Part 3
If you were not here last week, we began an overview of the entire Bible. Last week we examined the O.T. and the period of time between the O.T. and N.T. Today, we will finish our overview by examining the 27 N.T. books.
The first four books of the N.T. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are known as the Gospels because they contain the good news about Jesus’ birth, life, death, and resurrection. They record what happens from about 6 B.C. – A.D. 30.
However the first three books Matthew, Mark, and Luke are called the
Synoptic Gospels because they have a lot in common, and they focus on Jesus’
work in
The
Gospels |
Matthew
|
Mark |
Luke |
John |
Unique |
42% |
7% |
59% |
92% |
In
common |
58% |
93% |
41% |
8% |
Each Gospel account has its own theme, and each account was written to a specific group.
The Book of Matthew does not claim who the author is, but according to Christian tradition, the apostle Matthew was the author. Matthew was written around A.D. 50 – 60. One thing that offers some proof that Matthew was the author is that he was a tax collector and was familiar with finances. There are more references to money in Matthew than in the other Gospels.
Matthew was written to the Jews to convince them that Jesus was the promised Messiah as prophesied in the O.T., which is the reason this book quotes the O.T. around 60 times and makes around 130 references to O.T. events. Matthew shows how Jesus fulfilled prophecies of the Messiah. Since the Jews believed in the O.T., this was the best place to go to prove that Jesus is the Son of God.
Matthew starts out with the genealogy of Christ, which was important
to the Jews because it showed that Jesus came through the seed of Abraham. Matthew
gave the Jews hope even though they crucified the Messiah because he lets them
know that a new
Matthew 21:43 "Therefore I say to you, the
While Matthew was writing to the Jews, he also gave hope to the Gentiles because he said:
Matthew 8:11 "And I say to you that many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 12:21 And in
His name Gentiles will trust."
Matthew carefully records 20 miracles that Jesus did, which proves that He was the Son of God, but he also carefully records the words of Jesus such as the sermon on the Mount (5-7), The parables about the kingdom (13) and the Olivet discourse (24-25). Matthew also records how Jesus rebuked the Pharisees and Scribes with 7 woes in Chapter 23. Matthew closes his book with The Great Commission.
The book of Mark’s author is not named but Christian tradition says it was John Mark. Mark was the son of Mary (Act 12:12) and the cousin of Barnabas (Col. 4:10). He had a close relationship with Peter because he called him my son (1Pet. 5:13). He probably wrote this Gospel under the influence of Peter around A.D. 60-68 .
Mark’s account is different from Matthews because he was writing to the Romans. Since they did not understand Hebrew tradition, he explained it to them:
Mark 7:2 Now
when they saw some of His disciples eat bread with defiled, that is, with
unwashed hands, they found fault. 3 For the Pharisees and all the
Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands in a special way, holding
the tradition of the elders.
A Jew would have known that defiled hands meant
unwashed and why they viewed that way, but a Roman would not. He also used Latin
terms to help the Romans understand things better. He also explained the value
of Jewish money in Mark 12:42 in which two mites makes a quadrans. A qurdrans
or farthing is Latin term for a certain coin. Also, Mark refers to the O.T.
only 19 times. Mark was most likely writing to encourage the Christians in
Mark only records one major speech of Jesus, the Olivet discourse (Mark 13), but he emphasizes that Jesus was a servant who came to do God’s will. In fact, he uses this word “servant” 14 times describing Jesus’ activities. He also records 19 miracles of Jesus.
Mark also makes it clear that Jesus is the Son of God through the:
· Testimony of God (Mark 1:11; 9:7)
· Testimony of Jesus (Mark 13:32; 14:61-62)
· Testimony of demons (Mark 3:11; 5:7)
· Testimony of the Roman Centurion (Mark 15:39)
About 40% of this book is devoted to the final journey of Jesus and the events
surrounding His death. Mark concludes with The Great Commission.
Luke is written by a Gentile physician named Luke around A.D. 60 -68 who addressed his book to an individual, but the message has much broader use than for just one person. Luke was written mainly to the Greeks, and he shows the human side of Jesus and portrays Him as being a perfect man.
The Greeks, who are also Hellenist, were centered on humanity especially in the field of philosophy and science, which is why Luke focuses on Christ’s humanity and His perfect example.
