The Gospel

The "Gospel" simply means "good news."  And the good news is that Jesus has arrived.  And He not only arrived, but He had come to fulfill all of the prophecy of His coming that had been made over many centuries.  But more than that, He had come to save people, people of that day and people of every generation to follow.  We see this plan developed over the centuries as we look at the Old Testament and see how it all leads down to the coming of Jesus.  Here are the words of Jesus regarding His central purpose:

Luke 19:10, "...the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost."   Here Jesus has just been impressed with the change in the man Zacchaeus.  Z. had been a rich tax collector and had defrauded the people in doing his job.  But Jesus came into his life to effect a change...to "save that which was lost."

Matthew 18:11, "For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost."  Jesus is speaking in this context of "little ones,"  followers of Jesus.  He follows this statement by saying that if a man has a hundred sheep but one goes astray, he will leave the 99 and go find the one. 

It was all important to Jesus that every single person have the opportunity to be saved.  And of course, He is talking about the after-life, eternal life, real life.  Our time on earth is just a fleeting thing, a short passing...and we must seek the Lord and His Way.  A favorite verse is Hebrews 11:6,

"But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him."

We must seek Him in order to enjoy His salvation.  But He wants us to do that, to seek Him, because He came to seek and save the lost.  Praise God!

Thank you for reading.  Have a great week.