The New Testament Story

‘Helping you find your way from Matthew to Revelation’

Regular Baptist Press

Introduction: Have you ever picked up a book and it interested you so much that you read it cover to cover in one sitting? There are some books that we just can’t put down.

Question: What are the benefits of reading a book straight through in one sitting?

·        We see the continuity of the book…the flow.

·        We are able to get the whole picture.

·        Because the opening is still fresh in our minds when we get to the conclusion.

Often when we read the Bible, we do so over a long period of time, perhaps a couple of years, if we are not committed to reading it through in a year, like many are doing here at CBC this year.

However, even when we stay true to our commitment to read the bible through in a year, it may still leave us wondering how it all fits together.

This quarter we will cover the entire New Testament. While this goal is a challenge, it’s an important one. It’s my hope that through this study you will better see the unity and flow of the New Testament and have a better grasp on the life of Jesus Christ and the history of his church.

Overview: This course is a basic study of the 27 books of the New Testament. It develops the chronological and historical story of the Bible from Matthew to Revelation. Focus is given to three major themes

·        The Incarnation and Ministry of Jesus Christ

·        The Birth and development of the Church

·        The need for godly Christian living.

Overall, the study emphasizes the central place of Jesus Christ in God’s redemptive plan. And this is knowledge you need to have if you are going to grow in your faith and your ability to tell others about the Christian faith.

PP Aims

By the end of this course, you will be able to:

·        State the basic facts of the birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

·        Articulate the reason for the incarnation of Jesus Christ.

·        Summarize the information concerning the founding and expansion of the Church.

·        Recognize the various categories of New Testament epistles.

·        Understand the highlights of the book of Revelation

·        Appreciate a Bible-teaching, Bible preaching local church.

·        Experience growth in your spiritual life and journey of faith.

Question: Any Questions?

Unit 1  ‘Christ’s First Coming: His Birth and Early Life.

PP Session 1: The Background of the New Testament Story.

Overview: This class is an overview of the background of the 4 Gospels:

Question: What are the 4 Gospels in the order they are found in the Bible.

·        Matthew, Mark, Luke and John

Question: What two or three facts from your personal or family background would help others better understand you as you are today?

·        My diverse church background: Lutheran, Church of God, Christian and Missionary Alliance, Presbyterian, Assembly of God, Methodist and Baptist. It says a lot about my view of corporate worship and the local church.

Knowing where people come from, their backgrounds, can often help you better understand who they are as a person today. The same is true for the New Testament. We need an understanding of the background of the NT, specifically what happened before the NT started, because it will help us navigate our way through the 27 books.

Question: Do you believe that God is in control of all that we know of all that exists?

PP Key Verse: ‘But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman,

                      born under law.’ Galatians 4:4

While I was in Puerto Rico, I was asked about this verse. The person wanted to know why when Jesus came, it was the right time, the fullness of time. We are going to look at what Paul meant when he wrote those words in the Book of Galatians.

PP I. Intertestamental History

Question: What is the Intertestamental period?   How long did it last?

                   Were there any prophets of God during this time?

·        It is the time between the close of the OT and the opening of the NT.

·        It lasted about 400yrs.

·        There were no prophets of God and no new revelation from God.

·        It is called the ‘years of silence’

No doubt when you read the OT and NT you see a lot of differences:

·        OT you read about the ites…Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites

·        NT you read about the Greeks, Romans and Jews

·        OT you read about Abraham, Moses and Israelite Kings and prophets.

·        NT you read about Jesus, the Scribes, Pharisees, Sadducees, apostles and the church.

It’s important to know what changes took place to make such significant differences in the OT and NT.

          A. The closing of the Old Testament

                   -586B.C. King Nebuchadnezzar destroyed Jerusalem and carried away the people                        to Babylon.

                   -Much later Persia defeated the Babylonians and they were a kinder people.                                 Nehemiah was allowed to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the walls. When   finished only a small portion of the Jewish captives chose to return to Jerusalem.

                   -Ezra joined Nehemiah and taught the Word of God to the people and a revival                            broke out. But it was not a complete return to God and his ways.

