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What’s the deal with all those
books in the Bible anyways?
Where did the Bible come from?
The Holy Spirit inspired the people who wrote the Bible and helped them to reveal God’s words.
Parts of the Bible“The New Testament lies hidden in the Old and the Old Testament is unveiled in the New” ~ St. Augustine
Old Testament
Written before Jesus’ life
46 Books
Prophets of the Old Testaments foretold Jesus’ birth, life and death
Contains the Pentateuch (what Jewish people call the Torah), the story of Israel’s religious history, poetry, instruction about daily life and the record of God’s Word through the Prophets
New Testament
Written after Jesus’ death and resurrection
27 books
Tells the story of Jesus’ life and ministry as well as explains the early Church
4 Main parts of the New Testament
Gospels: tell the story of the life and teachings of Jesus
Acts of the Apostles: Tells the story of the establishment of the Church by the Apostles
Epistles (Letters): Apostles address the concerns and questions asked by members of the early Church
Book of Revelation: written to bring hope to Christians facing persecution
Types of Writing in the New Testament
Gospel- means “Good News” and tells about the life of Jesus, his Death and Resurrection
Parable- a tale that teachers a moral lesson
Epistle- a letter
Genealogy- a listing of ancestors or a family history
More about the Gospels
Not necessarily meant to be biographies of Jesus’ whole life- the authors chose what they felt to be the most important parts of His life.
Bible authors also wrote for their audiences.
Written after Jesus’ death and resurrection and after He sent the Holy Spirit to the apostles.
Three of the Gospels- Matthew, Mark and Luke- are synoptic, meaning they are very similar to each other.
All Gospels have the same basic message: Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God who revealed the Father’s love for us and saved us.
Mark
Mark was the son of Mary of Jerusalem and traditionally accompanied Peter
1st Gospel written in about 63-70 A.D.
Audience: Romans and Gentile Christians who were being persecuted
Shortest Gospel
Important Theme: Jesus suffered and so will his followers
Matthew
Written by Matthew- a Jewish tax collector who left his profession to follow Jesus
2nd Gospel Written in about 80 -100 A.D.
Audience: Jewish converts- many references to the Old Testament
Longest Gospel
Important Theme: Jesus has the power to conquer death, sickness and evil.
Fun Fact- Only Gospel to mention the Magi
Luke
Written by Luke, a physician who had not known Jesus personally. He converted to Christianity and gathered eyewitness accounts of people who knew Jesus.
Written third in about 80-90 A.D.
Audience: non-Jewish Christians and Greeks
Important Theme: Jesus came to save everyone and the Holy Spirit is present in our lives.
Fun Facts: only Gospel to give a childhood account of Jesus’ life, Luke also wrote the Acts of the Apostles
John
Written by John the Evangelist- one of the original apostles and the only one to life to old age.
Last Gospel written around 90-100 A.D.
Audience: All Christians, especially those defending their faith
Important Themes: Jesus is the divine Son of God
Fun Facts: Jesus uses metaphors that begin with “I am” 45 times in this Gospel
Only Gospel that is not synoptic
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