Kingdom 103: What Gospel Are You Preaching? Pt 2
Please be aware, at no time did the Lord Jesus deviate from His Father's message or His purpose for being here on earth. The question is, why haven't the leaders, such as preachers, pastors and those who claim to represent the King, been spreading the Kingdom message? In God's Constitution, Matthew, Gospel refers to the "good news of the Kingdom" and the "gospel of the Kingdom". In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!”...From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”...And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people....Blessed are the poor in spirit, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven...Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Now Mark, on the other hand, spoke of the Gospel of God. And He called the twelve to Himself, and began to send them out two by two, and gave them power over unclean spirits. He commanded them to take nothing for the journey except a staff—no bag, no bread, no copper in their money belts—but to wear sandals, and not to put on two tunics.
Also He said to them, “In whatever place you enter a house, stay there till you depart from that place...So they went out and preached that people should repent. And they cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick, and healed them. He did not mention the clear message of the Kingdom that Matthew wrote of. Matthew was more precise in the Lord Jesus' message as it was stated. Luke on the other hand used the phrase, the "good news of the Kingdom of God". So they went out and preached that people should repent. And they cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick, and healed them. What specifically are they referring to? In all of these biblical phrases, they have the same meaning, although slightly different. Remember, the word gospel means good report. Evangelism is the process of communicating the good news. Well, if that be the case, an evangelist is an instrument for communicating that good news of the Kingdom message. Remember, the Gospel of the Kingdom of God must be carefully defined so that there are no ambiguous meanings (uncertainties, vague, not clear or having more than two possible meanings.)
The gospel isn't the message itself, but rather a description of the message. Every since I have been proclaiming this Kingdom message, I realize that when we were commissioned by the Lord Jesus to proclaim this message of the Kingdom of God which is described as the good news for everyone who hears its message. The Lord Jesus never once told us to go and simply preach a "gospel". He was very specific. These twelve Jesus sent out and commanded them, saying: “Do not go into the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter a city of the Samaritans. But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give. Provide neither gold nor silver nor copper in your money belts, nor bag for your journey, nor two tunics, nor sandals, nor staffs; for a worker is worthy of his food.
“Now whatever city or town you enter, inquire who in it is worthy, and stay there till you go out. And when you go into a household, greet it. If the household is worthy, let your peace come upon it. But if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. And whoever will not receive you nor hear your words, when you depart from that house or city, shake off the dust from your feet. Assuredly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city! There are many kinds of good news we could speak about. But there is only one that the Lord Jesus identified with and it was the focus of His preaching. Remember, His first recorded words were repent (turn around), for the Kingdom of Heaven is near. From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
Matthew 3:2; 4:17, 23 Matthew 5:3, 10, 12 Luke 9:1-2
~~W.R. Luchie
Now Mark, on the other hand, spoke of the Gospel of God. And He called the twelve to Himself, and began to send them out two by two, and gave them power over unclean spirits. He commanded them to take nothing for the journey except a staff—no bag, no bread, no copper in their money belts—but to wear sandals, and not to put on two tunics.
Also He said to them, “In whatever place you enter a house, stay there till you depart from that place...So they went out and preached that people should repent. And they cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick, and healed them. He did not mention the clear message of the Kingdom that Matthew wrote of. Matthew was more precise in the Lord Jesus' message as it was stated. Luke on the other hand used the phrase, the "good news of the Kingdom of God". So they went out and preached that people should repent. And they cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick, and healed them. What specifically are they referring to? In all of these biblical phrases, they have the same meaning, although slightly different. Remember, the word gospel means good report. Evangelism is the process of communicating the good news. Well, if that be the case, an evangelist is an instrument for communicating that good news of the Kingdom message. Remember, the Gospel of the Kingdom of God must be carefully defined so that there are no ambiguous meanings (uncertainties, vague, not clear or having more than two possible meanings.)
The gospel isn't the message itself, but rather a description of the message. Every since I have been proclaiming this Kingdom message, I realize that when we were commissioned by the Lord Jesus to proclaim this message of the Kingdom of God which is described as the good news for everyone who hears its message. The Lord Jesus never once told us to go and simply preach a "gospel". He was very specific. These twelve Jesus sent out and commanded them, saying: “Do not go into the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter a city of the Samaritans. But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give. Provide neither gold nor silver nor copper in your money belts, nor bag for your journey, nor two tunics, nor sandals, nor staffs; for a worker is worthy of his food.
“Now whatever city or town you enter, inquire who in it is worthy, and stay there till you go out. And when you go into a household, greet it. If the household is worthy, let your peace come upon it. But if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. And whoever will not receive you nor hear your words, when you depart from that house or city, shake off the dust from your feet. Assuredly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city! There are many kinds of good news we could speak about. But there is only one that the Lord Jesus identified with and it was the focus of His preaching. Remember, His first recorded words were repent (turn around), for the Kingdom of Heaven is near. From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
Matthew 3:2; 4:17, 23 Matthew 5:3, 10, 12 Luke 9:1-2
~~W.R. Luchie
