: F.F. Bruce
: Defending First-Century Faith Christian Witness in the New Testament
: Kingsley Books
: 9781912149070
: 1
: CHF 8.30
:
: Religion/Theologie
: English
: 118
: DRM
: PC/MAC/eReader/Tablet
: ePUB
What is the gospel? And how was its first preached--and defended? Opposition of many kinds--religious, political, and cultural--met the early Christians in their eagerness to tell the world about Jesus Christ. The kinds of opposition they faced still exist in new guises and we can learn much from the sensitive way the apostles tackled them. While adapting their approach, the early Christians never watered down their message. 'The Kingdom of God calls loudly for such men and women today,' writes the author. Defending First-Century Faith is clear, concise, and deeply perceptive. It is factual, fresh, and inspiring and written by the most outstanding evangelical scholar in Britain in the second half of the twentieth century.

CHAPTER TWO


THE GOSPEL ACCORDING
TO JESUS


“THE POOR HAVE GOOD NEWS PREACHED TO THEM,” said Jesus to the messengers of John the Baptist. “The Lord … has anointed me to preach good news to the poor,” he announced in the synagogue of Nazareth, applying to himself the language of Isaiah 61:1. But what was the nature of the good news which he proclaimed? Since his reading from that Old Testament text included things like “release to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind,” it may be gathered that his healing ministry was part and parcel of his good news, but what else can be learned about it?

Mark, probably the earliest of our four evangelists, says that, after the arrest of John the Baptist, “Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent, and believe in the gospel’” (Mark 1:14 f.). In these words the gospel which Jesus proclaimed is summed up. The summary is not dissimilar to the announcement of Luke 4:21, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing,” but it harks back to another body of Old Testament teaching. The kingdom, or kingship, of God is a recurrent theme in the Old Testament. “The Lord sits enthroned as king for ever” (Psalm 29:10); “The Lord has established his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom rules over all” (Psalm 103:19). Some psalms which seem to have been prescribed for special occasions of public worship in Israel have as refrain, “The Lord reigns” or “The Lord is king” (e.g. Psalm 93:1; Psalm 96:10; Psalm 99:1). On earth his kingship was specially manifested and ac