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The Gospel Before Jesus Died · Pastor John Piper's answers

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  Speaker 1: If you are reading the Bible with us as we
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  Speaker 1: begin our October readings, we are in Hebrews chapters 9, 10,
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  Speaker 1: and 11. I love these chapters as we marvel once
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  Speaker 1: again at the atonement of Christ and how he fulfilled
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  Speaker 1: the whole sacrificial system of the Old Testament with all
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  Speaker 1: of its priestly activities and purity rituals and animal sacrifices,
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  Speaker 1: blood atonement. Every one of those Old Testament temple rituals
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  Speaker 1: was pointing right at Christ in his sacrifice for us
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  Speaker 1: on Sunday. All pointing to Christ, our high priest, who
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  Speaker 1: entered once for all into the holy places, not by
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  Speaker 1: means of the blood of goats and calves, but by
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  Speaker 1: means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption
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  Speaker 1: for us. That's Hebrews 12.12, and it is a glorious reminder.
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  Speaker 1: But here's the dilemma today. Before the cross, and before
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  Speaker 1: Hebrews could be written about the death of Christ, Jesus
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  Speaker 1: was already preaching the gospel during his earthly ministry. In fact,
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  Speaker 1: in the very first chapter of Mark, we're told that
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  Speaker 1: he was proclaiming the gospel. And in Luke 4.18, we
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  Speaker 1: read that Christ was anointed to preach the good news,
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  Speaker 1: which is strange. So if the gospel is the cross,
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  Speaker 1: what gospel was Jesus preaching? That's today on Ask Pastor John,
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  Speaker 1: the gospel before Jesus died. It's the observation of a
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  Speaker 1: podcast listener named Frank. Pastor John, thank you for Ask
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  Speaker 1: Pastor John. I listen every week without missing an episode. Wonderful.
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  Speaker 1: Thank you, Frank. Here's my question for you. When Jesus
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  Speaker 1: sent out the 72 2x2, as we read about in
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  Speaker 1: Luke 10, verses 1 to 12, they obviously didn't have
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  Speaker 1: the gospel to share, not a gospel of the crucified Savior.
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  Speaker 1: So they shared a gospel of the kingdom. And then
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  Speaker 1: I see earlier at the very beginning of Jesus's ministry,
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  Speaker 1: according to Mark, quote, Jesus came into Galilee proclaiming the
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  Speaker 1: gospel of God. and saying, the time is fulfilled and
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  Speaker 1: the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe
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  Speaker 1: in the gospel, end quote. So before Calvary, what was
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  Speaker 1: this gospel and did it save people?
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  Speaker 2: Let's work our way step by step to build a
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  Speaker 2: biblical definition of the gospel before Good Friday, before the
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  Speaker 2: death of Jesus. And let's do it by seeing how
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  Speaker 2: the Bible itself actually uses the word gospel and gives
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  Speaker 2: explicit indications in the context of what is included in it.
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  Speaker 2: Frank is assuming, as I do, that at the heart
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  Speaker 2: of the gospel is the death of Jesus Christ as
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  Speaker 2: a substitute for sinners, 1 Corinthians 15.3. Christ died for
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  Speaker 2: our sins in accordance with the Scriptures. He was buried.
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  Speaker 2: He was raised on the third day in accordance with
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  Speaker 2: the Scriptures. Paul calls that the preeminent truth, the gospel.
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  Speaker 2: And since the death of Christ for our sins and
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  Speaker 2: his resurrection are at the very core of the good news,
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  Speaker 2: what was the good news before It happened before he,
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  Speaker 2: in fact, did die and rise again, because the word gospel.
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  Speaker 1: Is used there.
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  Speaker 2: One essential element— let' s just go step by step— one essential element
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  Speaker 2: of the gospel is that God exists. Now, this is
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  Speaker 2: so obvious, they almost never mentioned it, that he exists
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  Speaker 2: as the creator of the world. But We can see
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  Speaker 2: this as an essential part of the gospel. If there's
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  Speaker 2: no God, there's no gospel, right? But we can see
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  Speaker 2: it in Acts 14, 15, when he tells the men
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  Speaker 2: of Lystra to turn from their idols.
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  Speaker 1: He says, men....
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  Speaker 2: We bring you good news. There's the gospel. We bring
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  Speaker 2: you good news that you should turn from these vain
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  Speaker 2: things to a living God who made the heaven and
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  Speaker 2: the earth and the sea and all that is in them.
