Tuesdays:
7:00 pm
By Pastor Saji Mathew
NEW TESTAMENT
SURVEY
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Origin and Meaning of the New Testament

Divine Preparation for the NT
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Preparation through the Jewish Nation
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Preparation through the Greek Language
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Preparation through the Romans
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The religious World at the time of the New
Testament
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Composition and Arrangement of the N.T.

Order of the Books of the New Testament

The collection of the Books of the New
Testament.
Scribes
Jewish Experts at the interpretation of Scripture
Rabbis
Jewish teachers who passed on the scribes’
Pharisees
A strict Jewish religious party who understood Scripture as
literal, but sought to interpret it using oral Traditions
Sadducees
Wealthy, upper-class descendants of the Jewish high priestly
line who rejected the Old Testament except for the five books
of Moses.
Herodians
A political party of King Herod’s supporters
Zealots
A fiercely patriotic group of Jews determined to over throw
Roman rule.
Like the Old Testament, the New Testament
is not one book, but a collection of 27
individual books that reflect a wide range of
themes, literary forms, and purposes.

The first five books in the New Testament are
called Historical Books.

Matthew to John are called Gospels. They are
a historical account of the life and times of
Jesus Christ, the Messiah, whose birth, life,
death, and resurrection were prophesied
throughout the Old Testament.

Acts provides a factual report of the period
from Christ’s final words to His followers and
His ascension into heaven to the travels and
trials of the apostle Paul. Acts describes
some of the key events in the spread of the
“good news” from Judea to the far reaches of
the Roman Empire.
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Theme: The Kingdom of God
Date: A. D. 60
Author: Matthew (Levi)
Setting: Palestine

It has been 400 years since Malachi give his
last words of prophecy. The world scene has
changed. Control of the Land of Israel has
passed from Med0-Persia to Greece and now
to Rome. Greek is still the official trade
language of the people, and it is the language
in which the New Testament is written.

Matthew, whose Jewish name is Levi, is a tax
collector until Jesus calls him to become one of
the 12 disciples. Now, more than 20 years since
Jesus’ return to heaven (in Acts 1:9), the good
news of Jesus has traveled the and breadth of
the Roman World. The Jewish Christians are
starting to be persecuted, and Matthew wants to
strengthen their faith and provide them with a
useful tool for evangelizing to the Jewish
communities dispersed throughout the Roman
World.

He presents Jesus of Nazareth as Israel’s
promised Messiah and rightful King. With the
King comes His Kingdom—Kingdom of
heaven—which will be occupied by those who
acknowledge and obey this King.

Jesus shows you the Word of God is your best
defense against the eneymies of your soul.

Jesus did not merely preach abstract religious
ideas, but a new way of living.

Jesus is coming again!
1-4 Birth and Preparation of the King
5-8 Sermon on the Mount
7-20 Kingdom of God
Proclaimed...Rejected
 21-25 Final Clashes with the Religious
Leaders
 26-28 Death and Resurrection of Jesus,
the King.
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Theme: The Suffering Servant
Date written: A.D. 60
Author: John Mark
Setting: Rome

Other References of Mark

Acts 12:12, 1peter 5:13, Acts 13:13, Acts 15:3641,
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Col. 4:10, Philemon 24

2 Timothy 4:11 - He useful to me for ministry.

Mark (his Roman Name) and John (his Jewish
name) was not an eyewitness of the life of
Jesus. But he is a close companion of the
apostle Peter, who passed on the details of
his association with Jesus to John Mark.
Whereas Matthew wrote the gospel to a
Jewish audience, Mark seems to target
Roman believers.

Mark uses Latin, the Language of the
Romans, for certain expressions as he writes
his Gospel in Greek. Mark describes time
according to the Roman system, carefully
explains Jewish customs and omits the
traditional Jewish genealogies as found in
Matthew.

Mark presents Jesus as the suffering servant.
He focuses more on Jesus’ deeds than His
teachings. He demonstrates the humanity of
Christ and describes His human emotions, His
limitations as a human, ultimately His
physical death.

