intro to new testament

he New Testament isthe completion of theScriptural masterpiece.The Old Testamentwithout the New

Testament is like a story with-out an ending, like a bud thatnever flowers. “The New is inthe Old concealed; the Old isin the New revealed.”

The Old Testament pointsahead to Jesus Christ. He isthe thread of redemption thatwinds its way through the OldTestament.

That hope, that expecta-tion, is clothed with flesh andblood in the New Testament(John 1:14). The Messiahappears! The Old Testamentprophets were right! The Sonof God has become the Son ofMan—the God-man.

The record of His life is pre-served for us in the four Gospelaccounts. Hismiraculous birth,His incomparablewords and deeds,His life-givingdeath and resur-rection distin-guish Him as themost unique indi-vidual of history.

After Christ’sascension, Hisfollowers blan-

keted the world with the goodnews that sinners couldbecome saints—that evenGentiles could enter the king-dom of God by faith. Churchessprang up from Jerusalem toAntioch, Galatia to Italy. TheActs of the Apostles recordsthe path of this mighty wave.

The good news of JesusChrist brings hope for tomor-row—and help for today! TheNew Testament Epistlesexplain how the power of therisen Christ can transformtimid cowards into bold wit-nesses. Ordinary life becomesan extraordinary walk of faith.And the best news of allawaits us in the prophecy ofRevelation—He is coming

again in power and glory!The 27 books of the New

Testament, penned by at leastnine authors over a period of50 years, fall naturally intofour divisions.

The five Books of Historydescribe the life and ministryof Jesus Christ, and the spreadof Christianity.Paul’s Epistles to

Churches, of which there arenine, were written to encour-age and instruct new congre-gations of believers.Paul’s Epistles to Pastors,

of which there are four, exhortchurch leaders to faithfulnessand diligence.

The nine General Epistles,originally written to persecut-ed Jewish believers, containpractical help for maturingChristians.

History, Epistles, Prophecy—past, present,future. Threetimeless per-spectives onJesus Christ, thesame “yester-day, today, andforever”(Hebrews 13:8).

TINTRODUCTION TO

THE NEWTESTAMENTG

ENER

AL

EPISTLES

PAUL’S EPISTLES: PASTORS

BOOKS OF HISTORY

1 Timothy 2 Timothy Titus Philemon

RevelationJude

3 John2 John

1 John2 Peter1 PeterJames

Hebrews

Matthew Mark Luke John Acts

PAU

L’SEP

ISTL

ES:C

HU

RCH

ES 2 Thessalonians1 Thessalonians

ColossiansPhilippians

EphesiansGalatians

2 Corinthians1 Corinthians

Romans

WALK THRU THE NEW TESTAMENT 5

WALK THRU THE NEW TESTAMENT6

THE STRUCTURE OFTHE NEWTESTAMENT


Revelation

Jude3 John2 John


Hebrews


2 Thessalonians

1 ThessaloniansColossiansPhilippians

EphesiansGalatians


Romans

Number of books inthe Old Testament:

________

Number of books inthe New Testament:

________

Number of books inthe Bible:

________

P______ E_______: P_________ ( )

B_______ of H__________( )

P____E_______:C________(

) G__________

E__________

()

he only thing “silent”about the 400 Years ofSilence was the title,for these four centu-ries marked the turbu-

lent transition between theend of the Old Testament andthe beginning of the NewTestament. Even though noprophet was speaking for God(hence the name “SilentYears”), God was busilypreparing the world for thefulfillment of promises as oldas Genesis 3:15.Find the last verse in the

Old Testament portion of yourBible (it’s Malachi 4:6). Nowfind the first verse in the NewTestament portion (it’sMatthew 1:1). Chances aregood you only had to leafthrough a page or two of yourBible to step from the Old tothe New. And yet, that “step”is really morelike a “leap,” forthe gap betweenthe Testamentsstretches over400 years! Duringthat period, worldpowers rose andfell, politicalparties and reli-gious institutionswere birthed, thesciences and artsflourished. In

short, the world of Matthew1:1 was vastly different fromthe world of Malachi 4:6.Perhaps you have won-

dered why God would delayso long in fulfilling Hispromises of a coming Messiah.Why the long “intermission”between the two great acts ofhistory? The answer may befound in Galatians 4:4—

“But when the fullness oftime had come, God sent

forth His Son . . .”

When the stage of humanhistory had been uniquelyprepared for the arrival ofGod’s Son, then—and only

then—did God lift the curtainon the event that wouldforever divide A.D. from B.C.• Good news travels fast—that is, if everyone speaks thesame language.• Missionaries can carry themessage around the world—that is, if they can travelefficiently on a network ofhighways.• Audiences long to taste theBread of Life—that is, if theirappetites have been properlywhetted.Century by century, God

patiently arranged the “props”on the stage of world history,until at last, all was ready. Theyears of silence were shatteredby a voice crying in the wilder-ness: “Behold! The Lamb ofGod who takes away the sin ofthe world!” (John 1:29).The wait was finally over,

and the excitingadventure wasabout tobegin—GoodNews for all!The curtaincould now lifton the greatestdrama ofhuman history.At last it wasindeed thefullness of time!

T


INTRODUCTION TO THE400 YEARSOFSILENCE

ASSYRIA 883 B.C.—612 B.C.

BABYLONIA 612 B.C.—539 B.C.

PERSIA 539 B.C.—331 B.C.

GREECE 331 B.C.—167 B.C.

ISRAEL 167 B.C.—63 B.C.

ROME 63 B.C.—500 A.D.

