Gospel

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GOSPEL

GOSPEL . As a word in the English language, gōspel represents Middle English terminology derived from the Old English godspel (from gōd, "good," and spel, "story"). "Gospel" is the common translation of the Late Latin evangelium, which is a virtual transliteration of the Greek euaggelion. In classical Greek, euaggelion designated everything connected with the euaggelos, the bearer of good news (from eu, "well," and aggelos, "messenger, one who announces"). Initially euaggelion designated the reward given to the messenger who brought happy news (see Homer, Odyssey 14.152–153). In the plural the term euaggelia was used to designate the offerings to the gods made in thanksgiving upon the reception of good news (e.g., Xenophon, Historia Graeca 4.13.14). Later euaggelion came to be used for the content of the message, the good news itself, usually an announcement of a military victory.

Euaggelion occasionally entered into religious use, where its connotation was derived from oracular usage. Within this context, euaggelion signified a divine utterance, but the term was also used in the cult of the emperors. There it enjoyed a mythical quality. Anything having to do with the emperor could be qualified as euaggelion, particularly imperial birth announcements and news of the emperor's ascension to the throne, but even imperial decrees. A significant passage in this regard is a calendar inscription (9 bce) from Priene in Asia Minor that comments upon the birth of the emperor Augustus. This passage is usually translated "For the whole world the birthday of the [emperor] god began the joyful news [euaggeliōn, a genitive plural] in his regard," but the passage is mutilated, and the Greek euaggeliōn may just as well refer to "joyful sacrifices" instead of "joyful news."

Hellenistic Jewish authors, such as Philo of Alexandria (d. 45–50 ce) and Josephus Flavius (37–c. 100 ce), used euaggelion with a secular connotation. The term was also employed by the translators of the Greek Bible (the Septuagint), who used euaggelion to render the Hebrew bsr. In the Hebrew scriptures bsr is used only in a secular sense. Euaggelion likewise has only a profane meaning in the Septuagint. There euaggelion is used of the reward given to a messenger in 2 Samuel 18:22 and of a joyous message in 2 Samuel 18:20 (likewise 2 Sm. 4:10, 18:25, 18:27; 2 Kgs. 7:9).

The Septuagint

In the Septuagint (a Greek translation of the Hebrew scriptures), the verb euaggelizein, cognate with euaggelion, is commonly used in the profane sense with the meaning "to announce." In "Second Isaiah" (Is. 40:9, 52:7, 60:6, 61:1), however, and in some texts dependent upon it (Na. 1:15; Ps. 68:11, 96:2), euaggelizein specifically connotes the announcement of the good news of salvation. The messenger of good news (euaggelizomenos ) announces that the time of salvation is at hand, that Yahveh will reign as king, that a new age is about to dawn. Within this context the use of the verb acquires an eschatological connotation. The era of salvation is made present by the announcement of it. Neither "Second Isaiah" nor the dependent texts use the noun euaggelion in this eschatological, salvific sense.

The notion of the bearer of the good news of salvation persisted in both Hellenistic and Palestinian Judaism (see the Targum on Isaiah 40:9 as well as 1QM 18:14 from among the Dead Sea Scrolls). The mid-first-century Psalms of Solomon (11:1–2) uses euaggelizein in the eschatological sense, while in postbiblical Judaism bsr and its cognate verb refer not only to concrete historical news but also to prophetic messages of weal and woe, angelic messages, and divine announcements of consolation and blessing.

New Testament

Within the New Testament, euaggelion is used far more frequently by Paul than by any other author (forty-eight times in the indisputably Pauline writings). His writings are the first literary attestation to the Christian usage of the term. It is characteristic of Paul that he uses the term in an absolute sense and without any qualifying adjective. To some authors this suggests that Paul first gave a Christian connotation to the term euaggelion, while to others it implies that Paul had taken over an earlier Christian usage. In any event, there is little doubt that the term acquired its Christian significance in a Hellenistic environment. While some scholars maintain that the early Christian usage was derived from emperor worship, the more common opinion locates the roots of the Christian use of euaggelion in "Second Isaiah."

Paul

In the Pauline letters two passages confirm the thesis that Paul has taken over the absolute use of euaggelion from early Christian usage. The passages in question are 1 Corinthians 15:1–4 and Romans 1:1–4. In his first letter to the Corinthians, Paul uses classic language to describe the handing on of traditional teaching and employs euaggelion to identify the content of that teaching. Paul explicates the content of the euaggelion by citing a creedal formula, probably derived from Palestinian Christian circles, that focuses on the death and resurrection of Jesus. In the opening verses of the letter to the Romans, the content of the gospel is the disclosure of Jesus as the Son of God and the Lord by his resurrection from the dead. Thus, for Paul, the basic content of the gospel is the resurrection by means of which Jesus is constituted as Lord. This is understood as the fulfillment of the scriptural promise. Paul sometimes (e.g., 1 Cor. 9:12, 2 Cor. 2:12) calls it the gospel of Christ (euaggelion tou Christou ) because the good news of salvation has Christ as its central object.