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  Speaker 2: So if there were no God, and if he were
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  Speaker 2: not the creator, then the whole idea of divine good
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  Speaker 2: news would make no sense. So that's number one. The
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  Speaker 2: next aspect of the gospel that becomes clear before Christ dies,
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  Speaker 2: is that God is king. King over Israel, king over
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  Speaker 2: the world, and he is at this moment, that is
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  Speaker 2: at the moment that Jesus is ministering on the earth,
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  Speaker 2: breaking into history to establish the kingdom. Mark 1.14, Jesus
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  Speaker 2: came into Galilee and proclaiming the gospel of God and saying,
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  Speaker 2: the time is fulfilled. The kingdom, that is the rule
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  Speaker 2: of God, is at hand. Repent and believe the gospel.
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  Speaker 2: So the gospel includes the good news that this creator
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  Speaker 2: God is at hand in the ministry of Jesus, is
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  Speaker 2: at hand to establish his reign. Now, why is that
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  Speaker 2: good news? It's good news because of Isaiah 52. How
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  Speaker 2: beautiful on the mountains are the feet of him who
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  Speaker 2: brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news
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  Speaker 2: of happiness, who publishes salvation. So notice those great words, peace, happiness, salvation,
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  Speaker 2: who says to Zion, your God is reigns. That's what
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  Speaker 2: Jesus was saying with the words, the kingdom of God
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  Speaker 2: is at hand. The good news of peace and happiness
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  Speaker 2: and salvation is here. So the gospel includes God as
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  Speaker 2: the creator, he's the king of the world, his reign
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  Speaker 2: as the king is arriving now, and that reign includes
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  Speaker 2: happiness and peace and salvation for all who, Jesus says, repent.
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  Speaker 2: and believe that good news, trust that good news, trust
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  Speaker 2: their lives to that good news. Then comes a crucial
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  Speaker 2: part of the pre-Good Friday gospel, namely Jesus himself. Jesus
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  Speaker 2: is the presence of God's reign and is himself God's
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  Speaker 2: way of bringing salvation. And we learn this from the
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  Speaker 2: angels As soon as Jesus is born, fear not, for behold,
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  Speaker 2: I bring you good news of great joy. There it is.
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  Speaker 2: Good news.
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  Speaker 1: Gospel.
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  Speaker 2: I bring you gospel of great joy, which will be
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  Speaker 2: for all the people. For unto you this day in
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  Speaker 2: the city of David is born a Savior who is
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  Speaker 2: Christ the Lord. That's how the kingdom is coming. Jesus
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  Speaker 2: is the Savior. Jesus is the Messiah, Christ. Jesus is
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  Speaker 2: the Lord, God himself, Emmanuel, God present with us. So
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  Speaker 2: when it says the kingdom of God is at hand,
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  Speaker 2: repent and believe this good news, it implies believe on Jesus, Savior, King, Lord.
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  Speaker 2: And now the question is, well, how will he be Savior?
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  Speaker 2: How is this kingdom going to come? What will the
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  Speaker 2: good news really look like? And Jesus gives the answer
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  Speaker 2: in Mark 10.45 and John 10.11. The Son of Man
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  Speaker 2: came not to be served, but to serve and to
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  Speaker 2: give his life as a ransom for many. He said
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  Speaker 2: that before he died. I am the good shepherd. The
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  Speaker 2: good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. Before
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  Speaker 2: Jesus died, he was telling them how this coming of
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  Speaker 2: the kingdom and the King Jesus would be a salvation,
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  Speaker 2: a happiness, a peace. It would be because he gave
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  Speaker 2: a ransom. It would be because he laid down his life.
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  Speaker 2: And this was prophesied in the Old Testament. This is
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  Speaker 2: not brand new news. He was pierced for our transgressions.
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  Speaker 2: He was crushed for our iniquities. Upon him was the
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  Speaker 2: chastisement that made us whole, and with his wounds we
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  Speaker 2: are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray. We've
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  Speaker 2: turned everyone to his own way. The Lord has laid
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  Speaker 2: on him the iniquity of us all. In other words,
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  Speaker 2: the death of Christ as a substitutionary atonement for sins
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  Speaker 2: was not first announced after Good Friday. It was part
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  Speaker 2: of the gospel before Good Friday. And so was the resurrection.
