St Andrews Encyclopaedia of Theology (Jun 2023)
Gospel, Good News
Abstract
The New Testament gospel, or ‘good news’, is especially the announcement of Jesus’ saving death and resurrection. The New Testament explains that it is ‘according to the scriptures.’ This means that this good news must be understood in light of the backstory of God’s saving acts in history. It also means that it must be understood especially in light of the Old Testament prophetic promise of future restoration effected through Jesus the Messiah. This article surveys some suggested background for the primary early Christian use of ‘gospel’, some key New Testament uses of the terms translated as ‘gospel’ and ‘preach the gospel’, the development and relevance of this gospel for the first-century Gospel texts, and (briefly) some of the language’s subsequent interpretations and applications.
