The Gospel Must be PROCLAIMED

Kerugma
1. that which is proclaimed by a herald or public crier, a proclamation by herald
2. in the NT the message or proclamation of the heralds of God or Christ
- Smith & Thayer's Lexicon

To discharge a herald's office, to cry out, proclaim, preach
- Spiros Zodhiates' Lexical Aids to the NT

Kerux
1. a herald or messenger vested with public authority, who conveyed the official messages of kings, magistrates, princes, military commanders, or who gave a public summons or demand, and performed various other duties. In the NT God's ambassador, and the herald or proclaimer of the divine word.
- Smith & Thayer

In classical Greek, a public servant of supreme power both in peace and war, one who summoned the ekklesia, the town gathering... A kerux, messenger, was the public crier and reader of state messages such as the conveyor of a declaration of war.
- Zodhiates

Kerusso
1. to be a herald, to officiate as a herald
   a. to proclaim after the manner of a herald    b. always with the suggestion of formality, gravity and an authority which must be listened to and obeyed
2. to publish, proclaim openly: something which has been done
3. used of the public proclamation of the gospel and matters pertaining to it, made by John the Baptist, by Jesus, by the apostles and other Christian teachers
- Smith & Thayer

In particular note 1(b), "always with the suggestion of formality, gravity and an authority which must be listened to and obeyed". A Kerux was the town crier, one who summoned the town gathering for major announcements affecting the entire population. Kerusso is a "Hear ye, hear ye", raised voice, stop what you are doing, type of announcement in the public square. According to my studies, and in my opinion, sharing the gospel with a friend is not kerusso, one-on-one evangelism is not kerusso. The New Testament writers took hold of other Greek words, such as Euaggelizo, to express those types of activities.
   Now I will give some examples of the specialized meaning, and the reserved usage, of the word kerusso. After that I will show the significance which I think all of this has for "missions".

   What I tell you in the darkness, speak in the light; and what you hear whispered in your ear, proclaim [kerusso] upon the housetops. - Mt 10:27
   But he went out and began to proclaim [kerusso] it freely and to spread the news around, to such an extent that Jesus could no longer publicly enter a city. - Mark 1:45
   So he went away, proclaiming throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him. - Luke 8:39
   ...which was proclaimed [kerusso] in all creation under heaven... - Col 1:23
   And I saw a strong angel proclaiming [kerusso] with a loud voice... - Rev 5:2
   Comment: If you look at all of the uses of kerugma, kerux, and kerusso, you will find that their usage is reserved for cases of widespread, open, proclamation. Literal "shouting from the rooftops" type of proclamation. In other words, the usage of these words in the New Testament consistently reflects the literal "crying out" nature of the word as defined in the above lexicons.

   For this I was appointed a preacher [kerux] and an apostle (I am telling the truth, I am not lying) as a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth. - 1 Tim 2:7
   For which I was appointed a preacher [kerux] and an apostle and a teacher. - 2 Tim 1:11
   But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me, so that through me the proclamation [kerugma] might be fully accomplished, and that all the Gentiles might hear; and I was rescued out of the lion's mouth. - 2 Tim 4:17
   But at the proper time manifested, even His word, in the proclamation [kerugma] with which I was entrusted according to the commandment of God our Savior... - Titus 1:3
   Comment: Note that Paul considers his appointment as a Kerux as a particular thing, not a general role that belongs to all Christians. Just as not all Christians are apostles, not all Christians are entrusted with the task of being a Kerux. "Sharing the hope that is within us" is the task of all Christians, but kerusso is a particular task charged to only some.

   Therefore they that were scattered abroad went every where preaching [euaggelizo] the word. Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached [kerusso] Christ unto them. - Acts 8:4-5
   Comment: I think we overuse the word "preach" in English, and I think that our English Bible translations are partially to blame for that. The KJV translation of Acts 8:4-5 has the scattered believers doing the same action (preaching) as Philip did in Samaria (NIV, NASB, and ESV also translate euaggelizo as "preaching"). Later in the same chapter, KJV and NASB have Philip "preaching" to the Ethiopian. This time, though, I think NIV and ESV get it right by saying Philip "told him the good news" [euaggelizo]. To the city of Samaria Philip kerussoed, but to the Ethiopian man he euaggelizoed.
   It seems that euaggelizo emphasizes the content of the message, it is the good news which is being spread. This can be done in a setting of public proclamation (Acts 14:21) or of private sharing (Acts 8:35), but it must be good news or glad tidings which are being shared.
   Kerusso, on the other hand seems to emphasize the means by which the news is going forth. The content can be the good news of the gospel, or not (perhaps 1 Peter 3:19), but in order to be kerusso it must truly be openly "proclaimed from the rooftops."
   It is possible for the two (euaggelizo and kerusso) to be used in parallel (Lk 8:1, Rom 10:15), but I think this is because the special emphases of both are being drawn upon, not because the nuances of the two are identical.

