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This is from the third lesson in Daniel Doriani's class on the Life and Teachings of Christ.
"The Gospel of Mark, chapter 1, verse 1 says, "The beginning of the Gospel of [or about] Jesus Christ, the Son of God." Now you may say, "That doesn't tell us the purpose but only tells us what the book is." But the word 'Gospel' didn't mean 'the four Gospels' until much later. Mark (or maybe Matthew; it's hard to tell) was probably the first Gospel written and when he uses the word 'Gospel' or 'evangelium' that word meant 'a decree of joyful tidings.' Many of you have heard that the word 'Gospel' means 'good news.' That's true, but it's not just any old good news, like your favorite baseball team won, or there was a little bit of rain last night that spruced up the flowers.
Rather, it means an announcement of broad significance. For example, when an emperor had a son born into his family, he sent out a decree saying, "Evangelium, good news, gospel..." When it was the birthday of Emperor Augustus or Octavian and he wanted everybody to celebrate, the decree said, "Good news! The birthday of the god Augustus (or Octavian) is coming! Evangelium, gospel! Joyful tidings for the world!"
So the word 'Gospel' in Mark 1:1, "the beginning of the Gospel about Jesus Christ," has the idea of an announcement of important news, important for the empire. Jesus is not being proclaimed as an emperor, of course, but this is official language, saying, "Here is an event that has significance for the world." Mark says, "I'm beginning to tell you that this event is good news concerning Jesus Christ, the Son of God," and even those words tell us what Mark is all about. The word 'Jesus' means 'Savior, Christ, Messiah, anointed one.' The anointed one who is the Savior, who is the Son of God, has come and His birth is a vital announcement of wonderful news for this world. That's what the first verse of Mark tells us and the book unfolds until people recognize it."
[Edited on 6-6-2006 by BobVigneault]
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