Lesson 275: "New Testament History"
The first five books of the New Testament tell the story of Jesus’ life and of the beginning of the Christian church. The four Gospels tell us almost everything we know about Jesus Christ. The word gospel means good news. These four books tell us the Good News that Jesus is the Son of God and that He came to earth and died for our sins. The book of Acts continues the story from Jesus’ return to heaven to Paul’s imprisonment in Rome. Matthew is the first Gospel in the New Testament, written by Matthew, one of Jesus’ twelve disciples sometime before the Romans destroyed Jerusalem in 70 A.D. Matthew wrote his Gospel for the Jews to show them that Jesus was the Messiah who had been promised in the Old Testament. He quoted many Old Testament prophecies and showed how they came true in Jesus’ life. He also included many of Jesus’ teachings about the kingdom of heaven since the Jews were looking for a king. One of the best known parts of Matthew’ Gospel is the Sermon on the Mount, which shows Jesus as a great teacher.
Mark is the author of the second Gospel (as arranged in the Bible) and may have been the first to write down the events of Jesus’ life. He is probably the same person who worked for many years as a missionary with Paul and Barnabas. Mark wrote his Gospel so the early Christians would know what Jesus was like and why he had to die. He shows Jesus as a man of action and authority. One-third of his book tells the events of Jesus’ last week on earth, ending with His death and Resurrection. Luke, the doctor who traveled with Paul, wrote the third Gospel. Luke tells us in the first four verses of his book that he wrote this Gospel so we would have the true story of Jesus’ life. He wrote the fullest, most orderly story of Jesus’ life and showed Jesus’ love for all kinds of people, not just the rich and important, but also the poor or unpopular. John is the fourth Gospel and was also written by one of Jesus’ twelve disciples, John, the disciple whom Jesus loved. John wrote this Gospel so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name. John wanted to show that the things Jesus said and the miracles He did prove that He is God. He chose stories that show Jesus’ godly powers at times when men were powerless. But he also showed that Jesus was human and could become tired or hungry or sad just like us.
Acts is the second part of Luke’s history. It was written so we would have the true story of how the Christian church began and grew. This book is sometimes called the Acts of the Apostles. It especially tells about the work of two of the apostles, Peter and Paul. Acts can also be called the Acts of the Holy Spirit because it teaches about the coming and work of the Spirit. The book of Acts teaches three things about the early church: 1) What the message of the early church was: 2) How the Jews rejected this message and how God sent the apostles to the Gentiles who accepted the Gospel: 3) How the early church was treated by the local and Roman governments. Except for the book of Revelation, the rest of the New Testament is made up of letters written by leaders in the early church to local churches and individuals. There are twenty one letters; thirteen were written by Paul; one (Hebrews) is anonymous, one is by James, two by Peter, three by John and one by Jude. Romans was probably written by Paul as a letter to the Romans at the end of his third missionary journey. He was returning to Jerusalem, and then he planned to visit Rome and go on to Spain. The theme of this letter is righteousness. Paul taught that no human being is righteous, Jesus Christ is perfectly righteous, and if we have faith in Jesus we are freed from the power of sin, given a new life and returned to a right relationship with God. We should live Christian lives that are holy and pleasing to God.
1 Corinthians was written by Paul from Ephesus where had heard disturbing news about the church at Corinth. The Christians there were not getting along with one another and they were taking sides. Some of them were living sinful lives and Paul wrote this letter to scold them and teach them how Christians should act. Corinth was a wicked city and it was hard for the Christians there not to act like their neighbors. In this letter Paul was trying to teach practical lessons about the Christian life so they would know right from wrong. 2 Corinthians is a follow up for some of the people who became angry at the 1st letter. Most of them knew that what they were doing was wrong and sent news to Paul that they would change their behavior. The first part of this letter tells how happy and thankful Paul was when he heard that the Corinthians were sorry for the way they had acted and were now trying to live the way God wanted them to. In the second part of the letter Paul defended himself against the people who where angry with him and who were saying untrue things about him. Galatians was the letter Paul wrote to the Christian churches in Galatia. These churches were being confused by false teachers called Judaizers. These men were teaching the Gentile Christians that they were not really saved unless they obeyed all the Jewish laws, such as being circumcised, eating special foods and celebrating Jewish feast days. Paul wrote that we cannot be saved from our sins by obeying the law; we are saved only by believing in Jesus Christ. He also taught that Christians are free to live by the law of love, not the Law of Moses.
Ephesians was written by Paul while he was in prison in Rome. Probably this letter was sent not just to the church at Ephesus but to all the Christian churches near Ephesus. Ephesus was a large important city at that time so it was a natural center for the Christian churches. In this letter Paul wrote about the church, not a church building in a certain place, but the church that is made up of all Christians who have ever lived. We call this the church universal. Paul wrote that because all Christians are one family in Jesus, they should act with love toward each other. Philippians was also written while Paul was in prison in Rome. The Philippians had sent Epaphroditus to Paul with a gift. While he was in Rome, Epaphroditus became sick and the Philippian Christians were worried about him. After he was better Paul sent him back with this letter. Even though Paul was writing from prison this letter is full of joy and Paul was thankful for the love and helpfulness of the Philippians. Colossians is a third letter written from prison and Epaphras had come to Rome and told Paul that there were false teachers in Colosse who were telling the people that the Christian faith was incomplete. They were teaching the Colossians to worship angels and to follow special rules and ceremonies. Paul wrote to the Colossians to oppose these false teachers. He reminded them that Jesus is supreme over everything and that His death is all we need to save us from our sins; that through Him we are free from man-made rules.
1 Thessalonians is where Paul started a church on his second missionary journey. He taught there for about three weeks but then he had to leave because the Jews were opposing him so strongly. Paul wrote this letter from Corinth to encourage the Thessalonians and to teach them more about Christianity. He praised them for being brave and not giving up their faith in spite of severe suffering. He instructed them how to live in order to please God. He taught about Jesus’ second coming and explained that the time of Jesus’ coming was secret so they should keep on working hard till He came. 2 Thessalonians was sent from Corinth a little while after the first letter. Some people had misunderstood Paul and were sure Jesus was coming very soon. They had stopped working and were just waiting for Jesus. Paul told the Thessalonians again what Jesus’ second coming would be like and reminded them to keep working until that time.
Continued next week with the final part of the New Testament history:
Information taken from the Holy Bible New International Version by permission: