This has been a mind-bender for me. I’m still struggling to change my thinking. All my life I thought this was the main thing we were supposed to do as Christians. Somehow I didn’t notice that the Bible doesn’t say that. The NIV says to “preach” or “proclaim” the gospel.

The words translated as “share” in the NIV are not used in relation to sharing the gospel:

1. μεταδίδωμι (metadidōmi) – To give, impart, share (Luke 3:11).
2. κοινωνέω (koinōneō) – To share in, participate in, communicate in (Hebrews 13:16).
3. μετέχω (metechō) – To partake, share in, participate in (1 Corinthians 9:10).

When talking about the gospel, the NIV says “preach” or “proclaim”, which are translations of kērýssō:

• kērýssō – properly, to herald (proclaim); to preach (announce) a message publicly and with conviction (persuasion).
• kērýssō (“to herald”) refers to preaching the Gospel as the authoritative (binding) word of God, bringing eternal accountability to all who hear it.
• kērýssō is “preaching by a herald sent from God” (BAGD, “declaration,” TDNT, 3:703). To “gospelize” (2097 /euaggelízō) stresses the victory of God’s Gospel-message in the totality of His “good news.”

Why is that a big deal? Let’s look at Jesus’ words in Mark 1:15.

“The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!”

• The time has come = has been fulfilled; is now
• The kingdom of God = the empire; the reign
• has come near = “extreme closeness, immediate imminence – even a presence (‘It is here’) BibleHub
• repent = think differently; stop sinning
• believe = believe in; entrust yourself to
• the good news = gospel; in Roman times used when the army was victorious

God’s empire reign has come upon us, right here, right now and we are to completely change how we think, entrusting our lives to this announcement of his victorious arrival.

That needs to be proclaimed, not shared, or we’ve missed the point of the message. God is a King who’s completely in charge (Lord) of heaven and earth. When he shows up in person, like Jesus did when he said that, it demands a response, and the wrong response is (eventually) fatal.

Have you noticed how often people’s response to the gospel is “well I’m glad that’s working for you, but I’ve got my own thing”. That’s the appropriate response when the gospel is shared, like “I’ve got a new fitness app”.

God did not invite us to share the gospel, he sent us out to proclaim it.

So they set out and went from village to village, proclaiming the good news and healing people everywhere. – Luke 9:6