The Gospel
Luke 9:1-6 Then He called His twelve disciples together and gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases. 2 He sent them to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. 3 And He said to them, “Take nothing for the journey, neither staffs nor bag nor bread nor money; and do not have two tunics apiece. 4 “Whatever house you enter, stay there, and from there depart. 5 And whoever will not receive you, when you go out of that city, shake off the very dust from your feet as a testimony against them.” 6 So they departed and went through the towns, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere.
Luke 10:1-3 After these things the Lord appointed seventy others also, and sent them two by two before His face into every city and place where He Himself was about to go. 2 Then He said to them, “The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest. 3 Go your way; behold, I send you out as lambs among wolves.”
Luke 10:8-12 “Whatever city you enter, and they receive you, eat such things as are set before you. 9 And heal the sick there, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ 10 But whatever city you enter, and they do not receive you, go out into its streets and say, 11 ‘The very dust of your city which clings to us we wipe off against you. Nevertheless know this, that the kingdom of God has come near you.’ 12 But I say to you that it will be more tolerable in that Day for Sodom than for that city.”
Vs. 16-21 “He who hears you hears Me, he who rejects you rejects Me, and he who rejects Me rejects Him who sent Me.”17 Then the seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.” 18 And He said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. 19 Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you. 20 Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven.”21 In that hour Jesus rejoiced in the Spirit and said, “I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and revealed them to babes. Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight.”
The disciples went out preaching the KINGDOM, and doing the things Jesus was doing to prove that. They cast out demons and healed the sick with His name and authority. Wait a minute. That was before the cross. So, if we preach the gospel to all the world that Jesus died for our sins so that we could be reconciled to God, and now because of His sacrifice we are made righteous, we are healed, we can be delivered from demonic oppression, and we have the Holy Spirit working through us to do the will of God, wasn’t all that a result of the death and resurrection work of Jesus? So, what were they preaching BEFORE the cross then? Jesus had not yet shed His Blood. He had not yet taken the stripes on His back. The Holy Spirit had not yet come to indwell and anoint and baptize all believers in Jesus. Jesus had not yet won back the keys to death, hell, and the grave. The fallen angels had not yet been overcome, and authority restored to mankind. What was the gospel then? Gospel means good news.
The disciples knew nothing of what the Church age looks like now. All they had was Torah, the words of the Psalmists and the prophets, the scrolls of the time of the judges and the kings, and the words of Jesus day by day. Just like us today, who have further revelation of God’s Kingdom plan, there is still an age to come when Jesus returns that we only have glimpses of understanding about.
It was the Kingdom of God they preached, here, now. God Himself was walking the earth, bringing His authority, His power, His truth, and His compassion to His people. When He would step off the earth and back into the heavenly realm, only 50 days after raising from the dead, the Spirit would come to the children of God, and that good news would expand. The GOSPEL would be preached. The good news would be that the curse of sin was broken, the debt was paid, darkness and death was overcome, all through the Son of God, the Messiah. The Holy Spirit would now indwell all believers, and God Himself would make His home within us. Satan and the fallen angels have lost their power and authority, and it has been given back to the children of God. We are now being prepared as the pure and spotless Bride for Christ when He returns to reign on earth as King.
Jesus came preaching, proclaiming, that finally God’s Kingdom was being established on earth as He intended from the beginning. Jesus had finally come in the flesh to establish on earth in the natural what was already done in the Spirit from the foundations of the world. God’s Kingdom idea was being realized now in the earth for mankind. His Kingdom of light was now dispelling the kingdom of darkness, pushing back the demonic and Satanic agenda for this world. Each age has had a piece of that unfolding realization, until it all fully manifests.
Matthew 3:1-2 In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, 2 and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!”
Matthew 4:17 From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
Matthew 4:23 And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people.
Matthew 11:5 “The blind see and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them.”
Matthew 24:14 “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.”
Matthew 26:13 “Assuredly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her.”
Mark 1:14-15 Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.”
Luke 4:18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor…”
Luke 9:6 So they departed and went through the towns, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere.
Acts 20:24 But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.
Galatians 3:8 And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, “In you all the nations shall be blessed.”
Ephesians 1:13 In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise,
The Father gave Jesus certain authority before the cross when He stepped in the earth. Jesus had authority from the Father to drive out the demons from God’s people, heal them, raise the dead, and subject the creation to Him if need be. Wind, waves, trees, water. That authority was limited to the earth as long as He was in the flesh, on the earth. After He rose into His glorified body and position, then He was given ALL authority. He was granted the ability to give that authority to His disciples as He saw fit. This was new to the devil. The demons were perplexed, I am sure. God had never done this sort of thing before in the earth. They could not understand it.
John 1:4-5 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.
The disciples had learned some things from Jesus by now. He basically told them to tell people things are going to be different now. God is doing a new thing. Receive it. God has sent His Son, His Messiah, and He is here not to set up an earthly kingdom, at least not yet, but a heavenly one, where Jesus was the center. The disciples did not understand about the sacrifice yet. They had no real understanding about the great exchange that was coming. Or the millennial reign to come. For now, Jesus just wanted them to preach repentance, and that God had sent His Son to save us from sin, to heal us, and to overcome the devil and his demons. For now, that was enough. The rest would come later when the Holy Spirit came.
He gave them a three and a half year training program for what was to come. They tasted of the Kingdom, but the next level was coming, and one beyond that. Each level would build on the previous, until finally we were in eternity with a new heaven and a new earth.
What had been taught so far?
Repent from sin.
Bear good fruit, fruit worthy of repentance.
Care for the poor. Give. Help people. Think of others before yourself.
Healing from disease in His name.
Raising the dead in His name.
Cast out demons in His name.
Have faith in God when you cannot see the answer or result
Eternal life through faith in Him
He is the Son of God, one with the Father, who wants us to be one with Him
Things coming—He will be crucified, betrayed, falsely accused. The Holy Spirit was coming to help. Persecution was coming. We will be saved from the wrath of God at the end of the age. Things that will happen in the last days.
He is the bread of life being broken for us, to sustain us
He is the everlasting water of life to us
He was fulfilling all the prophecies of old
He was bringing a new covenant
Forgive. Be patient. Do not take offense. Love one another the way He does. Be humble. Do not retaliate against others.
Pray. Don’t give up. Keep praying.
He taught the character of God the Father who wanted His family to look like Him
Religious legalism was not God’s will
Can you think of some more?
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