Gospel and Evangelism in the New Testament

Gospel and Evangelism in the New Testament
by Felix Just, S.J., Ph.D.

Biblical Vocabulary:

Greek	Transliteration	Grammar	Meaning	Mark	Matt	Luke	Acts	John	Paul	Cath	Rev	Total
εὐαγγέλιον	euangelion	noun	gospel; good news	8	4	0	2	0	60	1	1	76
εὐαγγελίζω	euangelizo	verb	to evangelize; tell good news	0	1	10	15	0	21	5	2	54
εὐαγγελίστης	euangelistes	noun	evangelist	0	0	0	1	0	2	0	0	3

Notes:

The noun euangelion is variously translated “gospel” or “good news” in most modern English translations of the New Testament. It is used only a few times each in Mark, Matthew, and Acts; never in Luke or John; and most frequently by Paul. It usually occurs together with the Greek verb kerysso (“to preach, proclaim”). Each use of the noun euangelion is indicated in bold letters in the texts below.
The verb euangelizo is unfortunately translated in a wide variety of ways in English Bibles: “evangelize, bring good news, proclaim good news, tell good news, announce the gospel,” but sometimes simply “preach” or “proclaim” or “announce” (without explicitly adding “good news”). Each use is indicated in bold italics in the texts below.
The noun euangelistes (“evangelist”) is used only three times in the New Testament: Acts 21:8; Eph 4:11; and 2 Tim 4:5) – indicated in BOLD CAPS below.

Biblical Texts:

Mark 1:1 – The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
Mark 1:14-15 – Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, 15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.”
Mark 8:35 – “For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it.”
Mark 10:29 – Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields, for my sake and for the sake of the good news,…”
Mark 13:10 – And the good news must first be proclaimed to all nations.
Mark 14:9 – “Truly I tell you, wherever the good news is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be told in remembrance of her.”
Mark 16:15 – And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the good news to the whole creation….”

Matt 4:23 – Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and curing every disease and every sickness among the people.
Matt 9:35 – Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and curing every disease and every sickness.
Matt 11:5 – “the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them.”
Matt 24:14 – “And this good news of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the world, as a testimony to all the nations; and then the end will come.”
Matt 26:13 – “Truly I tell you, wherever this good news is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be told in remembrance of her.”

Luke 1:19 – The angel replied, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news.”
Luke 2:10 – But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people:”
Luke 3:18 – So, with many other exhortations, he proclaimed the good news to the people.
Luke 4:18 – “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free,”
Luke 4:43 – But he said to them, “I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God to the other cities also; for I was sent for this purpose.”
Luke 7:22 – And he answered them, “Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have good news brought to them.”
Luke 8:1 – Soon afterwards he went on through cities and villages, proclaiming and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God. The twelve were with him,
Luke 9:6 – They departed and went through the villages, bringing the good news and curing diseases everywhere.
Luke 16:16 – “The law and the prophets were in effect until John came; since then the good news of the kingdom of God is proclaimed, and everyone tries to enter it by force.”
Luke 20:1 – One day, as he was teaching the people in the temple and telling the good news, the chief priests and the scribes came with the elders…

Acts 5:42 – And every day in the temple and at home they did not cease to teach and proclaim Jesus as the Messiah.
Acts 8:4 – Now those who were scattered went from place to place, proclaiming the word.
Acts 8:12 – But when they believed Philip, who was proclaiming the good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.
Acts 8:25 – Now after Peter and John had testified and spoken the word of the Lord, they returned to Jerusalem, proclaiming the good news to many villages of the Samaritans.
Acts 8:35 – Then Philip began to speak, and starting with this scripture, he proclaimed to him the good news about Jesus.
Acts 8:40 – But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he was passing through the region, he proclaimed the good news to all the towns until he came to Caesarea.
Acts 10:36 – You know the message he sent to the people of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ—he is Lord of all.
Acts 11:20 – But among them were some men of Cyprus and Cyrene who, on coming to Antioch, spoke to the Hellenists also, proclaiming the Lord Jesus.
Acts 13:32 – And we bring you the good news that what God promised to our ancestors
Acts 14:7 – and there they continued proclaiming the good news.
Acts 14:15 – “Friends, why are you doing this? We are mortals just like you, and we bring you good news, that you should turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is in them.
Acts 14:21 – After they had proclaimed the good news to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra, then on to Iconium and Antioch.
Acts 15:7 – After there had been much debate, Peter stood up and said to them, “My brothers, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you, that I should be the one through whom the Gentiles would hear the message of the good news and become believers.
Acts 15:35 – But Paul and Barnabas remained in Antioch, and there, with many others, they taught and proclaimed the word of the Lord.
Acts 16:10 – When he had seen the vision, we immediately tried to cross over to Macedonia, being convinced that God had called us to proclaim the good news to them.
Acts 17:18 – Also some Epicurean and Stoic philosophers debated with him. Some said, “What does this babbler want to say?” Others said, “He seems to be a proclaimer of foreign divinities.” (This was because he was telling the good news about Jesus and the resurrection.)
Acts 20:24 – But I do not count my life of any value to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the good news of God’s grace.
Acts 21:8 – The next day we left and came to Caesarea; and we went into the house of Philip the EVANGELIST, one of the seven, and stayed with him.

