The goodness of Christ brought a new force into Jewish religion, one that changed the nature of it. Judaism was formal, ceremonial, mainly an exter- nal worship. Its prophets had striven to kindle it into a moral and spiritual faith. But prophet and priest had stood apart. In Christ the middle wall was broken down, and into the old religion was poured the new spirit. Henceforth religion could not be separate from the moral (life. A man could not be imrighteous, an evil-doer, and yet be religious. Goodness became a .synonym for true
and undctiled religion. For man, having once seen the perfect manhood of the Christ, and felt His power to overcome sin and death, had gained a vision of religion that might perpetuate .such a type, and the vision would not lightly fade. Through failures from within and tyrannies from without the Christian would bear witness to his Lord and to his faith, by a life of goodness modelled on that of his Master. This was the highest evid- ence he could otter of the Divine Incarnation.
Edgar Daplyn. GOODWILL.— See Complacency, p. 356''.
GOSPEL. — 'Gospel' is the modern form of the Anglo-Saxon word ' godspell,' representing the Greek word ei;o77A(0!'. Formerly it was thought to be the literal translation, meaning 'good-story.' But now it is generally accepted as meaning ' God- story.' eua776Xioj' was originally used for 'the reward of good tiilings,' and traces of this usage are found in l,.\'X : ef. i S 4'"'. But the word came to (leiiiite the 'j;ii(hI tiiliii;:s' themselves; and this is tlie ( 'liristian usage. It may be noted here that Dalman (Tim Words of Jesus, p. 103) says : ' In the verb nU'3, which must be assumed to be the original Aramaic expression, the idea of glad tidings is not so inherent as in the Greek eva-fy(\liea8a.i. Even in the OT (1 S 4") ib'3 is used of mournful tidings. ... It thus appears that the sovereignty of God is the content of a "message" or " tiding.s," and not without further qualification of " a message of glad tidings." ' It would seem, however, that the choice of the Greek verb ivo.yye\i((iT8ai., as well as the con- texts of the word in the Gospels, provide that 'further qualification.'
1. The source for the Christian usage is found in Isaiah. In 61' tho prophet describes the function of the Servant of Jahweh (or perhaps his own function) in these words : ' The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me ; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek. . . .' The word is eiayyeXlaaaeai. The meek are the exiles in Babylon. Good tidings are announced to them. (i<Hl is coming to save them, and He is near. It is tlie acceptable year of the Lord, when He sliiill ileli\er His peop'le from their enemies and restore llieiii to their native land. A simOar reference occurs in 52'. A messenger hastens to Jerusalem, a.s she sits in the dust of her ruins, bringing ' good tidings. ' The exiles are to return to her, and she shall be inhabited again by her long- lost children. These instances exhibit clearly the meaning ' good tidings ' ; and both are claimed in NT to describe the Christian message. St. Paul quotes Is 52' in Eo 10'^ ; and Jesus makes Is 61' the text for His sern-on at Nazareth (Lk 4'*).
This use of the wor.l by Jesus stamps it at once with its Christian signiacance. ' He began to say. To-day hath this scripture been fulfilled in your ears.' He claimed to be a preacher of good tidings to the poor. The poor, the captives, the blind, the bruised, are no longer political exiles. They are the bond-servants of sin, those who waited for the consolation of Israel, the poor and outca.st to whom Judaism had no message of hope. He is Jahweh's Anointed sent to bring good tidings of great joy to all the people (Lk 2'*'). This descrip- tion of His mission seems to have endeared itself
to the heart of Jesus. He made fre(juent use of the word, and soon after the rejection in Nazareth He described His Messianic function by it : 'I must preach the good tidings of the kingdom of God to the other cities also ; for therefore was I .sent' (Lk 4"). In particular, Jpsns a|>pvo]iriated
the name 'gospel' for the cuntenis oi Hi- ss.ige.
This was His description of it li.ini the li.L.'inning of His ministry. St. Mark sum- u|. i I..1L l.i -inning thus: 'Jesus came into Galilee preiuhiiig the
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GOSPEL
gospel of God, and saying, The time is fullilled and the kingdom of God is at hand ; repent ye and believe in the gospel.' There are many proofs that Jesus used this word 'gospel' to describe His message ; cf. Mt 24'-' 26", Mk 1« S^ 10=9 13'», Lk T" II. It is not surprising, therefore, that the word came into general Christian use to describe the contents of the preaching of Jesus. All the Synoptics reflect this usage. In Acts and the Epistles it is an established custom. 'The gospel' became the nomial Christian title for the message which Jesus came to proclaim, and which He sent forth the Apostles to preach to every creature.