Please bear with me as this gets a little deep. Gospel does mean "good news." Those who hold to a dispensational view point are quick to point out that Jesus was preaching the
gospel of the kingdom to Israel. John the Baptist preached the
gospel of the kingdom, which was,
"..Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand" (Matthew 3:2) and will argue that before the cross, the gospel of grace that Paul taught and
came to him through a revelation of Jesus Christ (Galatians 1:11-12) was
still a mystery.
Ephesians 3:1 - For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for you Gentiles— 2 if indeed you have heard of the
dispensation of the grace of God which was given to me for you, 3 how that by revelation He made known to me the mystery (as I have briefly written already, 4 by which, when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ), 5
which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets: 6 that
the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel, 7 of which I became a minister according to the gift of the grace of God given to me by the effective working of His power. 8 To me, who am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, 9 and to make all see what is the
fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ; 10 to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places, 11 according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord, 12 in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in Him.
Those who hold to a dispensational view point are also quick to point out that was not part of the gospel which the twelve, John the Baptist, and Jesus Christ were preaching in the 4 gospel accounts. Yet, they were still preaching the
gospel of the kingdom to Israel.
Jesus Christ sent the twelve to preach only to Israel. Matthew 10:5 - 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. 6
But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 7 And as you go, preach, saying,
‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ That certainly is good news! The disciples were specifically told to go only to the people of Israel, and they were not preaching anything about the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ.
In Matthew 16:15, Jesus Christ asked His disciples, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter answered and said,
“You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.
Now Peter had no clue that Jesus Christ would be crucified and resurrected. He only believed that Jesus was the Messiah. This is obvious when, only moments later,
Peter rebukes Jesus Christ for saying he will be killed, and be raised again the third day" (Matthew 16:21). In verse 22,
"..Peter took him and began to rebuke him, saying, “Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!”
Before his death, Jesus told the twelve that he had to die and that he would rise on the third day. Looking back upon this passage we see this as Jesus speaking of an event that would change the history of the world. However, it is unquestionable that
the disciples were ignorant of its meaning.
“Then he took unto him the twelve, and said unto them, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem,…And they shall scourge him, and put him to death: and the third day he shall rise again. And
they (the disciples) understood none of these things: and this saying was hid from them, neither knew they the things which were spoken. – Luke 18:31-34. hmm... that's strange if the gospel of grace that came through a revelation of Jesus Christ to Paul and was a mystery prior to that has the
same exact content as the gospel of the kingdom. *This is where we need to RIGHTLY DIVIDE THE WORD OF TRUTH.
After his crucifixion, instead of anxiously waiting his resurrection, the apostles were still ignorant, disheartened at the death of their redeemer, and did not even at first believe the testimony of his resurrection (Mark 16:14, Luke 24:19-24).
It was not until
after his resurrection that Jesus appeared to the apostles and opened their understanding (Luke 24:44-47). If the gospel of the kingdom, prior to the cross has the exact same content as the gospel of grace after the cross, then Matthew 10:5-7; 16:21-22; Mark 16:14; Luke 18:31-34; 24:19-24, 44-47, along with Ephesians 3:1-9 would be superfluous.
In 1 Corinthians 15:1-4, Paul clearly states that the gospel is the "good news" of the
death, burial and resurrection of Christ and in Romans 1:16 said the gospel is the
power of God unto salvation to everyone that believes.. In this age, there is a distinctive element to the content of the gospel and is called "the mystery of the gospel" (see Ephesians 6:19 and compare with Colossians 1:26-27; 4:3). This new revelation is that the Gentiles are fellow-heirs and fellow-members of the same body, and fellow-partakers of the promise (Ephesians 3:6). Such equality, Jew and Gentile united together in one body (the body of Christ) was previously unknown. The distinctive message of the church is that Jews and Gentiles alike may believe the gospel and be united together/baptized by one Spirit into ONE BODY (Ephesians 1:13; 1 Corinthians 12:13). That certainly is good news!
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