He gives the most complete record of Jesus’ birth and childhood (Luke 1, 2). He traces Christ’s lineage all the way back to Adam, and he captures Jesus’ human traits such as weeping and being in agony (Luke 19:41, 22:44). He records many of Jesus’ prayers. In fact, out the 15 prayers Jesus made in the Gospels, Luke records 11 of them.
Luke was a man who investigated and had a great knowledge of Jesus’ miracles. He records 20 of them with 6 of them being unique to Luke. He treats them as a historical reality. Since Luke was a doctor, there must have been overwhelming evidence of the virgin birth for him to argue it so strongly in Luke 1:26-38.
We can see
that Luke’s account was for the Gentiles because he explained that
…I bring
you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people (Luke 2:10)
A light
to bring revelation to the Gentiles, And the glory of Your people
Luke also
makes reference to the O.T. in regards to the Gentiles
Luke 4:25
"But I tell you truly, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elijah,
when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, and there was a great
famine throughout all the land; 26
"but to none of them was Elijah sent except to Zarephath, in the region
of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. 27 "And many lepers were in
The parable
of the Good Samaritan shows that spiritual matters are to go beyond that of
Judaism (10:25-37).
Luke is also known for the following parables and stories:
The rich fool (12:13-21)
The prodigal son (15:11-32)
The rich man and Lazarus (16:19-31)
The Pharisee and the publican (18:9-14)
The gospel of John does not name its author either, but Christian tradition says that the apostle John was its author. It was written around A.D. 60 – 95. John’s message was universal, but his primary focus was that Jesus is Deity and the Son of God.
John 20:30 And
truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are
not written in this book; 31
but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of
God, and that believing you may have life in His name.
A few things we learn about John is that:
Jesus Deity is proven by 7 “I AM” statements and 7 miracles.
Finally, I want to point out a few of the unique features about the Gospel of John:
Next, we come to the history book of the N.T., the book of Acts. This book records how the Holy Spirit was poured out on the apostles and how the church began and grew. A great verse that describes what the book of Acts is all about is:
Acts 1:8 "But
you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall
be witnesses to Me in
The book mainly focuses on what Peter and Paul did as they went
around spreading the good news. The book was written by Luke around A.D. 62 –
64 and it covers what happened from about A.D. 30 – 62. Luke was a companion of
Paul on several occasions. When Luke writes about Paul, he would use the word “we”
if he was with him at that time. This great book records the birth of the
church in Acts 2 and what one must do to be saved. We learn that around 3000
souls were added to the church at the birth of the church and how the church
continued to grow quickly. It records many conversions of Jews and Gentiles.
Two things that are always mentioned at every conversion are belief and
baptism. It tells us about the first Christian put to death and how Saul turned
from being the persecutor of the church to an apostle of Christ. It also
records how both Jew and Gentile can become children of God. The book ends with
Paul being in chains in
After the book of Acts, we have 21 letters or epistles. Paul wrote 13
of them. He started writing his letters during his 2nd missionary
journey as recorded in Acts 15 – 18, and he wrote his last letter shortly
before he was put death in his 2nd imprisonment in
During Paul’s 2nd missionary journey (Acts 15-18), he wrote 1 and 2 Thessalonians around A.D. 52-53.
During Paul’s 3rd missionary journey (Acts 18 -21), he wrote Galatians, 1 and 2 Corinthians, and Romans around A.D. 57.
During Paul’s 1st Roman imprisonment (Acts 28), he wrote Colossians, Philemon, Ephesians, and Philippians around A.D. 62.
Shortly after he was released from Roman imprisonment, he wrote 1 Timothy and Titus around A.D. 64.
During his 2nd Roman imprisonment, he wrote 2 Timothy around A.D. 66-67.
The book of Romans is considered to be one the greatest letters Paul wrote. In it, he deals with necessity to be saved by having an obedient faith and how sin will separate us from God. He goes to great lengths to explain that we are not justified by the Law of Moses, but by the Law of Christ through faith. He also explains in detail what the grace of God is all about and what happens to us when we are baptized into Christ (Rom. 6). Romans 12 gives some great advice on how to live the Christian life, and Romans 8 ensures us that nothing will separate us from the love of God. This letter was written to the Roman Christians, but its universal message applies to everyone. I personally like:
Romans 1:16 For I am
not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation
for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.
1 Corinthians was written by Paul
because he had heard bad news concerning the church there. They were starting
to divide themselves and call themselves after men instead of after Christ.