                   -About 400 B.C. the prophet Malachi warned God’s people of his impending                              judgment on those who do evil and of his remembrance of those who fear him.

                   -The OT closes with a prophecy of someone like Elijah who will come and speak                        once again for God to his people.

Question: Anyone know who that will be?

·        John the Baptist    

          B. The Greek period

                   -The Greek period began in 333 B.C. when Alexander the Great swept through                            Greece and conquered the Persian Empire. He ruled over the land from India to  Egypt to Greece. The Jews didn’t even put up a fight when he came to town.

                   -The Jews told Alexander the Great that he had fulfilled scripture by defeating                              Persia (Dan. 8:1-7) Alex was flattered and he favored the Jews and treated them  well.

                   -But, Alex died young and his land was divided up between his 4 generals                                   (fulfilling the prophesy in Dan. 8:8)

                   -Ptolemy ruled over Egypt and Selucid ruled over Syria and east. Jerusalem was                          first under Ptoleny’s rule but he lost it in a war with Selucid.

                   -In 171 B.C. the Greek King of Syria, named Antiochus IV, began to persecute the                     Jews. He wanted them to stop worshipping Jehovah and begin to worship the   Greek gods. When the Jews refused, he invaded Jerusalem and then did something   in the temple.

Question: Anyone know what he did?

·        He offered a pig to be sacrificed on the altar in the temple in honor of Zeus. (Dan. 8:9-14 prophesized this)

          C. The Hasmonean period

Question: How do you think the Jews took this?

                   -Yes, not well. A revolt broke out and Israel eventually won it’s independence.

                   -Around Dec. 25^th Judas Maccabee cleansed the temple. The Jews celebrate this act                     of temple cleansing to this day.

Question: Anyone know what this feast is called?

·        Hanukah

                   -Descendants of the Maccabees ruled in Jerusalem for about 100 years.

          D. The Roman period

                   -In 66 B.C. two brothers of the Maccabeans fought over who should rule. By then  the Romans had conquered Syria . Rome was the 4^th of the 4 beasts of Daniels   prophesy in Dan. 7:1-7

                   -In 63 B.C. one of the brothers asked the Roman general Pompey for help to defeat                     his brother. The Romans were more than happy to step in and they stayed…they   conquered all of Judea and made it part of the Roman Empire. So the Jews once   again lost their independence and were now under the rule of Rome.

                   -Rome appointed Herod, a descendant of Esau, to be king in Judea (Luke 1:5)

                   -Rome appointed Cesar Augustus to rule over all the Near East and he was in                              power when Jesus was born. (Luke 2:1)

                   -During the NT times, Rome ruled from England to the Near East, Europe and                             North Africa. It was the mightiest empire that had ever ruled.

PP II. Jewish Sects and Political Groups

          Under Roman rule, there developed a number of Jewish sects/religious and political groups that didn’t exist in the OT.

          A. The Pharisees

                   -Scholars think the Pharisees are successors to those who stood up for the Law of                     God during the persecution by Antiochus IV. They may have had a good start but   they gave in to dead tradition by Jesus’ day.

                   -The Pharisees held fervently to both Scripture and tradition.

Question: What is meant by the word ‘tradition’?

·        Extra-biblical, man made rules.

                   -These traditions were organized in what’s called ‘The Mishnah’. They were rigid                        legalists and added their own ideas to what the Scripture actually said.

                   -Jesus constantly rebuked them for placing God’s Word second to their traditions.                     (Mk. 7:13) Because he obeyed every law of God but he did not obey the traditions  of the Pharisees. They didn’t like him much.

                   -In time, some of the Pharisees did come to place their faith in Jesus.

                    (Nicodemus and Paul)

          B. The Sadducees

                   -The Sadducees were another powerful religious group in Jesus’ day. They are                            believed to go back even further than the Pharisees. They have been traced to the   priestly line of Zodak whom King Solomon made high priest. (1 Kg. 2:35)

                   -The Sadducees were the wealthy and nobles in Jewish society. They were very                           worldly minded and materialistic and were active in politics as well as religion.