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  Speaker 2: No one takes my life from me. Jesus said that
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  Speaker 2: before he died and rose. No one takes my life
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  Speaker 2: from me. I lay it down of my own accord.
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  Speaker 2: I have authority to lay it down. I have authority
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  Speaker 2: to take it up again. Over and over he predicted
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  Speaker 2: his resurrection on the third day. So the gospel includes
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  Speaker 2: God as the creator. He's the king of the world.
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  Speaker 2: His reign as king is arriving now. It's arriving as
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  Speaker 2: happiness and peace. and salvation. It is coming through the
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  Speaker 2: arrival of God's Son, Messiah, Jesus Christ, who will be
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  Speaker 2: the Savior and Lord, and he will accomplish this happiness,
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  Speaker 2: this peace with God, this salvation and and establish his
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  Speaker 2: reign by giving his life as a ransom for sinners
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  Speaker 2: and rising again. All that was in place as the
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  Speaker 2: gospel before Christ died. And if we ask, how much
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  Speaker 2: did various people understand in order to be saved? Because
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  Speaker 2: people were saved. by the death of Christ, before the
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  Speaker 2: death of Christ. We know that from Romans 3.25. The
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  Speaker 2: best way to answer that question, I think, is to
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  Speaker 2: say people genuinely embraced Christ with very different levels of understanding.
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  Speaker 2: And whether that initial faith was real and saving with
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  Speaker 2: its imperfect understandings, Proved was proved. Whether it was real
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  Speaker 2: was proved by whether a person kept on embracing the
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  Speaker 2: gospel as more and more of it was revealed to them.
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  Speaker 2: And I think that's exactly the way it is today.
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  Speaker 2: My goodness, isn't it wonderful and amazing that God is
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  Speaker 2: merciful to save so many people with different kinds of
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  Speaker 2: of fragmentary and often distorted views of the gospel. I mean,
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  Speaker 2: just think around the world of the various inadequacies and
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  Speaker 2: distortions that the gospel has, and in and through it,
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  Speaker 2: God reveals himself to people in true ways. God can
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  Speaker 2: see the genuineness of the faith, and then it is
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  Speaker 2: proved to be real or false by whether a person
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  Speaker 2: embraces more and more of the gospel as it is
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  Speaker 2: revealed to them. That's why people sometimes speak of feeling like,
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  Speaker 2: I've just had a second conversion, because they saw something
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  Speaker 2: that they hadn't seen before. And it's wonderful. But my
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  Speaker 2: guess is that's because there was a true seed of
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  Speaker 2: Holy Spirit faith in them so that they were made
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  Speaker 2: ready and docile to see that new dimension. So let's
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  Speaker 2: keep sharing the gospel, no matter how fragmentary, no matter
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  Speaker 2: how inadequate we feel. And let's keep on believing as
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  Speaker 2: we understand more and more.
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  Speaker 1: Amen. Yeah, God saves sinners through all sorts of fragments
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  Speaker 1: of the gospel. That is so true. And this is
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  Speaker 1: just a really solid Bible question, Frank. Thank you for
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  Speaker 1: sending it in to us. And thank you for walking
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  Speaker 1: us through all those Bible texts one by one, Pastor John.
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  Speaker 1: as I was listening, following with you through this episode,
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  Speaker 1: I was just reminded of the seven principles that you use,
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  Speaker 1: Pastor John, to find the meaning of a Bible text.
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  Speaker 1: And I see many of those demonstrated in this episode
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  Speaker 1: as I see your mind processing the text. Those seven
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  Speaker 1: stages of discovery are explained elsewhere. You can actually find
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  Speaker 1: that list in the Ask Pastor John book on pages
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  Speaker 1: 9 and 10, early in the book, pages 9 and 10,
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  Speaker 1: on the seven strategies of discovery that help to unlock
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  Speaker 1: the meaning of a Bible text. when we have a
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  Speaker 1: question about the text in our minds like Frank had today.
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  Speaker 1: Very helpful. Well, should we apologize for something we don't
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  Speaker 1: feel sorry about? Should we apologize for something we don't
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  Speaker 1: feel sorry about? The place of conviction of sin and apology.
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  Speaker 1: That's up next time. I'm Tony Reinke. We'll see you
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  Speaker 1: back here on Monday.