By Hunter Greene
What is the Gospel? This seems to be such a simple question. One that we should have learned in Sunday School as children. However, I am not so sure that we understand the Gospel in its entirety. Most of us would describe the Gospel as Jesus being born of a virgin, doing some miracles, going to trial, crucified for our sins, resurrecting the third day, and his promise to come back some day. Yet, we shall see that this does not fully encompass the Gospel that Jesus preached. 
So, what exactly was the Gospel that Jesus would have preached? Mark 1:9-15 gives us an idea. It reads, “And it came to pass in those days, that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized of John in Jordan. And straightway coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens opened, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon him: And there came a voice from heaven, saying, Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. And immediately the spirit driveth him into the wilderness. And he was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted of Satan; and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered unto him. Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.” Jesus was preaching the Gospel of the kingdom of God.
The word Gospel comes from the Greek word euangelion, which means simply “good news.” Jesus came to preach the good news that the Kingdom of God was at hand. His Gospel wasn’t that if you say a nice prayer and try to live right then you would one day experience the Kingdom of God. No, the message of Christ was that the long awaited reign of God had finally come.
But this is where it gets crazy. We believe in this Kingdom. Most of us call it Heaven. However, we tend to view Heaven as some futuristic, far-off land that we will one day receive. While this isn’t entirely wrong, it misses the point of Jesus. Jesus did not come to merely punch our tickets to a joy ride in paradise. He came to liberate us from the powers and influences of sin in our lives, communities, and societies.
In a sense, it is like Jesus time traveled. Jesus, who is well acquainted with the Kingdom of God, knows the perfection of Heaven that we have yet to see. When we look at the incarnation and the birth of Christ, we should see this future Kingdom breaking into our present time. Jesus who is the great I AM left Heaven, the place where God’s will is done, to enter into our world, where we live as our own gods.
Therefore, the good news that Jesus was preaching was not a retirement Gospel where we get peace, love, and joy one day after a life of hard work. Rather, Jesus was preaching a good news that was revolutionary. His Gospel said that the reign of God is now here. You don’t have to wait to love your enemies, you can do it now. You don’t have to wait to see the hungry become filled, you can do it now. You don’t have to wait to see the abolishment of weapons, you can do it now. The King of Heaven broke into our present time that we may be empowered to be time travelers with Him.
Jesus told Pilate that His Kingdom was not of this world, and neither is yours. We are now citizens of Heaven living in a completely different era than the era that the world is living in. If the world thinks we are weird, it is because they can’t fathom this future home in which we are already living. They don’t understand why we love our neighbors as ourselves. They don’t understand why we feed the hungry, visit the prisons, and welcome strangers with open arms. The Kingdom of Heaven doesn’t make sense to those who live in the present day.
I hope you see the transformative power of this good news. This isn’t a behavior modification program where you learn to be a good person. This isn’t a production where we get to dress up like Christians and play some part. This good news of God is that He has liberated us from the bondage of our present age (the racism, the greed, the oppression, the violence) that we may start living in a millennium in which we have not yet seen in its fullest. The Kingdom of God is not yet here in its entirety, but rest assured that God’s reign has indeed began.
Jesus tells us in Matthew 6:33, “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” Stop waiting for death to come whisk you off to some “better place” and start living in the Kingdom that God has already brought to us. The world doesn’t understand it. Furthermore, they hate it. There is a reason Jesus was crucified: our ways of life are not too compatible with the ways of God. Nevertheless, let us live and pray that God’s will be done here on earth, just like it is in Heaven.
(The Solution Column is provided by Pastor Brandon Young of Harmony Free Will Baptist Church, Hampton, and his associate, Hunter Greene)