Jesus Didn’t Coin the Term “Good News.” Read Isaiah. - Paul Lamicela

Lesson Transcript

And then that brings us to Isaiah. So there's, uh, uh, there's t three passages, but I can just look at one or two because they say pretty much the same things. That the specific language of the good news. So we, the term gospel in all in, you know, Christianity, especially Protestant Christianity, uh, and, and our circles too, um, has kind of become just this default word that we use, right?

Um, but it's rooted in, of course, what the New Testament, the language of the that the New Testament uses, which is good news, right? The good news. And Jesus, I mean, Paul talks about the good news, that he's not ashamed of the good news, and, and he, he's all about he tells people, you must not proclaim a different gospel, a different good news. It's this Greek word evangelion that means good news. And, um, Jesus in the gospels goes around proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God.

And you say, oh, that's interesting. Where does this come from? Like you said at the beginning. And it comes, it comes straight out of Isaiah. There's these three passages in Isaiah that use this word, good news. So, okay, Isaiah was written in Hebrew, but it's, uh, then translated into Greek. When in the Greek translation, Septuagint, it uses this, this word evangelion or, or the, or the verb equivalent. Um, and Jesus, of course, is probably speaking Aramaic.

But in the gospel, as we've received it, and Matthew's gospel or whatever, it's the Greek word evangelion, and it matches what we see in Isaiah. Jesus is clearly drawing on this idea. And what is this? So, um, it's very much tied to this whole theme of, um, God's, God's answer to, um, the problem of Israel's failure, right? Israel's been in exile. They've lost God's presence. And the hope is that God would someday come back, right?

So Isaiah 40, where, you know, this famous Comfort my people says God, speak tenderly to Jerusalem, cry to her that her warfare is ended, uh, her iniquity is pardoned, uh, etc. So a time of mercy is coming. Isaiah is looking forward to this in the future. And a voice cries out, In the wilderness, prepare the way of Yahweh. Make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill made low. The uneven ground shall become level, etc.

So this is language we're really used to hearing in the New Testament, because John, uh, sort of thinks of himself as this guy, right? He's like that voice that's preparing the way for Yahweh to return, uh, is him, which, which is really fascinating, because then who ends up showing up? Yeah. It's Jesus, right? And the text is implicitly telling us that's Yahweh, right? Yeah. So, and then the next verse is verse nine, Go up to a high mountain, Zion, uh, oh, Zion, heralds of good news.

There's that language, good news. So it's picturing, it's like, hey, you, you know, these news reporters, the ancient news reporters, like, go up, uh, go up so you can shout out this good news. Um, lift up your voice with strength, Jerusalem, herald of good news, lift it up. Fear not. And what is the good news that they're supposed to proclaim? Behold, your God, God is coming back. Yahweh comes with might. His arm rules for him. His reward is with him.

He will, his recompense is before him, and he will tend his flock like a shepherd. He will gather the lambs in his arms and carry them in his bosom and gently lead those that are with you. So good, the good news is that Yahweh is coming back to bless, to rule over, but to restore his people, right? And it's, it's that this is where, this is where all subsequent Christian good news language in the New Testament comes from. It's this vision. It's not, again, it's not an abstraction. It's not, oh, yay. Here's a king.

Here's laws. Here's subjects. No, it's God is going to end Israel's exile and by restore it, coming back to his people, forgiving them, changing their hearts, bringing in the Gentiles. That's a big part of this vision of what would happen when God reaches, comes back to his people, bringing in the Gentiles, and eventually bringing about a new heavens and new earth.

Like all of that, uh, for Isaiah is tied to this era when God would, to this good news that God is coming back to reign over his people again after, you know.