In Greek, the word “Gospel” translates to “good news” or “a message of victory”. That is the definition I’ve heard most often: The Gospel is the good news that Jesus came to pay the penalty for our sin so that we might become children and heirs of God.
Even during His time on earth, Jesus was the living Good News. He took what others deserved and, in return, gave them healing, freedom, and right-standing with the Father.
In Mark 1, scripture tells us of a leper, who was an outcast because Levitical law said that the unclean had to remain separate, or apart. Jesus touched the man and He healed him. He told the man, “Don’t tell anyone”, but the man went out and told them anyway. Verse 45 says that because of this, Jesus could no longer enter a town openly, but stayed outside in the lonely places.
In Mark 5, a man with an impure spirit came across Jesus. Verse 4 says that no one was strong enough to subdue him. People feared him and stayed away. Then, Jesus came and He cast the demons out of the man and into the pigs. Verse 15 says the people saw the man who had been possessed sitting there, dressed and in his right mind, and they were afraid, begging Jesus to leave their region.
In Luke 7, there was a woman who lived a sinful life. She was judged by the Pharisees. Yet when she saw Jesus, she wet His feet with her tears, wiped them with her hair, and poured perfume on them. Jesus told her that her sins were forgiven and verse 49 says that the other guests began to judge Jesus, asking, “Who is this who forgives sins?”
That is the living Gospel. At the beginning of the story, the leper was in the lonely place. The possessed man was feared. The woman was judged. But by the end of the story, Jesus was in the lonely place. Jesus was feared. Jesus was judged.
He didn’t just save them—He took their place.
In Hebrew, the word for “Gospel” is Basorah. When you look at the meaning of each letter, the word translates to “a completely consuming dwelling place which reveals the head or authority of Grace”.
Jesus took our place so that we could take His, and come face to face with the Father of grace.
That is the message of victory. That is the good news.
That is the Gospel.
Grace Waves 
Jordan, I wrote about the same meeting with Jesus and the leper on my post this week but got a different perspective. God is so good to bring creative writers and bloggers together, reaching many people with the same message. I am a friend from Called to Blog. Blessings, Steph
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I love this exploration of the meaning of “gospel.” You’ve added such a rich layer of meaning with the idea that not only did Jesus gain us righteous standing (be in His place), but he put himself in our place. I’ll be honest: This is the hard reality of the gospel for me, that Jesus would do all this, for me. Believing and leaning into that level of grace, so undeserved. Thanks for sharing, and pointing my heart toward God’s amazing grace–and his willingness to be in my mess.
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This is amazing! I have not heard that explanation of the Gospel before. I mean I have in terms of Jesus taking our place but the way you pulled that out of those passages shed a new light on it. Thank you so much!
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I love this! I love to look up the root words to gain a fuller understanding of God’s word! Thank you for sharing 🙂
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Yes! That really is the only true victory! Praise God for giving His son so that we could stand before Him. No longer do we stand stained, but rather, we are spotless.
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Beautiful words!
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It amazes me that some people are so used to being in captivity that they don’t recognize deliverance. It is admittedly still so hard sometimes for me to take hold of His grace. Thank You Lord for freedom.
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I am so grateful for Christ’s atoning sacrifice! Beautiful post!
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Amen! We serve such an amazing God!
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