What Was “the Gospel” Jesus Preached?

by Susan Ternyey, March 2025

     “. . . Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God,  And saying, The time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is at hand:  repent ye, and believe the gospel.”
Mark 1:14-15

     This is recorded in Matthew and Mark after the Baptism and Temptation of Christ, so it was early in His career, yet after John the Baptist was tossed in prison.  Some years ago I spent considerable time and study to make a Gospels Comparison Chart (or series of charts).  Between these references in the synoptic Gospels, were some events recorded only in the Gospel of John.

Timeline:
John 1:19-28 the Jews ask John the Baptists to tell who he is
John 1:29-34 the next day after Jesus returned from the wilderness came John’s testimony of “The Lamb of God”
John 1:35-42 Again the next day (same day as above?)
Jesus’ first disciples were first disciples of John the Baptist
Jesus’ first disciples:
Andrew & (probably John)
Peter, Andrew’s brother
Philip
Nathaniel
   Probably all these 4 were at the time living in Bethsaida, had perhaps come for the feast, heard ofJohn, and went to him to be baptized.   So when Jesus called to the fishermen “Follow Me”, they were not strangers, they were already his followers.
John 1:43-51 the day following, Philip and Nathaniel were on the way to Galilee

John 2 “The third day” . . . (after arriving in Galilee?) The marriage at Cana occurred
     Mary was a significant personage there, Jesus and his disciples were invited and went.  After that, they were in Capernaum a short time.
At the “1st” Passover in Jerusalem, Jesus cleanses the Temple from merchandising/commercialization.

John 3:1-21 Nicodemus
     Jesus talked with Nicodemus by night (a Pharisee and a ruler of the Jews).  Though he believed that Jesus was from God, he feared to follow Him openly.  Jesus gave a masterful sermon, of which we have but a brief abstract or synopsis.  But it contains what we often think of as the Gospel of Jesus Christ, about being Born Again (becoming a new person, receiving baptism & the Holy Spirit):  
     “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.”  John 3:16-17
     Much as we associate this now with Gethsemane and the Crucifixion, I don’t think Jesus was revealing that yet.  I expect that these words were teaching much the same that the Baptist taught, “the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.”  Luke 3:3.   
     John told the people to, “Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance, and begin not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, That God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.  And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: every tree therefore which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.”  Luke 3:8-9
     More precisely, John told those that had an extra coat or food to share them with those who didn’t.  Tax collectors:  don’t take advantage of your position to enrich yourself.  Soldiers:  don’t push your weight around, bully others out of their “lunch money”.  Two of the strongest human weaknesses are greed for wealth and power.  The devil even tried these temptations on Jesus in the wilderness.
     
John 3:22-23 Jesus & disciples were baptizing near John
John 4:1-3 the Jews heard that Jesus (his disciples) baptized more than John, Jesus and followers left the area.  Danger was afoot.

John 4:4-42 the Samaritan woman at the well along the way north
     Jesus reveals that He is the Messiah and that worship is not so much a function of a physical place, but a place in one’s heart and soul:  spiritual worship.

John 4:43 after 2 days in Samaria, Jesus & followers went a 2nd time to Cana; healed a nobleman’s son.

     Then Jeus went to Nazareth.  Jesus was a fully practicing, participating Jew.  He went to synagogue/church every Sabbath.  In Nazareth He read to them from Isaiah “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.”  Luke 4:18-19
     Compare Isaiah 61:1-3 “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified. . . .”  
     This Good News, these Good Tidings of great joy are reminiscent of the Beatitudes of the Sermon on the Mount.  The meek are no longer to be emotionally trampled upon or taken advantage of.  Those who sorrow over the evil done in this life will be healed.  Those who are captive or imprisoned by debt, disease, or the devil’s addictions will be freed.  An acceptable year to the Lord would be one in which His will is done, His Kingdom would come, and things would be done on earth as they are in Heaven.  I think these words referred specifically in the Law of Moses to the Jubilee year, when Jewish servants and lands were redeemed to return to their rightful inheritance.  God promises to take vengeance on the wicked and the oppressors.  
     Sounds great!  Why should this make anyone angry?  But this was understood as a declaration that He was the Messiah, for which they were going to stone Him.  He slipped away in the melee and left town.  People often have a hard time accepting the hometown boy making good.  They think they know him too well (“Familiarity breeds contempt”, it is said), they know what they consider his faults or ordinariness.  They want to see miracles, like they’ve heard about elsewhere.  But how can He work miracles without faith? (Perhaps He can, but won’t.) How many times did He tell those who were healed that it was their faith that had healed/saved them?
     
