Good News

Introduction

Several times scripture talks about besora, "good news". The most famous of these verses refer to the good news of the messiah's arrival with salvation.

This essay summarizes this most famous and important good news. Please refer to other essays in the sidebar for further details.

About the Kingdom

The good news in its simplest form is described in Galatians 3:8-9.

The scripture, foreseeing that God would by faith make the Gentiles innocent, preached the good news beforehand to Abraham, saying, "In you all the nations will be blessed." So then, those who are of faith are blessed with the faithful Abraham.

To paraphrase, the good news is that all people can become righteous by the work of God, and live with trust and faith in God. This much of it was hinted to Abraham in Genesis 12:3. Moreover, it was offered to the ancient Israelites but through their lack of faith they did not receive the good news and by it enter into rest (Hebrews 4:2-6). The good news allows people to be "spiritually fruitful and multiply" even if they do not want to have many real children (First Corinthians 4:15).

A second aspect of the good news is described in Isaiah 40:9-11.

You who tell good news to Zion, go up on a high mountain; you who tell good news to Jerusalem, lift up your voice with strength. Lift it up, don't be afraid! Say to the cities of Judah, "Behold, your God! Behold, Adonai Elohim will come as a mighty one, and his arm will rule for him. Behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him."

From these verses (as well as Isaiah 41:27 and 52:7) we learn that someone sent by God will proclaim the good news that Adonai Elohim is coming in power to bring peace, provide victory, and re-establish God as King. The good news is about God's love and kindness (Acts 20:24). This message is eternal (First Peter 1:25).

Thus the good news has both an individual and communal nature. To summarize (so far), God is himself comming to re-establish his Kingdom, and this will allow all individuals to have peace, victory, and the ability to be made innocent by the work of God.

The good news is for all people, but it is especially good news for certain people. The good news is exactly what the poor need -- just as the blind need sight, the deaf need hearing, and the captive need freedom (Isaiah 61:1, Luke 4:18, and Luke 7:22). The good news will enable the Jewish people to properly observe the moadim and fulfill their pledges to God (Nahum 2:1 (1:15)). There is good news "for" both Jew and Gentile, but it is the same good news (Galatians 2:7 and 2:14).

About the King

Since the good news is about re-establishing the Kingdom, the good news is also about events in Yeshua's life since he will be the King (Mark 1:1). Even his birth counted as part of the good news of the Kingdom: the re-establishment is near because the King has been chosen (Luke 2:10-11).

Yeshua preached the good news during his earthly ministry (Luke 3:18, 4:43, and 8:1). He emphasized that people should repent and sin no more: the victory which the Kingdom will provide will be freedom from iniquity so people can be whole-heartedly devoted to God.

After Yeshua's death and resurrection, the good news is also about these things (Acts 8:12) because through our identification with Yeshua's death and resurrection God can make us innocent in ways the Law of Moshe cannot (Acts 13:32-33, 38-39).

We bring you the good news: what God promised our fathers he has made complete for us, their children, by raising up Yeshua... through Yeshua the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, and through him everyone who believes is made innocent from everything the Torah of Moshe could not make innocent.

We see again that the victory and the ability to be made innocent by the work of God were the same thing.

About entering the Kingdom

Although the good news is about the King, it is primarily about the Kingdom of God and how to enter it (Mark 1:14-15).

The Hebrew word hoshia is normally translated "save" but really means "to provide victory". This is also true in the Aramaic spoken by the apostles and the people to whom they preached. When we read of people asking, "What must we do to be saved?" they were really asking "What must we do to receive victory?". The issue was how to enter the re-established Kingdom, and the answer was to swear allegiance to the King and then by immersion show your identification with him. This allows you into the Kingdom, where you can experience peace and the victory of being made innocent by God.

Thus when the apostles spoke of the good news they could be very general and merely talk about turning from worthless things to God (Acts 14:15). Or they could be very specific, about Yeshua's atoning death and witnessed resurrection (First Corinthians 15:1-11). Either way, the good news should be a message of words accompanied by demonstrations of God's power (First Corinthians 2:4 and First Thessalonians 1:5).

Summary

How can we summarize the good news?

God himself, as Yeshua, came and re-established his Kingdom, providing all individuals with the ability to enter this Kingdom and experience the peace and victory of being made innocent by the work of God.

That is good news indeed!