The Euangelion in the Old Testament

For God, whom I serve in my spirit in the gospel of His Son, is my witness as to how without ceasing I make mention of you, always in my prayers earnestly asking, if perhaps now at last by the will of God I may succeed in coming to you (Romans 1:9-10).

…Paul identifies himself as one separated as an Apostle and called by God to preach the gospel. I said that the phrase “the gospel of God” (v. 1c) did not mean the gospel about God, but rather the gospel that is the possession of God. God owns that gospel. He is the One who invented the gospel and commissioned Paul to teach it. The gospel did not originate with Paul; it originated with God. Here, Paul uses the same structure to refer not to the gospel of God but to the gospel of God’s Son, Jesus Christ. The gospel is the possession of Jesus, but even more, Jesus is the heart of the content of the gospel. 

The word for “gospel” is the word euangelion. It has that prefix eu-, which comes into English in a variety of words. We talk about euphonics or euphonious music, which refers to something that sounds good. We talk about a eulogy, which is a good word pronounced about someone at his or her funeral service. The prefix eu- refers to something good or pleasant. The word angelos or angelion is the word for “message.” Angels are messengers, and an angelos is one who delivers a message.

This word euangelion, which means “good message” or “good news,” has a rich background in the Old Testament. There, the basic meaning of the term gospel was simply an announcement of a good message. If a doctor came to examine a sick person and afterward declared that the problem was nothing serious, that was gospel or good news. In ancient days when soldiers went out to battle, people waited breathlessly for a report from the battlefield about the outcome. Once the outcome of the battle was sure, marathon runners dashed back to the people to give the report of the conflict. That is why Isaiah wrote, “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news” (Isa. 52:7).

The watchman in the watchtower would look as far as the eye could see into the distance. Finally, he would see the dust moving as the runner sped back to the city to give the report of the battle. The watchmen were trained to tell by the way the runner’s legs were churning whether the news was good or bad. If the runner was doing the survival shuffle, it indicated a grim report, but if his legs were flying and the dust was kicking up, that meant good news. That is the concept of gospel in its most rudimentary sense. 

Application 

Have you ever had to deliver bad news? It’s difficult. But imagine yourself like one of those marathon runners whom Isaiah pictured. In Christ, you’ve been given a message of good news, an announcement of victory, that Jesus has defeated sin, Satan, and death in His triumph on the cross. Imagine the rush of Isaiah’s messenger. May this be true of us when we reflect on and share the gospel.

Adapted from The Power of the Gospel: A Year in Romans with R.C. Sproul