The gospel is the good news of God concerning his son

Q: Some have said that the Sermon on the Mount preached by Jesus is the entire message of his ministry. How can that be when his death, burial, and resurrection are not included?

— S.M.

A: The Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) is the longest sermon given by Jesus as recorded in Scripture which includes the Beatitudes and the lord’s Prayer, but this is not the whole of Jesus’ teaching.

Some have said that Jesus’ main role was as a social reformer, coming to change society and liberate people who were bound by injustice and oppression. Others say he came merely as an example, showing us by his acts of love how we should live. And others dismiss him as a misguided religious reformer with no relevance to a modern, scientific age.

But none of these are adequate to explain Jesus Christ as we see him clearly pictured in the New Testament. The Bible, in fact, makes a startling assertion: Jesus was not only a man, but he was God Himself, come down from the glory of Heaven to walk on this earth and show us what God is like.

Christ “is the image of the invisible God” (Colossians 1:15). More than that, he is the divinely appointed savior who died for sinners, bearing their transgressions upon the cross. He died to save all who had disobeyed God and who were slandering him in their unregenerate natures.

The Gospel is the good news of God concerning his son, Jesus Christ our lord, who demonstrates God’s mercy to those separated from God and in need. He alone, in the history of the human race, demonstrated the happiness and blessedness of life.

This column is based on the words and writings of the late Rev. Billy Graham.