And that’s the way it is.
Some of you probably know the name, Walter Cronkite. He was an anchorman for the CBS Evening News for 19 years (1962–1981). In the 60’s and 70’s, he was often cited as “the most trusted man in America” as he reported the news each night on CBS.
This past week, I came across this quote from Water Cronkite.
“As anchorman of the CBS Evening News, I signed off my nightly broadcasts for nearly two decades with a simple statement: ‘And that’s the way it is.’ To me, that encapsulates the newsman’s highest ideal: to report the facts as he sees them, without regard for the consequences or controversy that may ensue.”
– Walter Cronkite
What is the Good News?
Today, we’re dealing with a virus that is literally sweeping the world. We need good news, but people are looking for good news about a cure. People are looking for good news about the economy. People are looking for good news that will impact our world today.
This is one reason why so many people simply don’t buy into the Christian faith. They support our efforts to do good and make a difference in the world. They appreciate our desire to be good neighbors and make our communities better. They think we’re good citizens and they’re more than willing to be our friends. But they don’t buy into the Christian faith.
Because when we tell them we have good news, what they hear doesn’t sound like news and it doesn’t sound altogether good.
Is this the good news?
As a kid who grew up going to church, believing in Jesus, and raised in a Christian home, if you would have asked me, “What’s the good news?” “What’s the gospel?” I probably would have given you an answer that went something like this…
“Jesus died to save me from my sins so that one day I could go to heaven.”
If I were to ask you what the good news is that we believe, you might say something similar.
And my guess is that if you were to tell that good news to someone who is not a person of faith, they would ask… How is something that happened 2000 years ago news? And why is the idea that there is a God who would send me to hell if I don’t believe what you teach and do the things that you say I have to do in order to be saved good news?
But we’ve seen it over and over again, when we reduce the good news to, “Jesus died to save me from my sins so that one day I could go to heaven,” that’s not enough. People who grew up in the church end up leaving the church if that’s all we believe. And people who aren’t a part of a church and who do not have faith in Jesus won’t become people of faith if that’s all there is to our message.
And while it is good news, I think if you were to ask any of the early Christians that same question… What’s the gospel? What’s the good news? …they would have had something more in mind.
So maybe it’s time to ask the question again, What is the Good News?
Good News in the Roman World
In a world filled with breaking news about the latest weather tragedy, about the latest political debate, about the latest development with COVID-19, the world could certainly use some good news. And the good news is that there is Good News!
Imagine you’re living in the First Century. Julius Caesar was just assassinated. It’s 44 BC and now political violence has brought the Roman world into civil war. On one side of the civil war were those who had Julius Caesar killed and on the other side were those who wanted to avenge his death.
Caesar’s adopted son and heir, Octavian, teamed up with Mark Antony who had been Caesar’s friend. But that alliance was short-lived. After Caesar’s assassins had been defeated, Octavian and Antony became rivals for ultimate power.
As you can imagine, with the Roman world engaged in an all out civil war, life for Roman citizens and all those living in the land was not the way it was supposed to be. Bloodshed, conflict, and constant tension filled every moment of every day for people everywhere as the armies of Octavian and Mark Antony battled.
All of this comes to a head on September 2nd of 31 BC, off the coast of Actium in western Greece. There’s a huge battle on those waters and… Octavian’s navy wins. Antony flees to Egypt with Cleopatra where they both committed suicide.
Now, imagine you were living in Rome during this time. It’s been 13 years of civil war! It’s been a terrible time for everyone living in or around the Roman Empire. Then one day, a herald comes to your small town with an announcement! “Good News!” They shout! “Octavian Caesar has won a great battle. Victory has been decided. He is now master of the Roman World!”
Something has happened that changes everything. This is good news. This is euangelion. This is something worth announcing, worth shouting from the rooftops. The battle is won. There is a new ruler. Peace, justice, and prosperity are on the way for all those living in the land.
Here’s what I want you to see… the good news about Jesus Christ is supposed to be this kind of news. (This is how N.T. Wright describes it in his book, “Simply Good News.”)
What is the Good News?
Fast forward a few years later and you find a Roman citizen by the name of Paul that has his own good news to share. He believed he had good news, euangelion, to tell. He believed he was commissioned to share this good news. He believed that something had happened and as a result, the world is a different place. But the good news that Paul was announcing wasn’t about a new king named Caesar, but Jesus. Not because of a war that had been won by the Roman Navy but because of a victory claimed in the wake of a Roman cross. Something has happened that has changed everything.
So what is this good news?
If you have your Bible or your Bible app, I want to invite you to open to 1 Corinthians 15.3-6.
Right here, near the end of this letter to the church in Corinth, Paul shares a summary of the gospel, the good news, that was being shared by the early church.
“I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said. He was seen by Peter and then by the Twelve. After that, he was seen by more than 500 of his followers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died.”
What is the Good News?
Christ died for our sins…
This is the announcement. SOMETHING HAPPENED. And just in case you missed it, our entire faith is based on this event. Some people have a hard time with Christianity because they have a problem with the Bible. And while this may sound strange to say, our faith isn’t based on the Bible. The first Christians didn’t have the Bible, at least not what you and I have when we think about the Bible. Their faith like our faith is based on an event! Something happened.
Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said.
This is the context. This event happened in the larger story of God’s plan to save the world. When Paul talks about Scripture, he’s talking about the Jewish Scriptures. What we would call the Old Testament. And as you look back through the Jewish Scriptures you can see how God was working all along to bring about this moment. Since the fall in the Garden of Eden, to Moses leading the people of Israel out of Egyptian captivity, to David becoming King, to the prophets who spoke of God’s Messiah who would one day come as Lord and Savior.
What has happened takes place in a larger story. It’s the story of what happened when sin entered the world and God’s plan to make all things right and all things new.
He was buried, raised, and He was seen…
Not only did Christ die, he didn’t stay dead. He was raised on the third day and seen by Peter and the rest of the Twelve, who, by the way, believed so deeply that this story was TRUE that all of them except one died a martyr’s death because of this message. FOR THEM, EVERYTHING CHANGED! But it wasn’t just them, Jesus was seen alive after death by more than 500 people!
Something has happened. And the result of this event isn’t just so when you die you can go to heaven. It’s about so much more than that!
So, what is the good news?
A Good News Story
How is something that happened 2000 years ago news? And why is it good?
It’s been interesting this past week to see people posting good news stories online in an effort to help all of us as we deal with what feels like constant bad news.
One of those good news stories that caught my attention was this…
I don’t have to explain to you why this was good news. You know why this was good news. You understand the larger story. Without knowing all the details, you understand the context. You understand that something has just happened that changes everything for this child and for this family.
Something happened that changes everything.
Right now, we’re living in a world where things are not the way they are supposed to be. Now, more than ever, we’re fully aware of how temporary this life is, how finite our resources are, and how despite all our attempts, there are things that are simply out of our control.
In this moment we have good news. And it’s not just that Jesus died to take away your sins so you can live in heaven forever. Is that good news, sure! But the good news we have is so much greater.
We have good news to share. Because we, too, have a Father. And he has gone to great lengths for his children. And there’s nothing that can separate us from his love. And he would move heaven and earth to make things right for us. And if we could take off the blindfold, whatever it is that keeps us from seeing that He is standing right in front of us with open arms, then we too would see that…
Something has happened that changes everything.
If Walter Cronkite had been reporting at the foot of the cross that day he might have said, “And that’s the way it is.” And the good news is that this Good News changes everything.
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