What is the Gospel?

There is a common misconception about what the Gospel actually is. Many think that it is: "Jesus died for you and has a wonderful plan for your life." Many think it is salvation. Ironically, I don't think that the Jesus presented the Gospel in either of these lights.

Gospel by definition simply means "good news." So the question that I will pose is this: "What is the good news that Jesus brought to earth?

Lets take a look at what the Bible has to say about The Gospel:

1. Matthew 4:23 - 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.
2. Matthew 4:17 - From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
3. Matthew 9:35 - Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.
4. Matthew 24:14 - And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.
5. Mark 1:14-15 - 14 Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, 15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.”
6. Luke 4:17-21 - 17 And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written: 18 “ The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me, To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives, And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed; 19 To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD.”
   20 Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him. 21 And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”
7. Luke 16:14-17 - 14 Now the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, also heard all these things, and they derided Him. 15 And He said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God. 16 “The law and the prophets were until John. Since that time the kingdom of God has been preached, and everyone is pressing into it. 17 And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one tittle of the law to fail.

It appears from the scriptures above that the Gospel Jesus taught was "of the Kingdom (of God)". The funny thing is that Jesus didn't mention anything that is currently popular as what the Gospel is. Jesus didn't ask anyone to say a prayer, raise their hand, come forward or anything. One time he did tell someone who was asking how to come into the Kingdom, to go and sell all that he had and give it to the poor. That's a little unorthodox, and probably wouldn't be well received during an alter call at my church!