In the writings of Paul, euaggelion also defines the oral proclamation of the missionary (e.g., 2 Cor. 8:19, Phil. 4:15). In 1 Corinthians 9:14, Paul uses the word in two senses, that is, as his message and as the act of proclamation. The act of proclamation involves more than recitation of a creedal formula or recital of the traditional kerygma on Jesus' death and resurrection. Paul's whole person is involved (see 1 Thes. 1:5, 2:8). His proclamation is the work of an apostle "approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel" (1 Thes. 2:4). Paul writes succinctly of "my gospel" (Rom. 2:16) or "our gospel" (2 Cor. 4:3). Those who receive his message receive it "not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work" (1 Thes. 1:13). For Paul, the gospel is the "gospel of God" (e.g., 1 Thes. 1:9, 2 Cor. 11:7) because it comes from God and is about God's work. Coming from God, the gospel is powerful. Its proclamation brings about the eschatological era of salvation; it implies the ending of one world order and the beginning of a new one.

Mark

Both in understanding of the term euaggelion and in frequency of its usage (seven times), Mark is similar to Paul. This does not imply a direct dependence of Mark on Paul, because both of them reflect earlier Christian missionary usage. Mark, however, uses only euaggelion, the noun, and not the related verb. For Mark, euaggelion is a technical expression used to denote the kerygmatic announcement of salvation. Jesus is the subject of the gospel insofar as he proclaimed the coming of the kingdom of God (Mk. 1:15). When proclamation occurs, that which is proclaimed becomes a reality. Accordingly, the activity of Jesus became the object of the gospel. Mark editorializes on the tradition he has incorporated into his work in order to affirm that the gospel relates to that which has been done in and through Jesus. Mark emphasizes this notion by opening his work with "The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God" (Mk. 1:1). This striking statement brings into focus a point of view even if it does not, strictly speaking, function as a title for the entire work.

Matthew and Luke

Neither Matthew nor Luke employs euaggelion so frequently as does Mark, and the Johannine literature does not use the term at all. Matthew uses the term four times but never without further qualification. He writes of "the gospel of the kingdom" (Mt. 4:23, 9:35), of "this gospel" (Mt. 26:13), and of "this gospel of the kingdom" (Mt. 24:14). In all four instances Matthew uses euaggelion in relation to a speech complex. For him Jesus is no longer the content of the gospel; instead, he is the communicator of the gospel. The speeches of Jesus are "gospels." Matthew's emphasis is on Jesus' preaching and teaching as providing a paradigm for the Christian way of life.

Luke does not use euaggelion at all in the first part of his written work, but it appears twice in Acts (15:7, 20:24). Nonetheless, Luke employs the verb euaggelizomai ("I bring the good news") frequently both in his gospel (ten times) and in Acts (fifteen times). By doing so, Luke emphasizes the act of preaching, which is then explained by the direct object that accompanies the verb. He sharply distinguishes the preaching of the apostles from Jesus' own preaching. Willi Marxsen has suggested that Luke deliberately avoided using euaggelion in the first part of his work because instead of giving a record of the church's proclamation he was writing a type of "life of Jesus."

The Written Gospel

The general Pauline usage of euaggelion to mean the proclamation of salvation as concretized in the death and resurrection of Jesus continued into the second century as the writings of Polycarp of Smyrna (Letter to the Philippians 9.2) and the Didache (12.3.1) attest. Aristides of Athens, the first of the Christian apologists, once mentions the "evangelical writing" (euaggelikē graphē ), and Ignatius of Antioch intimates that the gospel was a written text when he wrote to the church of Smyrna that neither "the prophetic predictions nor the law of Moses nor the gospel" has convinced his opponents (Letter to the Smyrneans 5.1).

