Jesus is in the middle of his longest recorded prophecy. He told the disciples that before the destruction of the temple, there will be wars and earthquakes, and famines. But told them not to be alarmed, because those things are just the beginning, and they don’t mean that the end is happening right away. Jesus warned his disciples that they would be arrested, tortured, and tried for his stake. It seemed like it’s all going to be bad news. In fact, Jesus is going to be going through a whole litany of horrors to come. But it isn’t all bad news! In fact, Jesus says, that the “gospel,” which means “good news’ must first be preached. The gospel is first. It’s the gospel that makes the troubles of this world bearable.