Mar
29
2008
Gospel Definitions: C.C. Broyles
Gospel, or “good news,” designates Jesus’ message of the appearance of God’s kingdom, a message entailing liberty for those held captive to any form of affliction and demonstrated most dramatically in acts of healing. In some instances the term encompasses the whole story of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus…
The reader of the Gospels must be wary of reading a post-Easter definition into the Evangelists’ use of the term gospel (such as is found in Pauline writings). In the Synoptics, it is found in the mouth of Jesus at the beginning of his ministry… They use the term to designate Jesus’ message without prior definition, implying that it was a term known to their audience.
- IVP Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels, pg 282, 283