THE GOSPEL IS BIGGER

We have reduced the gospel to "even though you are a sinner, Jesus died for you, and if you ask Him into your heart, you will be granted entrance to heaven when you die".

And it's so firmly ingrained in the church's mindset, that even the scholars with doctorates don't question it.

But the New Testament presents a much bigger gospel: God's Kingdom has been reestablished on earth, Jesus is the saving King, and He will one day return to earth to fully actualize His authority as King.

The first time the word "gospel" is used in the New Testament is at the advent of Jesus' earthly ministry:

(Mat 4:23) And Jesus went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people.

"The gospel of the kingdom"! This is His message 3 years before His death.

And then look at Luke 9:

1 And Jesus called the twelve together and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases, 2 and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal. 3 And he said to them, “Take nothing for your journey, no staff, nor bag, nor bread, nor money; and do not have two tunics. 4 And whatever house you enter, stay there, and from there depart. 5 And wherever they do not receive you, when you leave that town shake off the dust from your feet has a testimony against them.” 6 And they departed and went through the villages, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere.

Here again, the gospel is clearly equated with Jesus' proclamation that the kingdom of God had arrived.

And, considering the disciples would later be completely caught off guard by Jesus' death and resurrection, they obviously were not proclaiming the same message that we today call "the gospel"!