March 8, 2016

Origin of the Term "Gospel" (i.e. Good News)


"To proclaim the good news of Israel's success in battle was to proclaim God's triumph over God's enemies. Believing credit for the victory belonged to God, the Israelites' proclamation of the good news of victory was, in fact, proclamation about God" (Holman Bible Dictionary).

"The epicenter of the Book of God—the Gospels—is nothing less than a victory narrative. Gospels were a common literary form in the ancient Near East. Whenever a great king won a major victory, he commissioned the writing of a gospel—a vivid retelling of the good news of the vanquished enemy and the victorious king. This glorious good news was told again and again, often from multiple points of views, to exalt the king and encourage his people [hence, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John]" (Robert W. Kellemen).




No comments:

Post a Comment