This lesson will help you understand how to present the gospel in the context of God’s promises to Israel. One of the best ways to study the key components of a good gospel presentation is to examine how the first apostles preached. Paul opened his letter to the church in Rome with the following paragraph that briefly summarizes the gospel.

This letter is from Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus, chosen by God to be an apostle and sent out to preach his Good News. 2  God promised this Good News long ago through his prophets in the holy Scriptures. 3  The Good News is about his Son, Jesus. In his earthly life he was born into King David’s family line, 4  and he was shown to be the Son of God when he was raised from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit. He is Jesus Christ our Lord. 5  Through Christ, God has given us the privilege and authority as apostles to tell Gentiles everywhere what God has done for them, so that they will believe and obey him, bringing glory to his name. Romans 1:1-5 (NLT)  

Due to attempts to streamline and mass-market the message, we run the risk of reducing the Gospel to a stripped-down presentation of what some call the “plan of salvation,” or “The Four Spiritual Laws,” or perhaps the “Roman Road.” None of these are “bad,” and many people have come to faith in Christ through their use, but we should not confuse them with the full gospel.

The gospel is a magnificent true story about Jesus that is rooted in the history of God’s interactions with Israel.

He is the eternal Son of God, the Logos, the Son of Man, the Messiah King, Lamb of God, Baptizer in the Holy Spirit, and the Coming Judge.

If we reduce the gospel to a mere explanation of how our sins can be forgiven and we can be restored to fellowship with God, we shortchange our listeners by turning the glorious Jesus story into a consumer-oriented promotion.

When Paul preached to the synagogue at Antioch of Pisidia in Acts Chapter 13, he gave a classic presentation of the Gospel. I have copied it below.

Paul stood up, and motioning with his hand said, “Men of Israel, and you who fear God, listen: 17 “The God of this people Israel chose our fathers and made the people great during their stay in the land of Egypt, and with an uplifted arm He led them out from it. 18 “For a period of about forty years He put up with them in the wilderness. 19 “When He had destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, He distributed their land as an inheritance—all of which took about four hundred and fifty years. 20 “After these things He gave them judges until Samuel the prophet. 21 “Then they asked for a king, and God gave them Saul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years. 22 “After He had removed him, He raised up David to be their king, concerning whom He also testified and said, ‘I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My heart, who will do all My will.’ 23 “From the descendants of this man, according to promise, God has brought to Israel a Savior, Jesus, 24 after John had proclaimed before His coming a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel. 25 “And while John was completing his course, he kept saying, ‘What do you suppose that I am? I am not He. But behold, one is coming after me the sandals of whose feet I am not worthy to untie.’ 26 “Brethren, sons of Abraham’s family, and those among you who fear God, to us the message of this salvation has been sent. 27 “For those who live in Jerusalem, and their rulers, recognizing neither Him nor the utterances of the prophets which are read every Sabbath, fulfilled these by condemning Him. 28 “And though they found no ground for putting Him to death, they asked Pilate that He be executed. 29 “When they had carried out all that was written concerning Him, they took Him down from the cross and laid Him in a tomb. 30 “But God raised Him from the dead; 31 and for many days He appeared to those who came up with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem, the very ones who are now His witnesses to the people. 32 “And we preach to you the good news of the promise made to the fathers, 33 that God has fulfilled this promise to our children in that He raised up Jesus, as it is also written in the second Psalm, ‘You are My Son; today i have begotten You.’ 34 “As for the fact that He raised Him up from the dead, no longer to return to decay, He has spoken in this way: ‘I will give you the holy and sure blessings of David.’ 35 “Therefore He also says in another Psalm, ‘You will not allow Your Holy One to undergo decay.’ 36 “For David, after he had served the purpose of God in his own generation, fell asleep, and was laid among his fathers and underwent decay; 37 but He whom God raised did not undergo decay. 38 “Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that through Him forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, 39 and through Him everyone who believes is freed from all things, from which you could not be freed through the Law of Moses. 40 “Therefore take heed, so that the thing spoken of in the Prophets may not come upon you: 41 ‘Behold, you scoffers, and marvel, and perish; For I am accomplishing a work in your days, A work which you will never believe, though someone should describe it to you.’ ” 42 As Paul and Barnabas were going out, the people kept begging that these things might be spoken to them the next Sabbath. 43 Now when the meeting of the synagogue had broken up, many of the Jews and of the God-fearing proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas, who, speaking to them, were urging them to continue in the grace of God.  Acts 13:16–43 (NASB95) — 

I am going to break the gospel into three parts, the first of which is covered in this lesson – the Old Covenant context, the New Covenant fulfillment, and the closing, in which we seek to drive home the significance of the gospel and what it demands from its hearers.

After being asked to share a word of encouragement with the congregation, Paul began his speech by reviewing the history of God’s dealings with Israel. Why did he do this?

Paul knew that the Gospel can only be properly understood by framing it in the context of God’s historical relationship with Abraham and his descendants.

He chose to begin with the exodus from Egypt because he knew his Jewish audience would immediately identify and find common ground with this recollection of their history. It is always a good idea to try to find some sort of common ground with our listeners.

