Lesson 6
Introduction to the New Testament
I.
Introduction to the New Testament
The books
from Matthew through Revelation are called the New Testament, because they present
the new covenant that Jesus made. Old Testament prophets had predicted the
establishment of this new covenant.
There are
twenty-seven books in the New Testament. You can easily remember this number by
counting the letters in the words New Testament. There are three letters in the
word New, and nine letters in the word Testament. Three times nine is
twenty-seven. These books were written by eight authors over a period of
approximately one hundred years. The men used by the Holy Spirit for this work
were Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Paul, James, Peter, and Jude.
The New
Testament is divided into 5 sections: The four Gospels; one book of History;
The fourteen Pauline Epistles; The seven General Epistles and one book of
Prophecy.
It is
vitally important to recognize the purpose of each book, and to whom it was
written. This saves much misinterpretation of scriptures.
The first
four books of the New Testament, Matthew, Mark, Luke.and John, are often called
the four gospels. These books present a biography of the Life of Christ. They
describe the details of His birth, His ministry, death, burial, and
resurrection.
A.
Matthew
Matthew
seemed to be addressing the Jewish readers, and presented a strong emphasis on
Jesus Christ as the Messiah predicted by the Old Testament prophets.
B. Mark
Mark
seemed to have had Gentile readers in mind, and stressed the supernatural power
of Jesus, demonstrating His divinity by the miracles He performed. This book
emphasizes the things that Jesus said by the things which He did.
C. Luke
Luke
presented Jesus as the Son of God, but turned his attention especially to the
humanity of Jesus, featuring His compassion for the weak, the suffering, and
the outcast.
D. The
Synoptic Gospels
The first
three gospels are sometimes called the synoptic gospels, meaning that they take
a common view, of order of the events surrounding the Life of Christ. While
each book was ultimately intended for all of mankind, Matthew seems to have had
foremost in his mind the Jew, Mark, the Roman (Gentile), and Luke the Greek.
Why was this?
1.
Matthew and Scripture
The Jewish
mind had been diligently indoctrinated with the Scriptures. Jews were taught to
view everything from a scriptural perspective. Matthew, again and again, quotes
from the Old Testament in support of his claim that Jesus was the Messiah.
2. Mark
and Authority
The Roman
mind focused on governmental authority and power. Mark, therefore, stressed the
miracles of Christ, emphasizing His supernatural authority over all things.
3. Luke
and the Glorious Perfection of Jesus
The Greek
mind was attracted to culture, philosophy, wisdom, reason, beauty, and
education. Luke, presented a complete, orderly, and classical story, in what
has been called "the most beautiful book ever written." The Book of
Luke revealed the glorious beauty and perfection of the ideal man, the Lord
Jesus Christ.
E. John
and the Deity of Jesus
John
balanced the other three gospels by his special emphasis on the deity of Jesus.
His book began in much the same way the Book of Genesis started. He revealed
that Jesus Christ was the Word made flesh, and that He was from the very
beginning, God the creator of all things. John stressed the things Jesus said,
rather than what He did. Someone has said, "The others were anxious to
record, John was eager to interpret."
F. Acts
The first
four books of the New Testament present a history, or biography, of the Life of
Christ. The next book, Acts, gives a history of the early church. The first
chapter continues the story of the last moments of Christ while He remained on
the earth, then records the establishment of the church in Jerusalem. There the
Promise of the Father (the Holy Ghost) was poured out upon the waiting
believers (Acts 2). The establishment of the church was prophesied in the
gospels (Matthew 16), and accomplished in Acts. While the heading supplied by
the printers of the Bible reads "The Acts of the Apostles," a more
proper wording might be the Acts or History of the Early Church. To understand how the church was founded
and what one must do to be in the church, it is necessary to study the Book of
Acts. This book records the history of how the New Testament church was born.
G. The
Epistles
The next
twenty-one books are epistles or letters, written to the believers in the
churches, telling them how to live the victorious Christian life. The epistles
are not written to tell one how to be saved, they are written to people who are
already saved. They teach the church how to stay saved, and how to grow in the
grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.
1. The
Pauline Epistles
Paul wrote
the first 14 books of the epistles. They are called the Pauline Epistles,
because they were written by the Apostle Paul. Paul wrote a letter to the
church at Rome, two letters to the church at Corinth, one to the church at
Galatia, one to the church at Ephesus, and so forth. Within the Pauline
Epistles are three books commonly called the Pastoral Epistles, I Timothy, II
Timothy and Titus. They are called pastoral because they offer instructions
concerning leadership in the churches.
2. The
General Epistles
The next
seven books, James, I Peter, II Peter, I John, II John, III John, and Jude, are
called the General Epistles, because they are written to the church at large,
or in general. Each of these books bear the name of the author.
H.
Prophecy
Finally,
the Book of Revelation stands in a class by itself. It is largely prophetic in
nature, although it begins with an address to seven of the churches located in
Asia Minor. John was instructed to:
"Write
the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which
shall be hereafter" (Revelation 1:19).