Get Ready
More than five hundred years before Jesus was born God told the prophet Jeremiah that he was going to do “a new thing” – he was going to “put my law within them” – he was going to make his relationship with his people personal. The New Testament is the story of how God is doing that “new thing.”
Why is it the “New” Testament?
Just as the Jews do not call their writings about God and his
people the “Old Testament,” Christians did not call their sacred writings the “New Testament” during the early development of the church. The first reference to such a title appeared in a letter by an unknown author in 193.
So why do we call it “new”?
Well, primarily because God does – it is his book, after all.
And it lays out his plan for our salvation.
God told Jeremiah he would be doing a “new thing,” and said he would put his law in our hearts, not on stone tablets anymore [Jer 31:33]. God told Isaiah he was “about to do a new thing,” and said the former things have come to pass, and new things I now declare, [Isaiah 43:19, 42:9]. He also said, I am about to create new heavens and a new earth; the former things shall not be remembered or come to mind, [Isaiah 65:17].
The psalmist calls on people to “sing to the Lord a new song,”
[Ps 98:1]. And this is what Jesus’ followers began to do.
So why is Jesus’ story called the Gospel
“Gospel” is the Greek word for “good news.”
God had been telling the Jews, through the prophets, that his “new thing” would be “good news” for more than six hundred years: The spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me; he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to the prisoners, [Isaiah 61:1– Jesus applied this passage to himself in the synagogue, [Luke 4:16-21].
God also links “good news” to announcing salvation and peace, and saying, “Your God reigns,” [Isaiah 52:7].
The Apostles and other followers of Jesus used the phrase to tell the story of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection – and especially what this means for our relationship with God.
So God’s “new thing” is the best possible “good news” because it is the story of how God has made it possible for us to have a living, loving relationship with him.
Why do we still have the Old Testament?
Christians believe Jesus abolished the law with its commandments and ordinances, that he might create in himself one new humanity, [Eph 2:15]. Paul also said Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes, [Rom 10:4].
The law that God gave to Moses during the exodus is not the means to achieving a relationship with God. In fact, according to Paul, the law tells us we cannot achieve such a relationship because we cannot obey it in our lives.
But the Old Testament continues to teach us about who God is and what his plan for his creation is. And the law continues to be the guide to what God considers moral or righteous action.
The Organization of the New Testament
There are three different types of writings in the New Testament:
- Narrative histories of Jesus’ life and ministry and of the initial development of the church – the four Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles.
- Letters dealing with various aspects of Christian faith and doctrine and church practices – Paul wrote nine letters to specific churches and four letters to individuals; James, Peter, John and Jude wrote seven letters intended for the church at large; and an unknown author wrote a general letter to the “Hebrews.”
- Apocalyptic visions of the end times – the Apostle John wrote Revelation.
The Development of the New Testament
The writings that we now call the “New Testament” originated as the Apostles and other early believers worked to spread the message of God’s salvation through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus.
In the beginning the group of followers (they called themselves “The Way”) could rely on the Apostles, who actually knew Jesus and heard his teachings. The Apostles could also resolve disagreements based on their experience with Jesus. But as time passed and the church grew beyond Jerusalem and Judea – especially as more and more Gentiles became followers – the availability of someone who had actually spent time with Jesus became less possible.
This led church leaders to write down what they remembered about Jesus’ life and ministry and what they had learned from his teaching. At the same time, missionaries used letters to deal with problems in the churches they had developed throughout the region.
Eventually these writings were collected.
Get into the Word
1. What do Christians call their sacred writings? When did this name come into use? Why is it called “New”? What is (or was) the “old” version? Why did God provide a “new” version? When did God first introduce the idea of a “new” covenant or relationship?
2. What other label do Jesus’s followers use for their books about his life? What does this name actually mean? Why is this an appropriate title for these works?
3. How did God introduce this “new” title? What types of actions are associated with this label? What else does God link to this “good news”? Who first applied this concept to Christ? How did people react to this?
4. What is the relationship between the Old Testament and the New? What happened to the provisions of the old relationship? Why is it important to still read and understand the Old Testament?
5. How is the New Testament organized? What types of writings are included? Who are some of the authors in this book? What are the different types of letters included?
6. How did the contents of the New Testament originate? Who were the early sources of information for this book? Why were they accepted as knowledgeable or authoritative? How did they transmit this information?
7. Why did the church leaders start to write down the information? Was this a good thing or a bad thing for the early church? Do you think the early writers knew how important their work would become for later believers (like you and me)?
Psalm 96 was probably written nearly 1,000 years before Jesus was born, but it is still a very good introduction to the New Testament:
O sing to the Lord
a new song;
sing to the Lord,
all the earth.
Sing to the Lord,
bless his name;
tell of his salvation
from day to day.
Declare his glory
among the nations,
his marvelous works
among all the peoples.
Next Lesson
Matthew 3-4: Jesus’ baptism and temptation