We should seek to present Jesus as the answer to people’s deepest spiritual desires. Every person is a little different. If the Holy Spirit shows us the key to a person’s heart, it will enable us to tailor the gospel message to touch them deeply.

Jesus is not some New Age guru that suddenly appeared out of nowhere giving us mystical metaphysical insights. He was firmly rooted in the history of Israel and the promises God made to his people, beginning in the garden of Eden. The most significant ones were made to Abraham and King David, as far as the gospel is concerned, but many others can be included. It depends how much time we have and how well versed in the Scriptures we are.

John the Baptist presented Jesus to Israel by telling his listeners that he was the Lamb of God, the Baptizer in the Holy Spirit, and someone Great (the Lord and Messiah). These titles only make sense if we understand something about the history of Israel’s relationship with God.

Jesus did not come in a vacuum. He arrived as the fulfillment of specific promises that God made to Abraham and his descendants.

Therefore, it is always a good idea to include some sort of historical context to make the Gospel’s claims understandable.

At Pisidian Antioch, Paul’s goal was to recount Israel’s history to get to King David, because from this man God promised to raise up the Messiah, a ruler who would sit on David’s throne for eternity. Since he spoke to Jews, he presumed they fully understood this claim and needed no Scripture reference. When we share the Gospel, however, most of our listeners will need to hear a reference, and the following will do nicely.

When your days are complete and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your descendant after you, who will come forth from you, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 “He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 2 Samuel 7:12-13 (NASB)

This passage is acknowledged to be a Messianic promise. David’s son, Solomon, despite being a great and glorious king, eventually died. Neither he nor his kingdom endured forever. Therefore, for this promise to be fulfilled, another king must arise, one whose kingdom will last forever. Only one person fills the bill – Jesus, the glorious Son of Man, whose kingdom will destroy every other and endure forever!

I kept looking in the night visions, And behold, with the clouds of heaven One like a Son of Man was coming, And He came up to the Ancient of Days And was presented before Him. 14 “And to Him was given dominion, Glory and a kingdom, That all the peoples, nations and men of every language Might serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion Which will not pass away; And His kingdom is one Which will not be destroyed.  Daniel 7:13–14 (NASB95)

It is significant that Jesus referenced this passage during his unjust trial before the Sanhedrin, enabling us to make a definite link between the promise to David, the prophecy of Daniel, and our Lord Jesus.

But Jesus kept silent. And the high priest said to Him, “I adjure You by the living God, that You tell us whether You are the Christ, the Son of God.” 64 Jesus said to him, “You have said it yourself; nevertheless I tell you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven.” 65 Then the high priest tore his robes and said, “He has blasphemed! What further need do we have of witnesses? Behold, you have now heard the blasphemy;  Matthew 26:63–65 (NASB95)

Jesus left no doubt as to his identity. He made sure that he was crucified for the right reason, his claim to be the Messiah King and coming Son of Man.

Other verses can be used, such as God’s promise to Abraham that through his “seed” – our Lord Jesus – all the earth will be blessed.

And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.”  Genesis 12:3 (NASB95) — 

We can also reference God’s promise to Moses that God would raise up a prophet like him to whom the nation would be accountable. Here is how the apostle Peter referenced this promise from Deuteronomy 18:18-19.

“Moses said, ‘The Lord God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brethren; to Him you shall give heed to everything He says to you. 23 ‘And it will be that every soul that does not heed that prophet shall be utterly destroyed from among the people.’ 24 “And likewise, all the prophets who have spoken, from Samuel and his successors onward, also announced these days. 25 “It is you who are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant which God made with your fathers, saying to Abraham, ‘And in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed.’ 26 “For you first, God raised up His Servant and sent Him to bless you by turning every one of you from your wicked ways.”  Acts 3:22–26 (NASB95) —

The prophets can also be used to give background for understanding who Jesus is. Matthew referenced Isaiah 7:14 in the following passage that we too can use when we share the gospel.

But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. 21 “She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” 22 Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet: 23 “Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which translated means, “God with us.”  Matthew 1:20–23 (NASB95) — 

Each Gospel writer starts at a different place. Matthew begins with Abraham. Mark starts with a prophecy from Isaiah. Luke launches with an account of the births of John the Baptist and Jesus before giving us Jesus’ genealogy all the way back to Adam. John hits a home run by taking us all the way back to the creation of the universe by the eternal Logos, who became a human being named Jesus!

Each gospel narrative uses some form of an historical context to inform the reader who Jesus is.

These writings are called “gospels,” and they are our template for understanding and presenting the good news properly. Any disciple of Jesus, who wants to be able to share a strong biblical version of the Gospel, should familiarize himself or herself with the Old Covenant scriptural context of the good news about Jesus in order to properly show how he came as the fulfillment of God’s specific promises to provide a Savior and Messiah King. In the next lesson, we will see how Jesus, the historical person, fulfilled several Old Covenant promises and sacrificed his own blood for us. He died and rose again, in fulfillment of the scriptures.

For further study, I recommend The King Jesus Gospel by Scott McKnight.

Click here to see all the articles in this series.

 

Questions for Further Study and Discussion

• Does it make sense that a proper presentation of the gospel benefits from our providing the historical context of God’s relationship with and promises to Israel?
• Can you think of any potential hazards of presenting the gospel without giving any historical context?