Opposition to your beliefs should not keep
you from continuing to carry on the work God
has called you to do.

Follow Christ’s call and seek a life of selfdenial and personal sacrifice.

Jesus came to serve, and you should desire to
follow His example.

The message of Mark’s gospel is captured in a
single verse: “For even the Son of Man did not
come to be served, but to serve, and to give
His life a ransom for many” (10:45). Chapter
by chapter, the book unfolds the dual focus of
Christ’s life: Service and Sacrifice.
 1- 10
 11- 16
To Serve
T0 Sacrifice.
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Theme: The Perfect Man
Date Written: A.D. 60-62
Author: Luke, the beloved physician
Where Written: Rome

Luke wanted to create an accurate,
chronological, and comprehensive account of
the unique life of Jesus the Christ to
strengthen the faith of Gentile believers and
stimulate saving faith among nonbelievers.

It is evident from the opening lines of this
Gospel that it is addressed to a man named
Theophilus. Its purpose is to give an accurate
historical account of the unique life of Jesus.
Luke, a doctor and the only Gentile (non-jew)
author of the New Testament books, is
writing to strengthen the faith of Gentiles,
especially Greek believers.

He also desires to stimulate unbelieving
Greeks to consider the claims that Jesus
Christ is the perfect Man—the Son of Man—
who came in sacrificial service to seek and to
save sinful men.

The humanity and compassion of Jesus are
repeatedly stressed in Luke’s gospel. Luke
gives the most complete account of Christ’s
ancestry, birth, and development. He is the
ideal Son of Man who identified with the
sorrow and plight of sinful men in order to
carry our sorrows and offer us the priceless
gift of salvation. Jesus alone fulfills the greek
ideal of human perfection.
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The Magnificat of Mary – 1:46-55
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The Benedictus of Zacharias – 1:67-79
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The Gloria in Excelsis of the heavenly host
(2:14)
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The Nunc Dimittis of Simeon – (2:28-32)
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Key Verses:
Luke 1: 3-4
Luke 19: 10
Key Chapter
Chapter 15
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Jesus shows compassion for the hurting and the
lost, and so should you.
Jesus Speaks about the attitudes and actions
that should characterize your daily life—
forgiveness, faithfulness, thankfulness and
commitment.
Jesus shows a deep interest in people and their
needs. He is not interested in their status, their
race, or their gender. You too should develop the
same kind of interest in the needs of others,
regardless of who or what they are.

The Introduction of the Son of Man ( 1: 1 to
4:13)
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The Ministry of the Son of Man (4:14 – 9:50)
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The Rejection of the Son of Man (9:51 – 19:27)
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The Crucifixion and Resurrection of the son of
Man (19:28-24:53).
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Theme: The Son of God
Date Written: A.D. 80 -90
Author: John, the disciple whom Jesus loved
Setting: Palestine

It has now been 50 years since John
witnessed the earthly life of Jesus. A lot has
happened. The Christian faith has flourished
and spread throughout the known world. But
with growth has come great persecution by
the Roman government. All Christ’s apostles
have died or been martyred except for John.

Now an old man, John provides a supplement to
what has already been written about Jesus in the
first three gospel accounts. His account of Jesus
presents the most powerful and direct case for
the deity and humanity of the incarnate Son of
God. Taken together with the accounts by
Matthew, Mark, and Luke, a reader will have a
complete portrait of Jesus, the God-Man. In
Jesus, a perfect humanity and deity are fused,
making Him the only possible sacrifice for the
sins of mankind.

The Gospel of John is a gospel apart,
Matthew, Mark, and Luke are called the
synoptic gospels because, despite their
individual emphases, they describe many of
the same events in the life of Jesus of
Nazareth. John draws mainly upon events
and discourses not found in the other gospels
to prove to his readers that Jesus is God in the
flesh, the eternal Word come to earth, born to
die as God’s sacrifice for human sin.

John gives a precise statement of his purpose
in writing: “These are written that you may
believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of
God, and that believing you may have life in
His name” (John 20:31).