     So Jesus goes back to Capernaum.  He calls the fishermen to become fishers of men,  “Follow Me” (Matt 4:19).  They were already his disciples, though not so much in a formal way.  And though they dropped what they were doing, it wasn’t the last time they ever worked at their fishing trade.  But when he called for them to work with or for him, they put that Kingdom of God first.  And they were in training for when He would send them out on their own.

     “And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people.  And his fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought unto him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatick, and those that had the palsy; and he healed them.  And there followed him great multitudes of people from Galilee, and from Decapolis, and from Jerusalem, and from Judaea, and from beyond Jordan.”  Matt 4:23-25  In the days before modern medicine, one can imagine the desperation people felt.

     Again, What “gospel” (good news, good tidings)? Not yet the Atonement, but the good news of Goodness, Godliness.  Of caring for one’s fellow beings, of helping one another in the trials of life. Of not misjudging others, of extending mercy, of being true to one’s spouse . . . Of the teachings of the Sermon on the Mount, of repentance, etc. See also Matt 4:17

     The Sermon on the Mount, led by the Beatitudes, follows; from Matt. 5 & Luke 6:
  This is the Gospel that Jesus was teaching.  Jesus taught and re-taught it, and as the disciples accompanied Him on His teaching tours, they no doubt became very familiar with His words (and works), so that they could continue His teachings after Him:
     Be humble, be a good person, merciful, pure in heart (pure, unsullied motives), a peacemaker . . . these are the inhabitants of the Kingdom of God, because the Kingdom inhabits their hearts (they invite it, they don't throw it out or discard it) . . . 
     John the Baptist taught such things (Luke 3:8-14).  Compare Mary's words and expectation in Luke 1:50-54.  Prophets of the Old Testament taught similarly, such as Moses, Isaiah, and Ezekiel.
     Perhaps Jesus' words were recorded concisely, but they are rich with multiple meanings in Matt 5, both of the Kingdom within the hearts of true worshippers, and in the Kingdom to come, on earth (now and in a millennial paradise to come), and in Heaven:

v. 3—the poor in spirit:  humble, contrite, even beaten down by the vicissitudes of life . . . These are the true heirs of the Kingdom.
v. 4—they who mourn, sorrow, suffer:  for their own sins (Ezek 7:16), or the bad choices/behaviors of others, or for the wickedness of the world.  Those who mourn for their own sins will find comfort in divine forgiveness.  Those who sorrow/suffer because of others will find comfort in the Ultimate understanding of God, as a loving parent comforts a hurting child.  Those who mourn the wickedness of this world will be comforted in the assurance that one day God will right every wrong.
v. 5—the meek, humble, teachable--will be the ultimate heirs of the earth.  This throws conventional wisdom on its ear, which teaches that aggressively pursuing one's goals (and for many, the ends justify any means) is the way to gain all the world.
v. 6--Those who pursue personal righteousness, and the Right for others, as a hungry person seeks food, or a thirsty person seeks to quench that thirst, will find fulfillment in their hearts, and in the Kingdom, and in Heaven.
v. 7--The merciful, kind, compassionate, forgiving, non-judgmental . . . will be given what they gave.
v. 8—the pure in heart, uncorrupted, undefiled . . . comp Titus 1:15.  Those with no ulterior motives . . . only they will see God in His Kingdom, and in the hearts of His children.
v. 9--peacemakers are called God's children . . . Interestingly, we can choose our parentage, whether we are the children of God, or the offspring of . . .  someone/somewhere else . . . see John 8:39
v. 10-12:  This is the one that really seems difficult to me (like loving our enemies).  It’s hard to rejoice when we're being persecuted.  But I guess it's better to be persecuted than to be the persecutor.  Sometimes it's hard to know if we're being persecuted for our own faults and follies, or for righteousness' or Jesus' sake . . . perhaps we can only humbly keep trying, pleading that our intents, our hearts are pure, and our actions/behaviors are what God would command/commend.

Matt 5:19-20--Jesus was no rebel against the Law of Moses: He lived it, He embraced it, He taught people to live it. When we live the 2 Great Commandments (to love God with all we are, and to love others as ourselves), the 10 commandments are covered.  Of course, there was much more to the Law of Moses than the 10 commandments . . . a great deal of civil law, beside religious laws and ordinances.  Jesus did not teach against those.  But when the Apostles after His death took the Gospel to the Gentiles, they (as God’s authorities on earth) did not require the Gentiles to live the various performances and ordinances of the Law of Moses.  
     Jesus was not just concerned about good behavior, He was concerned about good thoughts, good hearts, goodness for goodness' sake, being good on the inside as well as on the outside--not just for show and tell, and not just when people are looking.