Paul writes them to correct their division and to show them that God wants us
to be unified in accordance with His Word. He addresses many issues the church
was having, such as them corrupting the Lord’s Supper, eating meats offered to
idols, disputing over spiritual gifts, and dealing with marriage and divorce,
etc. Chapter 13 is known as the love chapter, but it also teaches that once
God’s Word was fully revealed miracles would end.
Second Corinthians was written by
Paul after he heard how the Corinthians responded to his first letter. He found
out that they had repented and corrected their sins (2 Cor. 2, 7). Paul heard
from Titus that some Judaizing teachers had made their way into
He also lets the Corinthians know
that we will all have to stand before the judgment seat of Christ and give an
account for our actions (2 Cor. 5:10). So, this letter is an appeal to them to
remain faithful to God and to warn as many sinners as they can that they are
lost without God. We also learn a lot about Paul’s character and the many
hardship he endured in his life as a Christian.
The book of Galatians was written
by Paul and it is one of his more severe letters in which he tries to get these
Christians back on track. Some Judaizers had came in and admitted that Jesus
was the Messiah, but they were claiming that salvation required the works of
the Law of Moses. They were also trying to attack Paul’s apostleship.
In this letter, Paul shows that
the Law of Moses has been replaced with Law of Christ and that justification
comes from an obedient faith in Christ not by the works of Law of Moses. He
also defends His apostleship. Paul also makes it clear that we can fall from
grace (Gal. 5:4), so we should take it for granted. He stresses how anyone can
become a child of God that is willing to be baptized into Christ (Gal.
3:27-29).
The book of Ephesians was written
by Paul. The first half of the book deals with doctrine and last half with living
a Christ centered life. Paul likes to use the phrase “in Christ” in his
letters. He uses this phrase 200 times throughout his letters 30 times in the
book of Ephesians. He stresses that we are no longer under the Law of Moses, but
under the system of grace and that we have to be in Christ to have all the
spiritual blessing (Eph. 1:3). He teaches that we can have the understanding of
an apostle when we read the Scriptures (Eph. 3:4). He also stresses that there
is only one body, and we are to be united in that one body (Eph. 4). If we are
not in that one body, we will not be saved because Jesus is the Savior of the
one body (Eph. 5:23). He encourages the Ephesians to stay away from evil and
gives some great advice on how to have a marriage that will last and be
pleasing to God (Eph. 5). He also gives some good parenting advice and tells
how we should put on the whole armor of God so we withstand the whiles of the
devil (Eph. 6).
AN OVERVIEW OF THE BIBLE
Part 4
The book of Philippians was
written by Paul and many call it a love letter to the church at
Philippians 4:2 I
implore Euodia and I implore Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord. 3 And I urge you also, true
companion, help these women who labored with me in the gospel, with Clement
also, and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the Book of
Life.
This letter stresses how we
should treat each other with love and patience. It tells us we should always
rejoice in the Lord knowing that Jesus can and will give us strength, and that
heaven will be our home if we stand fast in the faith.
The book of Colossians was
written by Paul and it is very similar to the book of Ephesians. In fact, it
has about 78 verses that are almost identical to Ephesians. Apparently, some
false teachers had came into their area and were trying to bind festivals and
other rituals on the people. So, Paul stresses the supremacy of Christ over man
and how we need to live our lives according to God’s Word and not man’s ideas.
In chapter 2, Paul stresses how we should not get caught up in philosophies of
men. He talks about our salvation, how we are buried with Christ in baptism,
and how are sins are forgiven at the point of baptism. We can know this
happening at our baptism by our faith in the operation of God (Col. 2:11ff).
Chapter 3 points out how we should keep our thoughts on heaven and do all
things in the name of Christ. Chapter 4 has more practical thoughts about
living the Christian life.
The book of 1 Thessalonians was
written by Paul. When Paul first began preaching the gospel there, he did not
get to stay long because of the opposing Jews (Acts 17). The church began to be
persecuted there, so Paul sent Timothy back to them to see how they were doing
and he brought back a good report (1 Thess. 3:6). However, they did have some
problems that needed to be addressed. So, Paul’s objective was to comfort these
Christians in their affliction and correct some misconceptions they had about
the dead and Jesus’ second coming.
Paul commended them for:
Paul wrote to them to:
Chapter 5:14-22 is a list of
Christian duties that is a great companion to Romans 12.