In fact, he uses the term “believe” about 100
times to get the message across.

The predominant theme of this gospel is the
dual response of faith and unbelief in the
person of Jesus Christ. Those who place their
faith in the Son of God have eternal life, but
those who reject Him are under the
condemnation of God (3:36; 5:24-29; 10:2729)– this is the basic issue.

See these verses: Chapter 1: 11-12; and
Chapter 3:19

John’s gospel is topical, not primarily
chronological, and it revolves around seven
miracles and seven “I am” statement of
Christ.

Jesus nicknamed John and his brother James, “Sons of
Thunder” (Mark 3:17). Their father was a zebedee,
and their mother, Salome, served Jesus in Galilee and
was present at His crucifixion (see Mark 15:40-41).

He was among the 12 men who were selected to be
apostles (Luke 6:12-16).

“Pillar of the Church” – Gal 2:9.

(Acts 3:1, 4:13, 8:14 and Rev. 19)He went to Ephesus
and later exiled by Romans for a time to the island of
Patmos (Rev. 1:9).
 I am the bread of Life
- John 6:35, 48
 I am the light of the World – John 8:12, 9:5
 I am the door – John 10:7, 9
 I am the good shepherd - John 10: 11, 14
 I am the resurrection and life – John 11:25
 I am the way, the truth, and the life- John 14:6
 I am the true vine – John 15:1, 5.
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1. Turning water to wine – John 2:1-11
2. Healing the Nobleman’s son – John 4:46-54
3. Healing the cripple at Bethesda – John 5: 1-9
4. Feeding 5000 with five loaves and two fish – John
6:1-14
5. Walking on water - John 6:15-21
6. Restoration sight to blind man – John 9:1-41
7. Raising Lazarus from the dead - John 11:1-44
8. Giving the disciples a large catch of fish – John
21:1-14.

It is only by having a relationship with Jesus that you
will experience God.

You become a child of God by receiving Jesus

Jesus can forgive even your most heinous sins

Though you fail at times, Jesus extends His
forgiveness to you and is willing to take you back.

Restoration turns uselessness into usefulness.
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The Incarnation of the Son of God (1:1-18)
The Presentation of the Son of God (1:19 –
4:54)
The Opposition to the Son of God (5:1 –
12:50)
The preparation of the Disciples by the Son of
God (13:1 – 17:26).
The Crucifixion and Resurrection of the Son
of God (18:1 – 21:25).
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Theme: The Spread of the Gospel
Date Written: A.D. 60-62
Author: Luke, a Greek physician
Setting: Jerusalem to Rome

Acts is Luke’s account of the growth of the
early Church. As a sequel to his account of
the life of Jesus returned to heaven. He once
again addresses his writing to a Greek named
Theophilus.

In spite of severe opposition and persecution,
the fearless church experiences explosive
growth. Acts 1:8 provides an outline for the
following Luke’s 30 year record of the growth
of the church, which begins in Jerusalem,
spreads to Samaria, extends to the world.

Acts is the historical link between the Gospels
and the Epistles. Because of Luke’s strong
emphasis on the ministry of the Holy Spirit,
the book should really be regards as the Acts
of the Spirit of Christ working in through the
apostles. As a missionary himself, Luke’s
interest in the progressive spread of the
gospel is obviously reflected in this apostolic
history.
THE THREE JOURNEYS
DURATION
AREA OF FOCUS
ACTS 13:2 – 14:28
One Year
Cyprus, Galatia
ACTS 15:35 – 18:22
Two Years
Corinth
ACTS 18:23 – 21:16
FourYears
Ephesus
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Jesus has commissioned you to be His witness.

The Holy Spirit empowers you to carry out that
witness.

All ministries are important in the church, even
“serving tables” in your church.

You are to faithfully witness of the resurrection and
leave the results to God.

As you witness, you will usually receive one of two
responses to the gospel—acceptance or rejection!
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Witness in Jerusalem (1:1 – 8:4)
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Witness in Judea and Samaria (8:5 – 12:25)
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Witness to the Uttermost part of the World
(chapter 13 -28).