that strike you:

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• Note now, also, the way Jesus’s heralded message is linked to his teaching, how his heralded message remains what the apostles herald as they go out in 2’s, and as the 70 go out in two’s, and note what happens after the resurrection; and the additional point (or two)  that is added into their message then, and how that plays out in Acts… & the epistles. Things that strike me regarding this:

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Footnotes

d*  both Peter and Paul, as well as Mark, speak of the Gospel among other things, as “the Gospel of God”: “For the time has come for judgment to begin with the household of God; if it begins with us, what will be the end for those who do not obey the gospel of God? (1 Peter 4:17 NRSVUE); “Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God,” (Romans 1:1 NRSVUE) “ “Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the good news of God.” (Mark 1:14 NRSVUE)

?* William Loader, in his expositions and translation of Mark (Following Mark: a commentary for people on the road, Cascade, Eugene, OR; 2024)  translates the Greek euangelion as “good news story” which I am yet to understand. Unless he is working “backwards” from the story nature of Jesus’s recorded parables and the same mechanisms used by these four First Century evangelists, in stringing pericope together to form their renditions of the gospel (euangelion). I wonder. I am listening, but not yet convinced.

e* the above reference from Mark, plus “He answered, “Let us go on to the neighboring towns, so that I may proclaim the message there also, for that is what I came out to do.” [39] And he went throughout all Galilee, proclaiming the message in their synagogues and casting out demons.” (Mark 1:38-39 NRSVUE) I think that for 20 years I got waylaid in my thinking when many earlier translations used the word “preaching” (instead of heralding, or proclaiming) to translate the Greek word κήρυγμα. When Mark records that Jesus said I have to κηρύξω  in every place, and subsequently tells us that he went on to “κηρύσσων in the synagogues of all of Galilee” I (ignorantly) interpreted it back to my life a & imagined him basically giving his special sermon in Church, just that it would have been on Saturday, not Sunday. Not realising that the synagogue was simply the town hall, the school, the centre for discussion and life of each whole local Jewish community, a far cry from the real experience of most people’s present experience of “church”. In Jesus’ time and village setting (when considering Jews) the Synagogue was the real hub of their community, where public announcements would best be made! 

End note

Mark relates Jesus’ self understanding of his missional mandate as two-fold 1) heralding the cataclysmic (though in fact  inviting, & not coercing) entrance of the reign of God [Mark 1: 14-15; 38-39] & 2) serving (/ willingly slaving) (to the extent of throwing out enslaving spirits [attitudes, principles, habits, approaches to life, ways of handling difficulties, all incorporeal un-humanizing sub-human influence(r)s] & freely giving his life in the same manner that was imposed under the then current Roman law, on a caught run-away slave (crucifixion - see Tom Holland’s book Dominion, which AI, (accessed 7:00am Mon02/03/26) summarises  as: “Holland highlights that crucifixion was considered the "lowest" and most shameful form of death in the Roman world, designated for slaves and rebels.” & Mark 8:29-38)  in order to set free many slaves) [Mark 10:45].

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