Euagelion

 

Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” Passing alongside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew the brother of Simon casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men.” And immediately they left their nets and followed him. And going on a little farther, he saw James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, who were in their boat mending the nets. And immediately he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants and followed him. (Mark 1:14-20 ESV).

 

The Greek word euangelion (εὐαγγέλιον) is a compound word that means "good news". It's made up of the words eu, which means "good", and angelion, which means "announcement". In the Greco-Roman world, euangelion was used to describe or announce significant events, such as the rise of a new ruler or a military victory. It could also mean "a reward for bringing good news". It is the word we translate as “gospel” means “good news.” Good news is exciting; it normally triggers joyful responses like cheers and “high fives.” Picture your favorite team scoring in the last seconds of the game for the victory; picture a cancer patient being declared cancer free. That’s good news!

 

But we don’t always have good news in mind when we read the Bible. Often, we read the Bible more like good advice than good news. Or it may seem more like a stern warning or an important restriction. When our reading of Scripture sounds like anything other than good news, it’s usually a sign that we’re not reading very carefully. The Bible tells us what God has done to fix a problem that we could never fix on our own. While the Bible describes what we should do in response to what God has done, the main point of the story isn’t what we need to do, but rather what God has already done. The burden of pleasing God has been taken off our shoulders and transferred to Christ’s.

 

There are only two ways to respond to the Bible. One is to say, “I’ll try harder.” That’s how people often respond to good advice. The other is to say, “Thank you.” That’s how people often respond to good news. When you open the Bible, what do you find: good advice or good news? Join me in thanking God today! Jesus paid the debt we could never pay and died the death we deserved.