                   -They were the spiritual liberals of their day. They were known for what they  denied (what they didn’t believe) rather than for that they affirmed of did believe.    They denied everything that was supernatural: no angels, no miracles, no  resurrection of the dead. (Matt. 22:23; Acts 23:8)

                   -The Sadducees and Pharisees didn’t get along, much like the liberal and                                     conservatives today…except when they united against a common enemy:

                    Jesus and those who placed their faith in him. (Acts 23)

          C. The Scribes

Question: How were documents produced in Jesus’ day?

                   -Since there were no printing presses, all copies of Scripture had to be hand copied.                     This was the work of the Scribes and they were very precise with their work.   When they were done with a manuscript, they counted every letter to make sure  they didn’t forget anything.

                   -Since they spent so much time reading and copying Scripture, they came to know  it better than anyone else. So they were also called ‘Lawyers’ (Matt. 22:35)

                   -Many of the Pharisees were also Scribes.

                   -The Scribes often questioned Jesus on his  understanding and interpretation of                           Scripture.

          D. The Herodians

                   -Going from mainly religious to political groups, there were two primary ones                              during Jesus’ day: The Herodians and the Publicans.

                   -The Herodians were the political party that supported…? Herod!

                   -While many of the Jews hated Rome and Herod, some thought it best to love the                        one you’re with so they sided with Herod and Rome.

                   -This was the group who asked Jesus about paying taxes to Caesar. (Matt. 22:16)

                   -They also joined with the Pharisees to destroy Jesus. (Mk. 3:6)

          E. The Publicans

                   -The Publican were Jews who collected taxes from fellow Jews on behalf of Rome.

                   -Rome gave the Publicans an amount they were to raise and turn in. they would                           often raise more and pocket the difference. Though they would often become rich,  they were hated by their countrymen.

                   -Matthew was a Publican (Matt. 10:3) and so was Zaccaeus  (Lk. 19:2)

PP III. Jewish Institutions

          A. The Sanhedrin

                   -70 member council of Jewish leaders that was the supreme authority over the Jews  (under the Romans of course)

                   -It was made up of members of the Pharisees and Sadducees. The High Priest was  the leader.

                   -Since Israel was ruled by Rome, the Sanhedrin could not inflict the death penalty                        on criminals, only Rome could do that.

Question: When did this come into play?

·        Jesus

That’s why the Sanhedrin had to go to Pilate (the Roman official in Jerusalem)  to have Jesus crucified. (Matt. 27:1-2)

          B. The Synagogues

Question: Anyone have an idea when the Synagogues came into existence?

                   -During Babylonian captivity. When Jerusalem was destroyed and the people were                       taken forcibly to Babylon, they began to meet in homes because there was no   temple for them to worship in.

                   -During time, this gradually developed into a formal assembly place.

                   -They were a place of instruction, public worship and prayer and were the place                          copies of Scripture were stored.

                   -The Synagogue system greatly influenced the early church. 

                   -The Apostle Paul spent much of his time preaching in Synagogues.

                    (Acts 13:14; 18:4)

PP IV. Preparation for the Coming of the Christ

          The OT prophesized the coming of the Messiah many times. During this intertestamental period God was at work setting the stage for Jesus’ coming. He used three main people groups of that day.

          A. The Jews

                   -The Jews contributed monotheism their belief in one True God to the preparation   of the coming Messiah.

          B. The Greeks

                   -The Greeks contributed their language. Greek was widely spoken throughout the                        Near East.

                   -It was the language of culture, education and commerce. Greek was the language  of the first translation of the OT. Therefore the OT could be read at every part of                       the Roman Empire.

          C. The Romans

                   -The Romans contributed the Pax Romana, Roman Peace. This allowed Christians    to move about the Roman Empire in relative safety.

                   -Roman roads made travel easier than it had ever been for missionaries such as                            Paul, Luke, Timothy and Barnabas.

          D. Religion in general

                   There was degeneration in religion which left a spiritual vacuum. Many  people no longer believed in the myths of the gods of Greece and Rome. So with   all this in mind, we can se how Paul could write ‘But when the time had fully    come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law.’ Galatians 4:4

PP V. Closing

Question: Any Questions?