The Good News About and Of Jesus
“As his apprentices, we pass through a course of training, from having faith in Christ, to having the faith of Christ (Gal. 2:16-20). As a proclaimer and teacher of the gospel of his kingdom, I do not cease to announce a gospel about Jesus. That remains forever foundational. But I also recognize the need and opportunity to announce the gospel of Jesus (Mark 1:1)—the gospel of the present availability to every human being of a life in The Kingdom Among Us. Without that, the gospel about Jesus remains destructively incomplete.”
– Dallas Willard, The Divine Conspiracy, p. 320
I remember first discovering Dallas Willard in my early 20’s, after following Jesus since age 14 and getting a degree from Biola University with a minor in Bible, and thinking, “Why has nobody ever taught me this stuff?” I didn’t understand the Kingdom until I began reading Willard, whom I consider a friend and mentor I never got to meet. And these three sentences I quote above were perhaps the most influential for me. The faith “in” and faith “of” nugget is also rich, but I’m going to focus on the gospel “about” and gospel “of” paradigm.
The gospel about Jesus, or the gospel of salvation, is what happened to Jesus. It’s the Christmas story and the Easter story, and like Willard emphasizes, it remains forever foundational. But much of what Willard writes about, and what he has convinced me of, is that a huge problem with our ministry as a global church and the lack of disciple-making is that the gospel about Jesus is all we have proclaimed. We have sold people “fire insurance” or made them “vampire Christians,” just coming to Jesus for his blood and salvation.
The gospel of Jesus, or the gospel of the Kingdom, is what Jesus proclaimed. It’s what he taught. It’s what he offered. And, at the heart of what he proclaimed, as well as Paul (as Bill showed us on Day 1), is the nearness and availability of the Kingdom of God. Look at how Jesus began his ministry:
“Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, ’The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’" –Mark 1:14–15
So why is this important? Many reasons!
Willard’s last sentence in the paragraph above has some strong language, if we fail to proclaim the gospel of Jesus, then the gospel about Jesus remains destructively incomplete. There is so much to say on this, but to put it simply, if we leave out the gospel of Jesus, the gospel of the Kingdom, we fail to make disciples and apprentices in Kingdom living and instead we make converts.
Do we understand the gospel of the Kingdom and good news that Jesus proclaimed? Are we experiencing it? If we aren’t, do we have the credibility and authenticity to invite others into it?
Friends, the gospel of salvation, the gospel about Jesus is forever foundational. But by itself it’s incomplete.
FOR REFLECTION
Take some time to journal about the gospel of Jesus… what are the things he offers and the good news he proclaimed that you have experienced or want to experience more deeply?
As we reflect on the gospel and read through them together this year, begin to mark in your Bible or journal all of the good news that Jesus proclaims and offers. Warning: it’s incredibly deep, full, rich, and compelling!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Mark Thrash is the President of Novo-US. He and his wife Jamie and their three kids live in San Juan Capistrano, CA and they love country music, dance parties, and road trips. Their family motto is “With God; Invest in People; Laugh, Play, Dance, and Celebrate” and they do their best to live that out with joy and passion.