Matt 5:38--"An eye for an eye" has been grossly misused and taken out of context over the centuries!  This was the law in very specific cases, to be carried out by civil authorities in consequence of misdeeds.  It was never meant as an excuse for personal or clan revenge for whatever perceived wrongs have been done by another.
     I'm amazed at how many "good people" will slight another because of a perceived slight, or even just because they think themselves better than another.  What’s the clever saying?  An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth leaves a lot of blind and toothless folks, without solving any issues.

Matt 5:48--Be perfect!  Overwhelming!  Only possible through the Grace of God.  By repenting, pleading to God for Grace through His Son, all that is less than perfect in us is totally washed away.

The Messages of Matt 6-7
1. Do the right things for the right reason, not for ulterior motives or for show.  Specifically, the Lord mentions giving alms, prayer, and fasting--all typically associated with Righteousness.  But if done for the wrong reasons, they make us hypocrites.  Jesus’ harshest words were for hypocrites. 
2. Whatever you treasure is where your heart will be, your focus, your efforts and intents.  Let that be God and godliness, first of all.  And God's Kingdom is not just in our hearts, but in caring for our neighbors.
3.  You can't serve two Masters--have your residence in God's Kingdom, and a vacation home in the Devil's.  You can't go in two directions at once.  If you try to go one way, then the opposite, you'll never get anywhere--at least not anywhere good.  The Devil would like to keep us busy running to and fro, distracted from where we really want to go.
4. Leave your cares with the Lord.  It's not that we shouldn't work to support ourselves and families, and good endeavors, but when we get so caught up in that we lose our focus on the Lord.  The poor are full of anxieties about food and bills and the demands on their resources.  The Lord asks us to trust Him, have faith in Him, and go about doing good.  I have found in my life that as I try to serve God and my fellow beings, God has taken care of me.  I haven't become rich, materially, but my life is enriched, and I have had the things I need (not necessarily everything I've wanted).  The rich also may be full of anxieties, cares, worries over material matters, distracted from God, and callous to their fellow beings and their troubles.
5. Judge carefully--don't condemn or be critical of others--you don't know the whole story, and it's not your place.  What you give is what you get (Blessed are the merciful!).  Don't magnify others' faults and minimize your own (a human tendency ... the Lord calls us to rise above our animal natures and instincts).  Yet beware those who pretend to be something they are not--eventually the fruit of their inner selves will ripen and drop, rotten.
6. Don’t expose your most precious treasures to those who would mistreat and despise them.  This can be broad-ranging:  you don't share your heart with just anyone, but those with whom you can entrust your tender feelings.  Similarly, other things you hold most dear, you don't share with just anyone.  Many have objected to privacy of worship, and yet they seem only to want all exposed so that they can mock, scorn, and make fun.
7.  ASK God--God allows, even encourages us to ask favors and questions.  He's not afraid of our questions, and enjoins us to seek for answers--from Him (not others who don't know the whole story, what they're talking about, or can't be trusted to tell the Truth).  Though God already knows what we need He wants us to ask.  Good parents want their children to ask for what they need and want, not just expect to have all anticipated and fulfilled automatically.  Kids become quite self-centered and unappreciative that way.
8.  God is Good!  Remember that, trust in that.  He is the Ultimate Good.
9.  All roads don't lead to God.  All behaviors are not acceptable to Him.  He loves us unconditionally, but only those who choose Him and His way will be entrusted with all that He has.  Strait is the gate, narrow the way to His abode.
10. Lip service is not enough.  Pretense to know the Lord is not sufficient.  Superficial "discipleship" doesn't fool Him.  If we want to praise God, we must praise Him in the way we live, that is, live by His counse and commands.
11.  A wise person lays the foundation of his/her life on the Lord--builds his/her life on the Savior and His teachings.  Nothing else will survive the storms of life and the world.  And, the walls of the building must match the Foundation.
12.  Jesus taught with the voice of authority.  He didn't have to cite references about God and Goodness, because He knew them directly.

Luke 6:31--"And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise"--regardless of how we feel others have treated us, we ought to treat others the way we want to be treated.  Not easy.
Jesus calls us to a higher standard, not only of action, but of attitude--one that takes a lifetime of repenting, pleading for Grace, and trying, trying, trying again and again to be what He asks of us.


Adapted from my 2019 blog “New Testament readings and commentary”, which includes iinks to an earlier series of Gospel Comparison Charts I created
https://www.facebook.com/groups/756639301358414 
and links as well to the “Drive Through History” series, 8 seasons of excellent interesting & entertaining ½ hr episodes, including one about the Gospels, one about the New Testament, and other Biblical material.