The book of 2 Thessalonians was
also written by Paul shortly after his first letter to them. This letter
continues to offer comfort to the persecuted Christian, but also warns about
how disobedience to God’s commands will cause one to face everlasting
punishment (2 Thess. 1:7ff). Though Paul already told the people about Jesus’
second coming, he had to address it again because there was some that were
trying to say that Jesus had already came. We can see this in:
2 Thessalonians 2:1 Now,
brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering
together to Him, we ask you, 2
not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by
letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come. 3 Let no one deceive you by any
means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first,
and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition,
Paul let them know that this
great falling away would happen before Jesus came again. Others had
misunderstood the suddenness of Jesus return and thought it meant He would come
back soon, so some stopped working and were waiting around for Him to come
back. Paul lets them know that must not be idle, and they must work so they can
feed their families, and he encouraged them to never grow weary of doing good
(3).
The book of 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy
and Titus, which were written by Paul, are sometimes called the pastoral
letters because they give the qualifications of elders. Some call them the
preacher’s manual. There are seven main points that these letters address:
Timothy was a young man that met
Paul on his first missionary journey and joined Paul on his 2nd
missionary journey. He was an evangelist, and Paul loved him as son and trained
him well. Paul sent Timothy to different places to check the progress of the
churches he had established and to build them up. While Timothy was a faithful
man, he needed to be encouraged, so Paul wrote 1 Timothy and sent it to him
while he was preaching at
Paul had warned the Ephesians
elders earlier:
Acts 20:28
"Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the
Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the
This is the reason Timothy was there. This 1st letter would show the church that Timothy had the authority of Paul to minister to them and to help them with these false teachers. This letter was also written to encourage Timothy do the work that had been assigned to him.
Paul charged Timothy:
Let’s take a quick look at what you will find is this letter:
The book of 2 Timothy is the last letter Paul wrote to Timothy from
his second imprisonment in
Let’s take a quick look at what you will find is this letter:
The book of Titus was written by Paul to Titus, another
evangelist. We do not know as much about Titus as we do about Timothy, but Paul
had left Titus in
So, let’s just take a quick look at what you will find is this letter:
The book of Philemon is the shortest letter Paul wrote and
it shows the transforming power of the gospel. This book is about how Onesimus
was slave that ran away from his owner and possible stole money or goods from
(Phm. 1:18). He fled to
The Book of Hebrews’ author is unknown. However, the most
popular guess is that Paul wrote it, but others have guessed that Apollos,
Luke, or Barnabas wrote it. The date of the book is also difficult to
determine, but we know that it was written before the destruction of
The letter was addressed to the Hebrew Christians who had endured persecution, and they knew who the author was and who Timothy was. The author expected to visit them soon along with Timothy (13:18-19, 23). This letter encourages Christians to be faithful, and it warns against falling away. It shows us how Christ is superior over all things and how Christianity is superior over all religions. It clearly shows that we are under a new better covenant under Christ (Heb. 7:22; 8:6). It makes around 100 references to the O.T., which was the best way to teach and reassure the Hebrews that Jesus had fulfilled the O.T. prophecies and is now our High Priest. It encourages the Christian not neglect the assembly of Saints (Heb. 10:25), and not to allow themselves to drift away from God and lose their salvation (Heb. 2:1-3). It also explains that when we sin willfully it is like trampling Jesus under our foot and counting the blood of the covenant a common thing (Heb. 10:26-29). It also provides encouraging verses such as:
Hebrews 13:5 Let
your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such
things as you have. For He Himself has said, "I will never leave you nor
forsake you." 6 So we
may boldly say: "The LORD is my helper; I will not fear. What can
man do to me?"
The book of James was probably the first book written in our
N.T. Bible. While there are four men called James in the N.T. with two of them
being apostles, Christian tradition says that Jesus half brother James wrote
the book because he was a prominent figure in the church at
This book was written to the Jewish Christians that were scattered abroad as the first verse says:
James 1:1 … To the twelve tribes which are scattered
abroad:
Many call this book “The Proverbs of the New Testament.” It
promotes living a Christian life by being a doer of God’s Word, instead of just
a hearer (
Galatians 2:16 … a man is not justified by the works of the
law but by faith in Jesus Christ
What people fail to
understand is that Paul is saying the we are not justified by the works of the
Law of Moses. He has never taught we are justified by faith alone. Instead, he
teaches that we must have an obedient faith and work out our own salvation
(Phi. 2:12). Paul mentions the need for an obedient working faith in many other
passages as well (Acts 26:20; Eph. 2:10; Rom. 1:5; 6:17; 16:26; Gal. 5:6). So,
James’ message is in perfect harmony with Paul’s message. Paul speaks of the
faith that works, and James talks about the works of faith. As James states:
James 2:20 But do
you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?