WALK THRU THE400 YEARS OF SILENCE

1. 400 Y__________ – S______________

2. M_____________ – M_____________

3. P_____________

4. G___________ – L________________

5. I____________ – H____________

6. R___________ – R___________

7. P_____________

8. S________________– S_____________

9. S________________ – Ph__________________

10. P_______________ – Z_____________

11. F_________ D______________ V___________

12. O______ G___________ N__________

“But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth His Son . . .” (Galatians 4:4)


THEGOSPELOFJESUSCHRIST

Matthew• Mark • Luke • JohnMatthew• Mark • Luke • John


ive Books of Historycomprise the foundationof the New Testament.The first four, collective-ly known as theGospels

(“good news”), present themost significant biographyever written. Rather than onelong narrative, the good newsis presented in four distinctaccounts, each penned by adifferent author, set against adifferent cultural backdrop,intended for a different read-ing audience, but all focusingon the same unique personal-ity of history—Jesus Christ.Matthew, a Jew, aims his

words at a Jewish audience.His goal is to show Christ astheir King. Frequently quotingfrom the Old TestamentScriptures, he argues thatChrist “fulfills what waswritten” in Hisbirth, His life,His death, andHis resurrection,leaving only oneinescapableconclusion—Jesus is in factthe Messiah.Mark seeks

to reach a Romanaudience bypresenting Jesus

as the perfect Servant, activelyministering to the physicaland spiritual needs of thehuman race. If anyone everdeserved to be served, it wasJesus, and yet He came toserve and to sacrifice Himselffor the objects of His love.Luke focuses on a Greek

audience, painting Jesus as thePerfect Man. Dr. Luke high-lights the humanity of Jesusas only a physician can do,describing how Christ came toearth “to seek and to save thatwhich was lost.”John broadcasts his

message to the entire humanrace. He selects seven miracles(attesting signs) from Jesus’

life and ministry and arrangesthem carefully to prove con-vincingly that Jesus Christ isindeed the Son of God. Thereis life eternal for all whobelieve His claims.Four distinct views, one

Good News. Four independ-ent sources—a tax collector, amissionary, a doctor, a fisher-man—all testifying to thepowerful truth that Jesus isSavior and Lord.In each gospel, the author

selects and arranges hismaterial in such a way as tobuild a convincing case. TheKing of the Jews must be ableto trace His roots back toAbraham, the father of theJews. The Servant must beinstantly obedient to the willof His Father. The Perfect Manmust be able to trace His roots

back to Adam,the father of thehuman race. Andthe Son of Godmust be able todo things onlyGod can do.

F

INTRODUCTION TOTHE GOSPELS

GEN

ERA

LEP

ISTLES

PAUL’S EPISTLES: PASTORS

BOOKS OF HISTORY


RevelationJude

3 John2 John


Hebrews


PAU

L’SEP

ISTL

ES:C

HU

RCH

ES 2 Thessalonians1 Thessalonians

ColossiansPhilippians

EphesiansGalatians


Romans

BODIES OF WATER

1. Sea of Galilee2. Jordan River3. Dead Sea4. Mediterranean

Sea

PROVINCES

5. Galilee6. Samaria7. Judea8. Perea

KEY CITIES

9. Capernaum10. Nazareth11. Sychar12. Jerusalem13. Bethlehem

THE GEOGRAPHY OFTHE GOSPELS

N

S

W E

N

S

W E



Mediterranean Sea

Dead

Sea

Jord

an

River

Sea of Galilee(Lake of Gennesaret)

PHOENICIA

ITUREA

TRACHONITISGALILEE

DECAPOLIS

SAMARIA

PEREA

JUDEA

IDUMEA

• Zarephath

• Tyre

• Caesarea Philippi

Bethsaida•

Capernaum•

Chorazin•

Gennesaret •

Cana?•

Magadan •(Magdala, Dalmanutha) •Gergesa

Tiberias••

Nazareth• Nain

• Gadara

Aenon •Salim •

• Gerasa

Sychar •

• Arimathea • Ephraim?

Ramah •

Emmaus? •• Bethany beyond Jordan?(Bethabara)

• Bethlehem

• Sodom?

• Bethphage

Jericho•

Jerusalem •(Zion)

• Bethany

• Gomorrah?

Cyrene

EVERY GEOGRAPHICALLOCATION IN THE GOSPELS

N

S

W E

N

S

W E

WALK THRU THELIFE OF CHRIST

(PART 1)

13. B________________ – B__________14. N_____________ – C_________________15. J___________ – B______________ by J__________16. W______________ – T____________ by S__________17. J________________ – S____________ B________18. S__________ – W___________ at the W_______19. N______________ – R______________20. C_________________

21. S_______________ of the T____________22. S_____________ on the M___________23. P____________ over S____________24. P_______________ S_____________25. A S____________ S______________26. A C____________ F______________27. T_______________ of P____________28. T__________________



WALK THRU THELIFE OF CHRIST

(PART 2)

13. Bethlehem – Birth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (Luke 2)14. Nazareth – Carpenter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (Luke 2)15. Jordan – Baptized by John . . . . . . . . . . . (Luke 3)16. Wilderness – Tempted by Satan . . . . . . . (Luke 4)17. Jerusalem – Second Birth . . . . . . . . . . . . (John 3)18. Sychar – Woman at the Well . . . . . . . . . . (John 4)19. Nazareth – Rejection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (Luke 4)20. Capernaum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (Luke 5)

21. Selection of the Twelve . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (Luke 6)22. Sermon on the Mount. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (Luke 6)23. Power over Satan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (Mark 3)24. Parables Start . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (Luke 8)25. A Storm Stilled . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (Luke 8)26. A Crowd Filled . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (Luke 9)27. Testimony of Peter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (Luke 9)28. Transfiguration. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (Luke 9)

intro to new testament

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