Christianity developed out of Judaism. It is based on the doctrines from Old Testament and New Testament. The New Testament was originally written in Greek language. It is the second part of Biblical canon followed by the Old Testament. The New Testament incorporates twenty-seven books. They are written in different times and different circumstances. Both Old Testament and New Testament are the sacred books for Christians. The Development of Christianity starts from the birth of Jesus Christ and the holy and noble task assigned to him by God. He was a prophet. The New Testament are based on his religious life. The New Testament tells about the birth and life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. This is known as the gospels. ‘the term Gospel refers to a type of writing that contains stories about Jesus and/or attributed to him’ (Burkett 6) While informing the origin of Gospel, states, ‘Early Christians wrote many works called Gospel, but only four made their way into the New Testament.’ (Burkett 6) Then there is “act of Apostles”. It has twenty-one letters. These letters were written by early Christian leaders. The objective behind writing these letters was to instruct the people and the churches. These letters are known as epistles. They include the Christian doctrines. The New Testament also contains Apocalypse or the book of revelation. After Jesus, only one Apocalypse remained which is called the book of Revelation. It is also included in New Testament. The New Testament throws light on the growth of early Christian Church as well as the prediction of his arrival. The Life of the church can be divided into three different periods; first is incarnation period, second is the apostolic age and the third is sub apostolic age. While explaining the stage of the New Testament, says, ‘The process of what writing should be included in the New Testament is called the formation of the “canon”’ he further informs ‘canon comes from a Greek word meaning a ruler, or standard of measurement.’ (Burkett 105) In the New Testament, the following three elements are very crucial. First is the relation of Christian disciples to the Old Testament, secondly The Christians’ relationship with Jesus Christ and third is their life of worship. New Testaments is a collection religious teaching of Christianity.
Historical and cultural settings of the New Testament
After the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC, there was a great upheaval in the political scenario. Rome took control of the political system in the eastern Mediterranean. The Roman captured the City of Jerusalem in 63BC. At this time, the Romans were ruling Israel. The land of Israel was divided into three parts, Galilee in the North, Samaria in the middle and Judea in the South. Samaritans were the people who were brought by Assyrians from different parts of their empire in Samaria. These new comers settled there and married with the original Israelites. Their descendants became the Samaritans. The Sect called Pharisees grew in Israel in 3rd century BC. They were rigid Jewish. They offended Jesus for his teaching and eventually they killed him
Christ and Israel cannot be separated from each other. In Old Testament, we generally hear the story of Israel and Church. In New Testament, Jesus is described as the one who will be bestowed the “throne of his father David. For Israelists like Andrew, Peter, James, and John, Jesus was the Messiah. There was a growing hostility among the leaders of Israel and Jesus (Mathison) The New Testament condemns Jews for killing Jesus. Israel was regarded as the land of God. But, unfortunately, in this land Jesus was rejected as the Messiah. Israel stays aside, and the church itself was supposed to be the body of Jesus. In New Testament, there are references of the restoration of Israel
Formation of the New Testament writings:
The process of deciding what writing should be included in the New Testament is called As mentioned above, The New Testament is written into different parts. It is written in 27 books. The order of the books may vary, but they are same in Greek Orthodox, Roman Catholic and Protestant sects.
The Gospel:
The meaning of Gospel is good news. It is good news according to Christian belief that the Messiah is coming on the earth for the salvation of mankind. The gospel of Mathew begins with the description of the descent of Jesus. Like Christianity, the incarnation of God concept is there in Hinduism. Lord says that wherever there is calamity and the breaking of Natural Law, I incarnate myself for the establishment of the natural law. In order to annihilate the miscreants, I advent Myself millennium after millennium.’ (Bhagavad Geeta: Chapter 4) For ascending the mankind, the God has to incarnate himself. Jesus was the messiah sent on the earth by God to convey His message. The story of the descent of Jesus includes his birth and visit to magi and fight in Egypt. It ends with the commissioning or instructions of resurrected Jesus to his disciples.
The Gospel of Mark begins with the preaching of John the Baptist as well as the baptism of Jesus. In the Gospel, Mark confirms that Jesus Christ is the Son of God” (Mark 1:1.)
