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".