Rom 1:1 – Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God,
Rom 1:9 – For God, whom I serve with my spirit by announcing the gospel of his Son, is my witness that without ceasing I remember you always in my prayers,
Rom 1:15-16 – hence my eagerness to proclaim the gospel to you also who are in Rome. 16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel; it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who has faith, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
Rom 2:16 – on the day when, according to my gospel, God, through Jesus Christ, will judge the secret thoughts of all.
Rom 10:15-16 – And how are they to proclaim him unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!” 16 But not all have obeyed the good news; for Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our message?”
Rom 11:28 – As regards the gospel they are enemies of God for your sake; but as regards election they are beloved, for the sake of their ancestors;
Rom 15:16 – to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles in the priestly service of the gospel of God, so that the offering of the Gentiles may be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.
Rom 15:19-20 – by the power of signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God, so that from Jerusalem and as far around as Illyricum I have fully proclaimed the good news of Christ. 20 Thus I make it my ambition to proclaim the good news, not where Christ has already been named, so that I do not build on someone else’s foundation,
Rom 16:25 – Now to God who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages…

1 Cor 1:17 – For Christ did not send me to baptize but to proclaim the gospel, and not with eloquent wisdom, so that the cross of Christ might not be emptied of its power.
1 Cor 4:15 – For though you might have ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers. Indeed, in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel.
1 Cor 9:12 – If others share this rightful claim on you, do not we still more? Nevertheless, we have not made use of this right, but we endure anything rather than put an obstacle in the way of the gospel of Christ.
1 Cor 9:14 (2x) – In the same way, the Lord commanded that those who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel.
1 Cor 9:16 (2x) – If I proclaim the gospel, this gives me no ground for boasting, for an obligation is laid on me, and woe to me if I do not proclaim the gospel!
1 Cor 9:18 (2x) – What then is my reward? Just this: that in my proclamation I may make the gospel free of charge, so as not to make full use of my rights in the gospel.
1 Cor 9:23 – I do it all for the sake of the gospel, so that I may share in its blessings.
1 Cor 15:1 – Now I would remind you, brothers and sisters, of the good news that I proclaimed to you, which you in turn received, in which also you stand,
1 Cor 15:2 – through which also you are being saved, if you hold firmly to the message that I proclaimed to you—unless you have come to believe in vain.

2 Cor 2:12 – When I came to Troas to proclaim the good news of Christ, a door was opened for me in the Lord;
2 Cor 4:3-4 – And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. 4 In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
2 Cor 8:18 – With him we are sending the brother who is famous among all the churches for his proclaiming the good news;
2 Cor 9:13 – Through the testing of this ministry you glorify God by your obedience to the confession of the gospel of Christ and by the generosity of your sharing with them and with all others,
2 Cor 10:14 – For we were not overstepping our limits when we reached you; we were the first to come all the way to you with the good news of Christ.
2 Cor 10:16 – so that we may proclaim the good news in lands beyond you, without boasting of work already done in someone else’s sphere of action.
2 Cor 11:4 – For if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus than the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you submit to it readily enough.
2 Cor 11:7 – Did I commit a sin by humbling myself so that you might be exalted, because I proclaimed God’s good news to you free of charge?

Gal 1:6-7 – I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— 7 not that there is another gospel, but there are some who are confusing you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ.
Gal 1:8-9 (3x) – But even if we or an angel from heaven should proclaim to you a gospel contrary to what we proclaimed to you, let that one be accursed! 9 As we have said before, so now I repeat, if anyone proclaims to you a gospel contrary to what you received, let that one be accursed!
Gal 1:11 – For I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel that was proclaimed by me is not of human origin;
Gal 1:16 – to reveal his Son to me, so that I might proclaim him among the Gentiles, I did not confer with any human being,
Gal 1:23 – they only heard it said, “The one who formerly was persecuting us is now proclaiming the faith he once tried to destroy.”
Gal 2:2 – I went up in response to a revelation. Then I laid before them (though only in a private meeting with the acknowledged leaders) the gospel that I proclaim among the Gentiles, in order to make sure that I was not running, or had not run, in vain.
Gal 2:5 – we did not submit to them even for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might always remain with you.
Gal 2:7 – On the contrary, when they saw that I had been entrusted with the gospel for the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been entrusted with the gospel for the circumcised
Gal 2:14 – But when I saw that they were not acting consistently with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas before them all, “If you, though a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews?”
Gal 4:13 – You know that it was because of a physical infirmity that I first announced the gospel to you;