   What is the significance of all of this? Now that we have seen the particular and specialized and reserved way that "kerusso" is used, let us turn to some major "missions" verses.

   This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached [kerusso] in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come. - Mt 24:14, Mk 13:10
   And He said to [the Eleven apostles], "Go into all the world and preach [kerusso] the gospel to all creation." - Mk 16:15
   Comment: Beginning with Ralph Winter, it has convincingly been argued that a proper understanding of "all nations" [panta ta ethne] is crucial to defining the Great Commission. If we thought of "all nations" from our modern notion of geo-political nations we could say that indeed there are disciples in every one of them. However, if "panta ta ethne" has more to do with "people groups" than political boundaries, then the task is radically redefined. Countries like Malaysia and Lebanon have a (relatively) large Christian population, but nevertheless the Muslim people groups in those countries are almost as "unreached" as can be.
   Likewise, I would propose that a proper understanding of "kerusso" must reshape our definition and understanding of the task of the Great Commission. If the above presentation is correct, then I think the word "kerusso" should effect a profound reshaping of our understanding of the Great Commission, just as significantly as "panta ta ethne" has.
   In particular, it is generally accepted in the "missions community" today that, especially in "restricted access" countries, individual sharing of the gospel is sufficient. It is assumed that if we could just get enough "workers" on the field, and enough "trickling" of the gospel through personal evangelism, then the Great Commission task could be fulfilled in this way. I disagree. Where there is no kerusso, I don't believe these verses are being fulfilled in our time.

   How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher [kerusso]? How will they preach [kerusso] unless they are sent [apostello]? - Rom 10:14-15
   Comments: This is another classic "missions" verse. Note that in light of the multitude of peoples who have not had opportunity to hear the gospel, Paul's immediate response is that they need someone to preach to them. And not just anyone can preach. Those who preach must be sent. In light of Paul's own example (Acts 13), I'm inclined to think that the sending he has in mind is a dual sending, by God and through the church. There are not to be any "self-appointed" kerux.
   I believe Kerusso is not a responsibility that falls upon most of us personally. In the New Testament, the work of a Kerux was assigned not to every Christian, but certainly it was assigned to SOME (Mark 3:14, 2 Cor 1:19, 2 Tim 4:2). So there is no criticism upon a missionary for not kerusso-ing the gospel if he was not appointed and sent for that task. However, in the church as a whole, if we do not have Kerux representatives proclaiming amongst the nations, then I think we cannot say the Great Commission is being fulfilled.

Conclusion
   Euaggelizo reminds us that the GOSPEL must be proclaimed, and Kerusso reminds us that the gospel must be PROCLAIMED. [And that holds equally true in places where open gospel proclamation is not welcomed, such as Muslim dominated communities.]
   Of all the connections with, and stories from, missionaries I know across the 10/40 window, I don't know of a single example of kerusso of the gospel in Muslim communities. There could be some cases that I don't know about, but the fact remains there is either no kerusso of the gospel in Muslim communities, or almost none.
   Thus no matter how many more missionaries we send out, we are not moving any closer to the fulfillment of Mt 24:14 and Mk 16:15. We could multiply the "missionary force" one-hundredfold but, only considering the "kerusso" measure, we would not be any closer to fulfilling the task. Note: I am not saying that all the current effort is wasted, or anything like that. "Kerusso" is only one measure of the task. By other important measures people are doing valuable ministry. So on the one hand I want to say that by other measures (e.g. evangelism, discipleship, displaying of Christ's love) many good and valuable things have been done, but on the other hand, the kerusso of the Muslim nations has virtually not even been touched upon (to my knowledge).
   If it is correct that kerusso is a central and critical aspect of the Great Commission, not an optional or auxilary aspect, then we have before us a MAJOR, yet overlooked, focus for prayer and seeking God --- that is, for God-empowered, God-sent, church-sent, Kerux ambassadors to PROCLAIM the gospel amongst the unreached nations.