The Gospel of Luke begins with the stories of birth and childhood of John the Baptist and Jesus and they end with the appearance of resurrected Jesus and his ascension to heaven. The Gospel of John begins with a prologue and ends with the appearance of resurrected Jesus and his miracles.
Comparative Analysis of Synoptic Gospels and the Gospel of John
The gospel of Mathew, Mark and Luke are called as Synoptic Gospels. It is because they are quite similar in their stories of Jesus life and his teaching. Unlike them the forth Gospel, which is the Gospel of John, throws light on the stories related to the several miracles of Jesus. In John’s Gospel, he has omitted the important episodes such as temptation of Jesus, transfiguration, and the institutions of Lord ’s Supper. The episode of sermon on the mountain is also omitted from John’s Gospel. On the other hand, some episodes that are included by John’s gospels are not found in Synoptic Gospels. Among them the episodes such as Jesus’ early ministry and the prior visits of Jesus to Jerusalem before the Passion Week, are incorporated in John’s gospels but they are omitted in Synoptic gospels.
There is a difference in narrative technique of synoptic gospels, and the gospel of John. The Synoptic gospels are written from third person point of view and so they are descriptive. In John’s Gospel, they were written in third person point of view but they are more reflective. One more difference is in the literary techniques. The examples: Temple and body (John 2:25), water and spirit (John7:37-38), lifted up and exalted (John12:32). The use of antithesis is also the characteristics of Gospel of John light/darkness (1:4; 3:19; 8:12; 11:9; 12:35.46); truth/falsehood (8:44); life/death (5:24;11:25); above/below (8:23); freedom/slavery (8:33,36) etc.
Epistle or holy letters: The Epistle or the holy letters are written by the apostles of Jesus Christ. Some of the letters are written by the family members of Jesus Christ such as James and Jude. The epistles in New Testament are divided into following categories:
- Pauline Epistles
- Catholic Epistles
- Non Canonical Epistles
- Lost Epistles
- Epistles of Apostolic fathers
Pauline Epistles include the letters to Romans, Corinth, Galatians, Ephesians, Colossians, Thessalonians, Timothy, Titus and Philemon. Seven epistles are called general epistles or Catholic Epistles. They are universal in their message. The Catholic letters are as follows:
- Epistle of James
- First Epistle of Peter
- First Epistle of John
- Second Epistle of John
- Third Epistle of John
- Epistle of Jude
Non Canonical Epistles include letters to Seneca the Younger, Corinthians, Laodiceans, Paul and to Phillip. Lost Epistles incorporate the letters to Corinth, letters of John(John 1:9) and Jude (Jude 1:3) In Epistles of Apostolic Father the letters are written to Corinthians, Magnesians, Trallians, letters of Ignatius to Romans, Philadelphians, Philippians, Barnabas and Diognetus.
The Epistles have a general format. Paul’s letters begin with an introduction, the main body and a conclusion with general blessing and a personal note.
New Testament Analysis:
While analyzing the New Testament, it is important to note that the New Testament is originated in the church; hence it is a product of Church. The existence of New Testament was not possible without church. Different Apostolic fathers were the Christian writers. The earlier Christian bible did not include New Testament. As stated by Grant, there was an oral tradition. There were also books, but no New Testament came into existence for several centuries after the beginning of the Christian movement.
