New Testament Overview
New Testament Overview • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
28 Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.
Two major divisions in the Bible: Old and New Testaments
Testament = covenant, promise or contract
This is what the bible is about, God’s covenant, promise or contract with his people.
OT is called TaNak in Jewish tradition.
39 books covering 1,000 years of mans history.
NT contains 27 books, all written within 100 years of each other covering about 100 years of history.
It was written by Jesus’ disciples (followers).
The early church began to collect these letters and start reading them alongside the TaNak (OT) as one unified story that points to Christ!
Subdivisions of the New Testament
Begins with four narrative books called the Gospels that tell the story of Jesus’ birth, death, resurrection as the good news - Gospel.
Acts of the Apostles (literally actions of the Apostles).
Apostles (sent ones) commissioned by Jesus to preach the Gospel.
Collection of letters (called Epistles) from the Apostles
Provide direction, instruction, correction for the new church
13 letters written by the Apostle Paul
Arranged from longest letter (Romans) to the shortest (Philemon)
Hebrews
Written by close but unnamed associate of the Apostles
James and Jude
Brothers of Jesus
Peter and John
Disciples
Revelation
Letter to 7 churches that parallel the Church thought time.
Message is one of hope for the end of time
Think of the Bible as one great story with several “acts” or “parts”.
OT contains the first series of acts giving you the core themes, plots and patters.
NT these continue and culminate in Jesus!
First Part: God and Humanity (Genesis 1-11)
Creates this beautiful garden for man to live in a partner in ruling the world.
Man gives in to temptation and rebels against God and is exiled into a wilderness where chaos begins.
Build violent cities that spread sin, ending up in Babylon.
But God love his creation and gives more insight to the time when a new man would come and destroy the evil that has tempted man and caused our fall.
Second Part: God and Israel - Further development of same themes. (Genesis 12-2 Kings)
Calls a new man out of Babylon into a new garden.
Abraham, Sarah and the Israelites called to the Promised Land
Through them, all the nations of the world will be blessed
BUT we have the same pattern…
Building violent cities that end in BABYLONIAN captivity.
BUT God expounds more on the Genesis 3:15 promise…
The man prophecied we find out, will come from Abraham’s descendants and be a priest-king that would save both Israel and all of humanity from Babylon.
Notice that both these Parts follow the same pattern.
Second part is a longer, more tragic version of the first.
They explore the human condition and propensity to sin.
They also highlight God’s promise!
Third Part: Prophets and Poets
As Israel and the world continues to spiral
Prophets point out the evil of Israel and other nations.
Announce that one Day God would appear - The Day of the Lord - and deliver everyone from Babylon.
There would be a Royal Priest who would suffer like a slave, die for Israel and humanity…
Then be exalted as king over the nations
His message: leave Babylon and join a new covenant people!
Those people will partner with God and rule with him over New Jerusalem
OT ends by anticipating the next part of the story.
When you get to the NT it’s the SAME story!
Four Gospel accounts introduce Jesus as both:
Promised son of Abraham who will restore God’s promise to Abraham and restore humanity
The Man who fulfills Genesis 3:15 and defeats sin and restores man to relationship with God.
Jesus is portrayed as a human/man.
Proclaiming God’s promised kingdom.
Spoke and acted as he was Israels divine king…
But called himself the “Son of Man”.
The human servant!
Gospels make the claim that Israel’s God has become the faithful Israelite (man) that we were all made to be.
Jesus’ Mission: confront the evil in all men.
The answer: the evil he confronts kills him and his paradoxical throne.
It is here on this throne he lives out what he taught!
So the Son of Man came to be a servant and give his life as a ransom for many.
mat20.28
28 Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.
Yet because his love was stronger than sin and death
The Son of Man was raised into new life as an example of new humanity!
Bings us to Acts!
Through the power of the spirit, this new humanity, or new creatures, is empowered to spread the life and love of Jesus with the world.
They are invited to leave their old humanity and join the new humanity a multi ethnic family…
Then comes the letters from the Apostles.
Message of the Apostles: the Good News changes lives!
Constantly refer to the OT, comparing it to what they are seen when with Jesus.
So individual live stories become part of the biblical story!
Look at the message of the letters…
All humanity is trapped in a Babylonian exile…
But Jesus came to create a new home!
All living in different kinds of Egyptian slavery…
But Jesus came to take us into the Promised land!
We were being destroyed by the old man…
But through Jesus we are made into a new man!
All born into an evil age…
But when we are born again we become a new creation!
The NT wraps up with the Book of Revelation.
The whole story comes together with incredible symbolism and imagery.
Jesus portrayed as a bloody, slain lamb that becomes the Divine King of the World.
He leads his people out of exile in Babylon…
And as they resist Babylon and her influence they will suffer alongside their slain leader…
BUT when you follow the risen king not even death prevent the dawn of the new creation.
New Jerusalem = new garden temple, the home of the new humanity after its long exile.
So at the end of Revelation, heaven and the New Earth are reunited…
New man (recreated man) take up take up their first tast assigned to them in Genesis 1 and 2:
RULE THE WORLD TOGETHER WITH GOD!
Conclusion:
The New Testament is an incredible document!
Represent the testimony of the Apostles that points us to the risen Christ.
Through the Spirit these written words have been speaking a message of hope from the first century to the twenty first!
Each book shows how God is leading our world to its ultimate goal of a new creation!
The story’s end is really the beginning of a new story that is yet to be told!