Eph 1:13 – In him you also, when you had heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and had believed in him, were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit;
Eph 2:17 – So he came and proclaimed peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near;
Eph 3:6 – that is, the Gentiles have become fellow heirs, members of the same body, and sharers in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.
Eph 3:8 – Although I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given to me to bring to the Gentiles the news of the boundless riches of Christ,
Eph 4:11 – The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some EVANGELISTS, some pastors and teachers,
Eph 6:15 – As shoes for your feet put on whatever will make you ready to proclaim the gospel of peace.
Eph 6:19 – Pray also for me, so that when I speak, a message may be given to me to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel,

Phil 1:5 – because of your sharing in the gospel from the first day until now.
Phil 1:7 – It is right for me to think this way about all of you, because you hold me in your heart, for all of you share in God’s grace with me, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel.
Phil 1:12 – I want you to know, beloved that what has happened to me has actually helped to spread the gospel,
Phil 1:16 – These proclaim Christ out of love, knowing that I have been put here for the defense of the gospel;
Phil 1:27 (2x) – Only, live your life in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that, whether I come and see you or am absent and hear about you, I will know that you are standing firm in one spirit, striving side by side with one mind for the faith of the gospel,
Phil 2:22 – But Timothy’s worth you know, how like a son with a father he has served with me in the work of the gospel.
Phil 4:3 – Yes, and I ask you also, my loyal companion, help these women, for they have struggled beside me in the work of the gospel, together with Clement and the rest of my co-workers, whose names are in the book of life.
Phil 4:15 – You Philippians indeed know that in the early days of the gospel, when I left Macedonia, no church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving, except you alone.

Col 1:5 – because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. You have heard of this hope before in the word of the truth, the gospel
Col 1:23 – provided that you continue securely established and steadfast in the faith, without shifting from the hope promised by the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven. I, Paul, became a servant of this gospel.

1 Thess 1:5 – because our message of the gospel came to you not in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction; just as you know what kind of persons we proved to be among you for your sake.
1 Thess 2:2 – but though we had already suffered and been shamefully mistreated at Philippi, as you know, we had courage in our God to declare to you the gospel of God in spite of great opposition.
1 Thess 2:4 – but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the message of the gospel, even so we speak, not to please mortals, but to please God who tests our hearts.
1 Thess 2:8-9 – So deeply do we care for you that we are determined to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you have become very dear to us. 9 You remember our labor and toil, brothers and sisters; we worked night and day, so that we might not burden any of you while we proclaimed to you the gospel of God.
1 Thess 3:2 – and we sent Timothy, our brother and co-worker for God in proclaiming the gospel of Christ, to strengthen and encourage you for the sake of your faith,
1 Thess 3:6 – But Timothy has just now come to us from you, and has brought us the good news of your faith and love. He has told us also that you always remember us kindly and long to see us—just as we long to see you.

2 Thess 1:8 – in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.
2 Thess 2:14 – For this purpose he called you through our proclamation of the good news, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

1 Tim 1:11 – that conforms to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which he entrusted to me.

2 Tim 1:8 – Do not be ashamed, then, of the testimony about our Lord or of me his prisoner, but join with me in suffering for the gospel, relying on the power of God,
2 Tim 1:10 – but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.
2 Tim 2:8 – Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, a descendant of David—that is my gospel,
2 Tim 4:5 – As for you, always be sober, endure suffering, do the work of an EVANGELIST, carry out your ministry fully.

Philem 1:13 – I wanted to keep him with me, so that he might be of service to me in your place during my imprisonment for the gospel;

Heb 4:2 – For indeed the good news came to us just as to them; but the message they heard did not benefit them, because they were not united by faith with those who listened.
Heb 4:6 – Since therefore it remains open for some to enter it, and those who formerly received the good news failed to enter because of disobedience,

1 Peter 1:12 – It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in regard to the things that have now been announced to you through those who brought you good news by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven—things into which angels long to look!
1 Peter 1:25 – “...but the word of the Lord endures forever.” That word is the good news that was announced to you.
1 Peter 4:6 – For this is the reason the gospel was proclaimed even to the dead, so that, though they had been judged in the flesh as everyone is judged, they might live in the spirit as God does.
1 Peter 4:17 – For the time has come for judgment to begin with the household of God; if it begins with us, what will be the end for those who do not obey the gospel of God?

Rev 10:7 – “but in the days when the seventh angel is to blow his trumpet, the mystery of God will be fulfilled, as he announced to his servants the prophets.”