Let’s take a quick look at what you will find is this letter:
The book of 1 Peter is written by Peter A.D. 63-68. It was
written to the elect scattered throughout
1 Peter 5:12 I have written to you briefly, exhorting and
testifying that this is the true grace of God in which you stand.
These Christians were being
persecuted (3:17; 4:12-19) and Peter encourages them in his letter to remain
faithful to God and to endure their suffering because all things can be overcome
by faith in Christ. He was also preparing them for future trials that they
would face for serving God. This is a letter of hope.
The main points of each
chapter are:
Christ can be found in
ever chapter:
The book of 2 Peter was
written by Peter shortly after his first one. It was written to:
2 Peter 1:1 those
who have obtained like precious faith
It would have been
written around A.D. 63-68. Peter wrote this to encourage the scattered
Christians to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord (2 Pet. 3:18). He
also warns them about false teachers, and reassures them that Jesus will come
again.
Let’s take a quick look
at these 3 chapters:
The book of 1 John was
written by the apostle John according to Christian tradition. He was writing to
the churches in
The them of this letter
is fellowship with God and Christ (1:3). John mentions several reasons for
writing this letter. He wrote it to:
John also stresses how we
must love one another and love God by keeping His commandments.
2 John is written by
John, and he is writing to the elect lady and her children, which may be
talking about a particular church and it members. Whichever one it is, he was
delighted that her children were living faithful lives, and he warned her about
false teachers and how she should not even show hospitality to such a person.
3 John is written by
John, and he is writing to Gaius. There are 3 men with name of Gaius in the
N.T. (Acts 19:29; 1 Cor. 1:14; Rom. 16:23), but we do not know which Gaius he
was writing to. We learn that this man was a faithful Christian that John
loved, and he was a good example to other believers. He showed hospitably to
traveling evangelist. John also says great things about a man Demetrius, but
has harsh words about a man name Diotrephes. Diotrephes would not receive
travelling evangelist, and he would kick members of the church out that would
receive them.
The book of Jude was
written by Jude, who most belief was the half-brother of Jesus. This book was
written around A.D. 64-68. It was written:
Jude 1:1 to those who are called, sanctified by God the
Father
The purpose of his
writing is found in:
Jude 1:3 Beloved,
while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I
found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the
faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.
Jude warns against false
teachers and gives several examples of what happened to those that choose to
sin against God. He encourages Christians to remain faithful to God and to keep
in mind that eternity in heaven will be worth it all.
Finally, we come to the
prophetic book of Revelation, which was written by John (1:1) during a time
that the church was undergoing great persecution. It uses a lot of apocalyptic
language and symbols. Those who teach the rapture will say that most of the
book of revelation is referring to a future event that will happen very soon.
They see men like Hitler, helicopters, and a great battle taking place on the earth
in this book. They also see Jesus setting up a physical kingdom for 1000 years
on the earth. While this view makes an interesting story, it does not fit with
the rest of the Bible and it is not supported in the book of Revelation without
some heavy twisting of the Scriptures.
Even John said:
Revelation 1:3 Blessed
is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep
those things which are written in it; for the time is near.
There two most popular
views of what the book of Revelation is about that fits well with what John is
talking about is as follows:
Both of these views show
that the majority of the events that are given in the book of Revelation have
already happened. I lean more toward the early date because John said that
these things must shortly take place and the
The theme of Revelation
is the glorious triumph of Christ and the ultimate victory of the righteous. Its
message is designed to comfort and support Christians under trials and
persecutions by assuring them that all the enemies of righteousness will be
destroyed and the church and its members will be victorious in the end.
A quick outline of this
book would be:
This book ends with
giving us a warning not to add or take away from the words of this book.
Well this brings us to
the end of our overview of the Bible. I hope you have found it helpful. I would
like close by showing you a chart I put together that shows the chronological
order of the events of the books of the N.T. and their approximate dates.