The Divisions of the New Testament Books and Their

DescriptionsThe Perfection of Judaism and

Fulfillment of the Old Testament

Objectives:•To Understand That Christianity Is

the Perfection of Judaism.•To Understand That the “Promised Messiah” in the Old Testament Had

Already Come.,•That the New Testament Had Already Superceded the Old

Testament.•That the Old Testament Is the Key

in Understanding the New Testament.

The New Testament

• A collection of 27 separate books.

• Written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

• Communicates to us the divine revelation made through Jesus Christ.

List of NT Book Categories

1. Historical:

• The 4 Gospels

• The Acts of the Apostles

2. Didactic/Doctrinal:

• The 13 Epistles of St. Paul

• The 8 Other Epistles

3. Prophetical:

• The Apocalypse

Authors of the New Testament Books

1. Apostles:• St. Matthew• St. John• St. James the Lesser• St. Peter• St. Paul• St. Jude2. Disciples:• St. Mark• St. Luke

The Holy Gospels

• The “Good News” of Salvation.

• The Words and Life of Jesus the Promised Messiah.

• The Synoptics: Matthew, Mark and Luke.

• The Gospel of John.

The Languages of The New Testament

1. Koine:• Hellenistic Greek• Greek of the

Merchants• Greek of the Masses

2. Aramaic• The dialect of Our

Lord Jesus Christ

The Formation of the Gospels

• Stage 1 = Historical Jesus

• Stage 2 = Oral Preaching of the Early Church/Eye-Witness accounts

• Stage 3 = The Written Gospels

The Synoptic Gospels• The Gospels of St. Matthew (260

verses, St. Mark (600 verses) and St. Luke (600 verses)

• “Seeing All Together”• “Q” (Quelle) - the common written

source• Differences in chronological facts

and emphasis• Great similarity on events related

and literary forms• Offer the same comprehensive view

of life and teachings of Christ

The Evangelists and Their Symbols

Synoptists:

• }St. Matthew

• }St. Mark

• }St. Luke

• St. John

St. Matthew• Symbolized in art as a

human head since his Gospel begins with Christ’s ancestry

• Former Tax Collector (Publican)

• Familiar with the Palestine Region

• A good teacher of Jewish customs, practices and Old Testament expert

St. Mark• Symbolized in art as a lion

(eagle in the eastern art) since he begins his Gospel with the story of St. John the Baptist in the desert the home of wild beasts

• Cypriot who toured with Sts. Peter and Paul as secretary and interpreter

• A convert to Christianity who never personally met Jesus

• Interpreter to St. Peter • Translated Aramaic into

Greek

St. Luke• Symbolized in art as an ox, a sacrificial animal since his Gospel begins with priest Zachary in the temple

• Only non-Jewish Evangelist from Antioch

• Well-educated doctor convert to Christianity who joined St. Paul

• Wrote also the Acts of the Apostles as the second part of his accounts of the Christian Faith with his Gospel as the first part

St. John• Symbolized as an eagle (lion in eastern art) since his opening Gospel verses carry the reader to a flight in the Infinite

• The “Disciple Whom Jesus loved”

• Son of a rich fisherman and former disciple of St. John the Baptist

• Witness to the Transfiguration of Jesus and other events in the life of Jesus

The Intended Audiences of the

Evangelists• St. Matthew – Jewish readers familiar with OT

• St. Mark – persecuted and suffering Christian-Gentiles in Rome

• St. Luke – Greek converts for catechetical instructions

• St. John – Christians already familiar with synoptics

The Acts of the Apostles

• Written by St. Luke in Greek around A.D.63 in Rome

• Narrates important events in lives of Sts. Peter and Paul

• Also to some degree St. John, the two Sts. James and St. Barnabas

• Historical narrative

• Accounts on the founding of the Church

• Pentecost and Influence of the Holy Spirit in lives of early Christians

• Miracles on account of faith

• Persecution of faithful• Rapid expansion of

Christianity in the Mediterranean World

The Epistles of St. PaulTHE MISSIONARY

EPISTLESTO THE GENTILES:• To the Romans• To the Corinthians (1 &

2)• To the Galatians• To the Ephesians• To the Philippians• To the Colossians• To the Thessalonians (1 & 2

