The New Testament Archive
The Gospel narratives often highlighted the people’s reactions to Jesus Christ‘s words, including Mark’s insight that they were often “amazed” or “astonished” (Mark 1:22, 27). John recalled the reaction to the Bread of Life Sermon delivered in Capernaum when Jesus declared that he was the “living manna” and that all must “eat his flesh and drink his blood,” noting that many of Jesus’ disciples responded, “This is an hard saying; who can hear it? (John 6:60; emphasis added). Apparently, for many, this was the straw that broke the proverbial camel’s back because, as John noted, “From that time many of his disciples. . . walked no more with him” (John 6:66). Read the rest of this entry »
Bookmark on Delicious Digg this post Recommend on Facebook share via Reddit Share with Stumblers Tweet about it Tell a friend Read More →
The Greek word apokrypha means “hidden writings.” Clement of Alexandria uses it in this literal sense (Stromateis 1.15.69.9). But, for the most part, ancient Christian authors used it to refer to writings of their opponents, which they considered spurious. Clement says that his opponents “derived their doctrines from an apocryphal work. . . . where they have taken a sound doctrine and perversely misapplied it” (Stromateis 4.29). Ireneaus describes “apocryphal writings” as texts written by his opponents “who are ignorant of the Scriptures of truth” (Against Heresies 1.20.1). Tertullian refused to acknowledge teachings from the Shepherd of Hermas because it did not “find a place in the Divine canon” and “had been habitually judged by every council of Churches. . . among apocryphal and false (writing)” (On Modesty 10.6). The phrase New Testament Apocrypha was not used in antiquity. Instead, it is a modern umbrella title... Read the rest of this entry »
The New Testament consists of twenty-seven books about Jesus of Nazareth and the spread of the “good news” about him beyond Galilee principally in the Mediterranean Basin. Written by various authors through the course of the first century AD, these books soon came to be regarded as authoritative and quickly acquired the status of scripture-on par with the writings of the Jewish scriptures (Hebrew Bible or Old Testament) that Jesus Christ had approved (see Luke 24-44). Some time elapsed however, between the death and resurrection of Jesus and the actual writing down of the texts that have become known as the New Testament. The books of the New Testament are divided and organized by genre or literary type: first, the four Gospels, telling the story of Jesus; next, Acts, a “historical” book about the spread of the message of Jesus through the ministry of selected apostles and missionaries; then twenty-one epistles or letters; and finally Revelation, a type of writing... Read the rest of this entry »
Of the four gospels, only Matthew and Luke give an account of the Jesus Christ‘s conception and birth. Written from two different perspectives and containing different details, these two narratives complement each other and together paint an important picture of the nativity, including that Jesus‘ mother was named Mary, that she lived at one time in Nazareth, that he would be born near Jerusalem, and that his conception was a divine miracle.
Although Matthew testifies that Mary conceived by the power of God, he emphasizes that Jesus Christ was the son of David by the genealogy at the beginning of the birth narrative and by his focus on the role of Joseph, Jesus’ legal father. Through dreams, Joseph received instructions to wed Mary, accept and name the infant Jesus, and move the family when threatened by Herod and then his son Archelaus. Through the use of quotations from the Old Testament, Matthew further demonstrates how Jesus Christ’s birth fulfilled messianic... Read the rest of this entry »
Even the most casual reader of the Bible senses vast differences in the types of materials included in the Old and New Testaments. One obvious example of differences that we encounter between the Old and New Testaments appears in common personal names. In the Old Testament, we become familiar with the names Jacob, Joshua, Miriam, Hannah, and Elijah. In the New Testament, we read regularly of James, Jesus, Mary, Anna, and Elias. In actuality, those New Testament names are the English equivalents of the Greek and Hebrew names in the Bible. The case is much like the names of Paul and Paulo. They are the same name, but one is English and the other is Italian.
The Old Testament has come down to us in Hebrew, with a few Aramaic sections, and the New Testament comes to us in Greek. Some New Testament names have no Old Testament equivalents, as Greek and Latin names had been introduced into Jewish nomenclature by the beginning of the first century. For example, Andreas (Andrew) and Philippos (Phillip)... Read the rest of this entry »
Scholars have long considered the Gospel of John to be one of the latest written texts in the New Testament. The reasons for the conclusion that the Gospel of John was written after the letters of Paul, the Synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke), and many of the later letters, is based on a variety of evidences that when considered collectively suggest a post-90 AD composition.
Perhaps the most basic assumption regarding the date of composition of the Gospel of John is its theology in comparison to the other three gospels. Specifically, the fourth gospel emphasizes the divinity of Jesus and his premortal role as deity (John 1:1, 14). Jesus also appears to be omniscient in several episodes, such as the story of the woman at the well in Samaria, when Jesus knows intimate details concerning the woman’s marital status without being told them (John 4:16-18). Jesus also declares that he is God in the Gospel of John (John 8:58) and associates himself with Jehovah of the Old Testament.... Read the rest of this entry »
In the Gospel of Mark, Jesus Christ is identified as a tekt?n, often translated as “carpenter” in many New Testament versions (Mark 6:3). In Matthew, Joseph is also indentified as the same (Matthew 13:55). It was not uncommon for a son or dependent to follow in the trade of his father or guardian, so it is not surprising that Joseph and Jesus are identified with the same trade in the Gospels. Additionally people were some times identified with their trade (see Acts 10:5).
Tekt?n has been interpreted in various ways since New Testament times, including the generally accepted terms “carpenter” or “builder.” Joseph and Jesus may have built household furniture or homes working specifically with lintels and joists (the main wood components in a first-century house). Later traditions describe his employment as “making plows and yokes” for oxen (Didache 88:8). Another tradition prefers interpreting the word for carpenter as a homebuilder (Gospel... Read the rest of this entry »
The New Testament contains the earliest sources for information about Jesus Christ– Jesus of Nazareth. Some of the material, such as Paul’s letters, was written as early as AD 48 or 49 and shortly thereafter (Galatians, 1-2 Thessalonians, and 1-2 Corinthians). The Gospels begin to circulate sometime in AD 60s. Virtually all scholars agree that the New Testament contains material that goes back directly to Jesus of Nazareth. A significant amount of scholarly activity is focused on isolating the sub-strata of material that forms the basis the Gospel narratives including eyewitness accounts, oral traditions and even written sources. No other sources from the first or second century AD provide material that can be used with confidence that the New Testament provides in reconstructing the life and ministry of Jesus Christ.
“This means that if historians want to know what Jesus said and did they are more or less constrained to use the New Testament Gospels as their principal... Read the rest of this entry »
