Q-A: What was the Gospel in Jesus' day? (Part.1)
John the Baptist and Jesus preached the "gospel of the kingdom." The good news was to get ready, (to repent and get baptized), as the prophesied Millennial Kingdom was at hand. Why? Because the King of the kingdom had come.
Mark 1:14-15 Now after John had been taken into custody, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, 15 and saying, "The time is fulfilled (Gal 4:4), and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel".
Do you see anything about the cross, about the blood, about the death and resurrection of Christ in the Kingdom Gospel? No! So, how did a person become a believer and obtain righteousness in Jesus' day?
There were four conditions to becoming saved in Jesus' day. Please note that all four of these conditions DO NOT apply in the Grace Gospel of today. I am only listing these for comparison purposes for when we deal with our Grace Gospel that is applicable to this day and age (which I will discuss in Part 2 of this lesson. So, lets have a look at what these four conditions were and analyze them more closely.
First, one had to obey the commandments;
In Matthew 19, a rich young Jewish ruler comes to Jesus and asks what he must do to have eternal life. The first thing that Jesus enquires about is if he had been obeying the Mosaic laws. This was a requisite, and part of the works* conditions of the Kingdom gospel.
Matthew 19:16-17 Now behold, one came and said to Him, "Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?" 17 So He said to him, "Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. ... But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments [obey the Law]."
Matthew 5:20 For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.
Second, it was necessary for a person to repent (Matthew 3:2, 4:17; Mark 1:15; 6:12; Luke 13:3, 5, Acts 2:38; Acts 3:19).
Repentance, according to Jewish doctrine, is indicated in Hebrew as "teshubah" (lit. "return"; from the verb). This implies: All transgression and sin are the natural and inevitable consequence of man's straying from God and His laws. Therefore, forsake your ways and return to the Lord.
Third, believing the gospel required that one believe the good news that Jesus was the promised Messiah of Israel (ie: Believe in His Identity!).
John 20:31 But these are written that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you [all Israel] might Have Life [Gk., Zoë, God's Spirit life] through HIS NAME [his identity].
Luke 12:8 "Also I say to you, whoever confesses Me before men, him the Son of Man also will confess before the angels of God. 9 But he who denies Me before men will be denied before the angels of God.
Matthew 16:16 Simon Peter answered and said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."
John 11:27 She said to Him, "Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world."
Acts 8:37 Then Philip said, "If you believe with all your heart, you may." And he answered and said, "I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God."
Acts 9:20 Immediately he [Paul] preached the Christ in the synagogues, that He is the Son of God.
Believing in Jesus according to the gospel of the kingdom meant believing Who He was, i.e., believing in His name (John 3:18; Acts 2:21, 38, 3:6, 16, 4:7, 10, 12, 17, 18, 30, 5:28, 40, 41, 8:12, 16, 9:14, 15, 21, 27, 10:43, 48). The gospel of the kingdom focused upon the identity of Christ. This gospel included the fact that Jesus was about to establish the long-prophesied kingdom upon earth.
Acts 1:6 Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, "Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?"
Fourth, as was made clear from the ministry of John the Baptist, one needed to be baptized in water* as a sign of repentance and preparation for priesthood (Matt 3:5-6,11; Mark 1:4-5; Luke 3:3,12; Luke 7:29-30; John 1:33; John 3:23).
Mark 1:4-5 John came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. 5 Then all the land of Judea, and those from Jerusalem, went out to him and were all baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins.
This requirement of water baptism continued throughout Jesus' ministry and into the ministry of the Twelve following Jesus' resurrection (see Acts 2:38). Water baptism was a requirement in the Kingdom gospel (the gospel for the Jews) as it was part of the preparation of priesthood (Exodus 19:6) as all Jews in the Millennial Kingdom would stand in that priestly position (Romans 15:15-17) as the "go-between" for the Gentile nations and Jesus Christ. Since Gentiles do not fulfil this priestly role, baptism is not a requirement for salvation in the Grace gospel.
The format of the Gospel at this point in time under the Law: Priestly sacrifice + Law (as works*) + repent, be baptized and have a faith confession that Jesus (who was revealed as a servant) was the Son of God (and the King of the Kingdom).
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