)

The Epistles of St. Paul

Categories:A) Eschatological = 1 & 2

ThesB) General Pastoral = 1 &

2 CorC) Soteriological = Gal. &

RomD) Captivity = Phil.,

Phlmn, Col. & EphE) Personal Pastoral = 1 &

2 Tim., Ti

The Epistles of St. Paul

The Personal Pastoral Epistles:

• To Timothy (1 & 2)• To Titus• To Philemon- Addressed to his

young missionary companions as a shepherd of his flock

Epistle• Generally, it is a letter that is

formal, didactic, instructive, informative or a command from a superior to his subordinates

• It is more of s treatise or essay for public reading with greetings, literary device or a form of dedication

• Biblically, books of the NT named by reference to the people to whom they are addressed or by the name of the writer

Letter

• It is more personal and concrete with reference to definite situations

• St. Paul’s writings should actually be called “letters” rather than epistles together with St. John’s 2nd and 3rd writings

St. Paul the Apostle(Saul)

• The “13th” Apostle• “Apostle of the Gentiles”• Born in Tarsus• A former Pharisee• Former persecutor of

Christians• An educated Roman citizen• Converted to Christianity on

the road to Damascus• Made three missionary

journeys to the Gentile world• Martyred and beheaded in

Rome (A.D. 67)

The “Other” Epistles

• To the Hebrews (unknown author)

Catholic Epistles:• Of St. James• Of St. Peter (1&2)• Of St. John (1,2&3)• Of St. Jude

The “Catholic” Epistles and the “Other” Epistles

• Given collectively to the eight non-Pauline Epistles

• All are termed “Catholic” with the exception of Hebrews

• Catholic or “universal” since they were directed to the whole Church as a whole rather than to particular areas or groups such as the Pauline Epistles

St. Peter• Former fisherman• First Pope and leader of

the Apostles• Originally named Simon

but his name was changed by Jesus to Peter (Greek) or Cephas (Aramaic)

• Very human yet given a divine mandate by Christ Himself

• Martyred in Rome by crucifixion (inverted)

Messages of St. Peter’s Epistles1. To encourage

Christians in the face of persecutions

2. To present the Church’s earliest teachings on the Sacrament of Baptism and the Redemptive value of Christ’s death

3. To persevere in the Faith

4. To await in hope for the 2nd coming of Christ

St. John the Apostle and Evangelist

• Son of Zebedee and brother of St. James the Apostle and former fishermen

• The closest to Jesus during the last supper

• Cousin of Jesus• Only Apostle not to be

martyred• Wrote 1 Gospel, 3

Epistles and 1 Apocalypse

Messages of St. John’s Epistles

• 1st Epistle = emphasis on Charity or Christian love

• 2nd Epistle = Charity and Perseverance of Christians encouraged

• 3rd Epistle = again perseverance as directed to Gaius

St. James the Lesser- Apostle

• Son of Alphaeus• “The Less” or

“Lesser” means younger as he is differentiated from another Apostle with the same name who is “Greater” or older

• One of the original 12 Apostles

Messages of the Epistle of St. James

• Written in Greek but style is and language typically Jewish

• Stresses on the Moral Conduct of Christians

• Perseverance and Charity

• Respect for the Poor

• Control of One’s tongue

• Faith as practiced in Good Works

St. Jude the Apostle

• Apostle and Martyr• Known also as Judas

Thaddeus to distinguish him from Judas Iscariot

• A relative of Jesus• Known as the “Patron

of the Hopeless Cases”

Messages of St. Jude’s Epistle

• Defend the Faith from people who disrupt unity

• Strengthen Faith of Hebrew Converts to Christianity

• Warns against false prophets

The Book of Revelation“Apocalypse”

• Last book of the NT attributed to St. John the Apostle

• Written to give hope to persecuted Christians

• Foretold the Fall of Pagan Rome and final victory of Christ and of His Church

• Foretells the Victory of Christ over Satan and the Antichrist

• Full of imageries, prophecies, allegories and symbolisms