2. But closer examination shows that the term was not used by the Evangelists to describe all that Jesus said ; nor was the verb ' preach good tidings ' descriptive of all His work. In Mt. this sentence occurs twice : ' Jesus went about in all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preach- ing the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of disease and all manner of sickness among the people' (4^ 9^). It seems to be an accepted formula summarizing the work of Jesus. It contains three main words — 'teaching,' 'preacli- ing,' 'healing.' The same distinctions are noticed elsewhere. St. Luke di.stinguishes ' teaching ' and ' preaching the gospel ' (20') ; and in 9= he tells that the Twelve were sent forth 'to jneach tlie kingdom and to heal the siik.' St. Mark does not contrast the two words ' teacli " and ' preacli the gospel' in the same verse ; but in !"• -', he ascribes to Jesus 'preaching the gospel' and 'teaching.' In the latter case the efl'ect produced by His 'teaching' is different from that due to His ' preachin".'
It would seem, therefore, that the work of Jesus was threefold: He preached the gospel. He taught, and He healed. If this distinction is valid, the term ' Mspel ' did not apply to all that Jesus saiil and did. It was reserved for the 'good tidings' that He preached. In addition to these 'good tidings,' there was 'teaching' that belonged to another category. Listeners would hardly de- scribe such teaching as Mt 5"''* by the title ' good tidings,' nor could the word apply naturally to Mt 10^-39 12^1-3^ iQ"-^ 2p3-« 23. 24 1!. It seems clear that Jesus distinguished the gospel that He preached from the teaching that accompanied it.
3. What then was implied by the term ' gospel ' ? It was essentially ' news' or ' tidings.' It was the proclamation of a fact rather than instruction in the art of li^dng well. It was offered to belief.
*). St. Luke uses the compound pi 'the gospel of the kingdom of God^ (Lk 4« 16'«). These phrases must be studied, and in addition it must be noted that Jesus connected the gospel •with His own person.
(a) The phrase 'the gospel of God' indicates a message from God and alxjut God that is good news to men. It is certain that Jesus gave the world a new idea of God ; and this gospel of Jesus was the revelation of God a.s 'our Father in heaven.' He did not discover the category of Fatherhood in its relation to God. This had been done under the Old Covenant. But He invested the idea with such radiance as to make it a new revelation. More specifically. He illumined the Fatherhood of God by teaching ' the infinite value of the human soul.' God is not merely the Father of a people. He is the Father of each indi\ iihial soul (of. 'thy Father,' Mt 6*-"*). His Fatlierliood extends to all sorts and conditions of men (Mt 12''"). In particular, the I'atlicr seeks each .siiini-r (Lk IS'-f"), and welcomes even tlie l>r»di-al lo His home (vv."-'=). This 'gospel of God' includes.
further, the good news to the heavily laden Jew that ' the Father seeketh true worshippers to worship in spuit and in truth ' (Jn 4'-^ ; cf. Mt 11=*), and that the Father is willing to forgive sins with- out sacrificial ott'erings (Mt 9- ji). And when the child of God has entered into this blessed relation- ship with his Father in heaven, that Father may be trusted implicitly (Mt 6=»-"). Prayer must be offered to this Father continually (Lk 18'). The Lord's Prayer (Mt 6") ' shows the gospel to be the Fatherhood of God applied to the whole of life ; to be an inner union with God's will and God's king- dom, and a joyous certainty of eternal blessings and protection from evil ' (Hamack).
The Johannine tradition lays special empha.sis upon this Divine Fatherhood in its relation to Jesus ; the relation between the Father and His children is referred to in terms of love. Indeed, St. John sums up this aspect of the gospel in the immortal words, 'God is love' (1 Jn 4'). Jesus Himself spoke chiefly of love as the duty of man. To love God and to love one's neighboui- are the supreme laws for human conduct (Mt 22'""'9||). But by His constant speech about the Father, Jesus tauglit alsn tinir- li.vc to men. This relation of love betwiiii Cod aii'l man has been pointed to as the distin,L;uisliiii^ feature of the gospel. Thus Keville writes :
love. God is the Heavenly Father ; man is the son of God ; God loves man ; man ougrht to love God ; the relation be- tween the principle of the universe and the indi\idual is one of love, in which the two terms subsist. God and man — man not losing himself in Gml. God not remaining aloof from man — meet in a li\ing comnuinion, so that man's dependence on God should no longer be one of compulsion, but of free and joyful self-oonsecr.ition, and that the sovereignty* of God o\ er nian should no more appear a tyranny, but a rule which we love and bless. Surh is the distinrti\ e mark of the Christi- anity of Jesus, differentiating it from the other great religions.' *