Even when euaggelion came to be applied to a written text, the word continued to be employed in the singular, and this use of the singular was still widespread in the third century. The usage bespeaks the conviction that the gospel was identical with the teaching of the Lord. This usage is reflected in the formulaic expression "the Lord says in the gospel" (e.g., 2 Clem. 8:5), but it is also reflected in the titles of the Gospels. The earliest parchment codices of the New Testament, namely, the fourth-century Sinaiticus and Vaticanus codices, entitled the Gospels "according to Matthew," "according to Mark," and so on. This manner of providing each of the written gospels with a title suggests that euaggelion applied to the whole collection of the four canonical gospels. Nonetheless, three of the early New Testament papyri have made use of more complete titles: Gospel according to Matthew (P⁴) and Gospel according to John (P⁶⁶, P⁷⁵). Even this is a strange turn of phrase if the sole intention is to designate authorship. These titles seem to suggest that the single gospel was narrated according to the vision of a specific evangelist. There was only one message of final, eschatological salvation, namely, salvation accomplished through the death and resurrection of Jesus, but the message could be conveyed in different ways.

In the middle of the second century, Justin Martyr (c. 100–163/5), writing in Rome, was the first Christian author to write of the Gospels in the plural (euaggelia ). In his First Apology (c. 155) and his Dialogue with the Jew Trypho he refers to the "memoirs of the Apostles" on some fifteen occasions. The first time he mentions the memoirs, he adds by way of explanation "which are called gospels" (hatina kaleitai euaggelia; Apol. 1.66.3). In two other places, however, he retains the singular use of euaggelion (Dial. 10.2, 100.1). At the time of Clement of Alexandria (150?–215?) the euaggelion was understood to be a book on the system of Christian morality. Subsequently the term was also applied to the so-called apocryphal gospels, the oldest of which come from the second century.

The transference of euaggelion from the designation of an oral proclamation to a written text—a usage that most probably derives from the first verse of Mark—attests that these texts had the same content and purpose as the oral proclamation. Both the oral proclamation of the gospel and the written gospel speak of eschatological salvation accomplished in the life and death of Jesus of Nazareth. Far from being biographies of Jesus, the four canonical gospels attest to his preaching and to his activity in the light of his death and resurrection. The historical traditions they contain are subordinated to their religious and kerygmatic purpose. They were written to evoke and/or confirm faith in Jesus as Christ and Lord (see Jn. 20:31). The central content of the gospel is one, even if it is attested in documents written by different authors.

Later Usage of the Term

At the time of the continental Reformation, Martin Luther (1483–1546) sharply distinguished between the law and the gospel. The law makes demands and provokes anxiety; the gospel bestows grace and brings consolation. From his study of Romans 1:16–17, where Paul writes of the gospel as "the power of God for salvation … for in it the righteousness of God is revealed through faith for faith," Luther concluded that justification did not depend on outward obedience to the law. Although the content of the law is the unchangeable will of God, the law brings humans before the throne of judgment. The first use of the law deters people from sin by fear of punishment; a second use makes even believers conscious of their sin. In contrast, the gospel, appropriated through faith, reveals the saving love of God, assures believers of justifying grace, and offers a promise of the forgiveness of sins.

In modern times, preaching the gospel is characteristic of Christian missionary endeavors throughout the world. Gospel faith is popularly associated with evangelical preaching and the view that Jesus is one's personal savior. The reading of a passage from one of the four canonical gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John ) is a key feature of worship services of the more liturgically oriented Christian churches. Frequently the excerpt that is read is simply referred to as "the gospel."

Bibliography

The most comprehensive study of the term euaggelion remains the article "Euaggelion" written by Gerhard Friedrich for the Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, edited by Gerhard Kittel, vol. 2 (Grand Rapids, Mich., 1964), pp. 721–736. The original German text was first published in 1935. Significant contributions to the knowledge of Paul's understanding of the gospel are Peter Stuhlmacher's Das paulinischer Evangelium, in the series "Forschungen zur Religion und Literatur des Alten und Neuen Testament," vol. 95 (Göttingen, 1968), and Ernst Käsemann's Commentary on Romans (Grand Rapids, Mich., 1980), pp. 6–10. An analytic study of Mark's understanding of euaggelion is Willi Marxsen's Mark the Evangelist (Nashville, 1969), pp. 117–150. In this study Marxsen also compares the use of the term by Matthew and Luke with that by Mark. In his Studies in the Gospel of Mark (London, 1985) Martin Hengel examines the Markan use (pp. 53–58) as well as the titles of the Gospels (pp. 64–84). Useful studies of the gospel as a Hellenistic literary genre are G. N. Stanton's Jesus of Nazareth in New Testament Preaching (London, 1974), pp. 117–136, and Charles H. Talbert's What Is a Gospel? The Genre of the Canonical Gospels (Philadelphia, 1977). A good introduction to Luther's understanding of the difference between law and gospel has been given by Gerhard Ebeling in chapter 7 of his Luther: An Introduction to His Thought (Philadelphia, 1970).