The Whole Gospel

Jesus said to them, “Have you understood all these things?”
-Matthew 13:51

The word translated as “understood” means “to put together.” Jesus is asking those who follow Him if they’ve put together what He’s taught through parables in Matthew 13. 

There’s a lot to put together. The reality of counterfeit Christians. The reality of Satan’s emissaries. The reality of the judgment to come, where there will be wailing, weeping, and gnashing of teeth in the furnace of fire. The reality that all have sinned and fallen short of God’s holy standard. The reality that all are unjust and unrighteous? And that there will be a just judgment for the unjust and the unrighteous for all of eternity?

This is the bad news. 

But there’s Good News. You are the treasure that God seeks. You are the pearl of great price. Jesus gave all that He has to rescue you and redeem you so that you don’t have to enter into the eternal judgment that your sins deserve. 

To appreciate the Good News, the bad news must also be communicated. We must love people enough to tell them what they need to be saved from. The Good News is only good if the bad news is understood.