Thinking Out Loud

[Mark Beesley]

In Luke 9:1-6, Christ sends the Twelve out to preach. Verse 6 says, they "went through the towns, preaching the gospel."

Later in Chapter 9, in verses 18-21, Christ inquired of the apostles about what people were saying about him, and then asked Peter who he was, to which Peter replies, "the Christ." Curiously, Christ then tells the apostles not to tell anyone at that time that He was the Christ.

So, I'm wondering, what was the "gospel" that the disciples preached prior to the Lord's death and resurrection? Was it anything different than what had been preached for the millenia before Christ's advent, that the Christ would come to deliver HIs people? Was it more immediate, that Christ had come and was among them? Was the Lord's charge to Peter and the disciples to tell no man that he was the Christ a reaction to what they had been preaching? And what do you suppose Judas Iscariot preached?

Just wondering . . .

[ERMD]

I'm not smart enough to ask questions like this.

[Mark Beesley]

I'm not smart enough to ask questions like this.

Or you are smart enough to know better.

As a follow-up, this morning I am in the next chapter of Luke, chapter 10, where Christ commissions the Seventy to preach. Their specific command is to go before Christ into the cities and places where he would come. (Verse 1) If the same charge that was given to Peter and the Apostles not to tell men who he was, what were the Seventy sent to preach? I am puzzled. I am beginning to think that I am not understanding Christ's charge correctly, i.e., about telling others who he was.

Edited November 29, 2011 by Mark Beesley

[ERayR]

In Luke 9:1-6, Christ sends the Twelve out to preach. Verse 6 says, they "went through the towns, preaching the gospel."

Later in Chapter 9, in verses 18-21, Christ inquired of the apostles about what people were saying about him, and then asked Peter who he was, to which Peter replies, "the Christ." Curiously, Christ then tells the apostles not to tell anyone at that time that He was the Christ.

So, I'm wondering, what was the "gospel" that the disciples preached prior to the Lord's death and resurrection? Was it anything different than what had been preached for the millenia before Christ's advent, that the Christ would come to deliver HIs people? Was it more immediate, that Christ had come and was among them? Was the Lord's charge to Peter and the disciples to tell no man that he was the Christ a reaction to what they had been preaching? And what do you suppose Judas Iscariot preached?

Just wondering . . .

I understand that to mean they were not to tell anyone who the Christ was at that time. They were to preach the message of The Gospel but were not to reveal in whom it centered.

[Mark Beesley]

I understand that to mean they were not to tell anyone who the Christ was at that time. They were to preach the message of The Gospel but were not to reveal in whom it centered.

I believe that is correct, but it seems inconsistent. When Christ preached in the synagogue in Nazareth, he declared to the congregation that he was there in fulfillment of the promised Messiah, and they tried to throw him off of a cliff.

Was the responsibility for declaring that Jesus was the Christ the sole responsibility of the Savior while he dwelt on the earth? Maybe. If the apostles, the seventy, and others had openly declared Christ was the Messiah, what impact would that have had? Perhaps ecclesiastical opposition to them would have made it impossible for future evangelical work. Even after the Lord's resurrection and ascension, they had to meet in secret, i.e. not openly proclaim Christ, because of persecutions. Perhaps if there had been a host of disciples proclaiming Jesus as the Christ while he yet lived, the Romans may have become more interested in quashing the movement and Christ's atoning work interrupted. I just don't know.