Jesus began His ministry with one of the briefest sermons ever. In Luke 4, verses 16-21, Jesus is in the synagogue in Nazareth on the sabbath and is handed the scroll to read. The scroll contains the writings of Isaiah, and Jesus says these words:

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“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” (NIV)

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Here, Jesus is paraphrasing parts of Isaiah 61 and 58 to arrive at his interpretation describing the “year of the Lord’s favor.”

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Then Jesus returned the scroll to the attendant, sat down and said, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”

HERE ENDETH THE LESSON.

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For the rest of His time on earth, Jesus constantly and consistently spoke and acted on this proclamation, or what is referred to as “good news to the poor.” Another way to translate that phrase is “gospel to the poor.” And here we have Jesus stating simply, concisely and clearly what His mission was – “to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” THIS IS THE "FORGOTTEN" GOSPEL OF JESUS.

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Almost three years passed as Jesus crisscrossed Israel fulfilling the promise of God until the Jewish religious leaders in Jerusalem, fearing an uprising that would destroy their system and make trouble in the region bringing the might of Rome down on them and the people, conspired to have Him put to death. And there the story of Jesus took on another gospel, the “gospel of Christ.”

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This gospel of Christ offered everyone the path to eternal salvation by believing that Christ died as redemption for our sins through the grace of God and was raised from death. And if this is the gospel, what about the “gospel to the poor” explicitly spoken of by Jesus. Where did that gospel go? What happened to it? Why is it forgotten?

First, what is the definition of the word "gospel" in churches today? Evangelical? Mainline?​ Non-denominational?

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Second, what is meant by "the Gospel" by the churches? Evangelical? Mainline? Non-denominational?

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Third, are there other "gospel(s)" used in the churches? Evangelical? Mainline? Non-denominational?

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Fourth, how did Jesus define "the kingdom of God on earth" (aka: the "forgotten" gospel of Jesus)?

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Fourth, why was the gospel of Jesus forgotten? 

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