The significance of the oral tradition is reflected in the New Testament. After the death of Jesus Christ, the ancient Christians used to engage in one of the most common and interesting activities and that is story telling. It was the era between the death of Jesus Christ and the emergence of the first Gospel. The people used to tell the stories of Jesus to their generation and thus the Gospels were passed to the next generation orally. So the oral tradition developed in this period. The gospels are unique in their structures. They are not biographies, but we can call them as a material for advertisement Prof Paula Fredrickson states, "they are a kind of religious advertisement. What they do is proclaim their individual author's interpretation of the Christian message through the device of using Jesus of Nazareth as a spokesperson for the evangelists' position." (Melllowes 1998) One major attributes of the gospels are that Jesus is portrayed in a variety of ways. The way of writing and narrating is associated with the circumstances and the experiences of the writers. For example Mark wrote the gospel for the community that was suffered by the failure of First Jewish Revolt against Rome. For Mark Jesus was a miracle. And his identity remains a mystery. "To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside, everything comes in parables, in order that 'they may indeed look, but not perceive, and may indeed listen, but not understand . . . " (MK 4:11-12)Mathew’s writing is for the Jewish community in conflict with Pharisaic Judaism. Post war, Pharisaic Judaism had dominated the Jewish life. Mathew has focused Jesus majorly as a savior. For him Jesus is strict and conservative man, Jesus assured his devotees, ‘"Behold, I am with you until the end of days." He further says, "After three days I will rise again." (MATT 27:63).Luke wrote for the Gentile audience. Luke’s Jesus seems not only a king, but a great philosopher. Jesus is shown as a powerful figure by Luke. Luke tells the way Jesus instructs his devotee to live a good life "But I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt. Give to everyone who begs from you, and if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again. Do unto others as you would have them do to you." (LK 6:27-31). For John Jesus was a messiah who had come for the salvation of mankind "Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God and that through believing you may have life in his name." (JN 20:30-31).Irrespective of the differences in their writing, all the apostles wrote the story of Jesus Christ.
While analyzing the Epistles of New testament, the foremost thing can be highlighted, and that is the genre of the letters. There are certain pattern and consistency in the letters. In New Testament, there is a book just for the letters. The epistles follow the pattern just like what we call today the formal letters. They are short and precise in their pattern. But unlike the modern style of writing letters, the epistles are lengthy in their introduction. If one wants the complete understanding of the letters, it is preferable to read the book of letter in one sitting. Further, to understand them, it is necessary to understand their purposes.
Pauline Epistles format:
Pauline letters are not addressed to all the people irrespective of their region, but they are written to the small groups of Christian believers. In the greeting of the letter, Paul combines two ways; Greek greetings and Jewish Greeting. In its thanksgiving session, Paul gives thanks to God only. The thanksgiving is also known as a doxology; a praise of God. There are standard three sections included in Pauline Epistle. The subsections were also included. Sometimes the subsections are omitted or sometimes their order has been changed, and they are rearranged.
The Biblical themes in New Testament
The central theme of New Testament is Salvation. The person who gave Himself for the remission of sins (Matt, 26:28) A major theme is the theme of virginity and motherhood. Mary is completely devoted to God, and she is completely receptive and open to accept anything from God. God incarnates himself into her womb. Apart from being virgin, she was bestowed motherhood from God. The son born from Mary’s womb was the son of God. The biblical theme of fall is also very interesting. While discussing the biblical theme ‘fall’ gives an example of two opposite women, first is Eve, who said no to god, ‘she becomes the mother of all of sinful humanity. But after Mary’s yes to God, she became the mother of all the redeemed humanity.’ (Rohr) Eve’s conceit and Mary’s complete sacrifice towards God are the two comparative themes in New Testament.
References:
"An Introduction to the Gospel. ." An Overview of the Four Gospels of the New Testament . N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Nov. 2014. <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/religion/story/mmindex.html>.
Burkett, Delbert. Testament and the Origin of Christianity. N.p.: Cambridge University Press, 2002.
Grant, Robert. "A Historical Introduction to the New Testament." N.p., 2002. Web. 2 Nov. 2014. < http://www.religion-online.org/showchapter.asp?title=1116&C=1221 >.
"Introduction: The Relationship of John’s Gospel to the Synotptics. Commentary on the Gospel of John ." N.p., 2002. Web. 2 Nov. 2014. < https://bible.org/seriespage/2-major-differences-between-john-and-synoptic-gospels>
Mathison, Keith. "The Church and Israel in the New Testament." N.p., 2002. Web. 2 Nov. 2014. < http://www.ligonier.org/learn/articles/the-church-and-israel-in-the-new-testament/>.
Mellowes, Marilyn. "An Introduction to the Gospel. ." N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Nov. 2014. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/religion/story/mmfour.html
Rohr, Richard. "Great Themes of Scriptures Franciscan Media publishers." N.p., 2013. Web. 2 Nov. 2014.
New Testament. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Web. 2 Nov. 2014. http://www.devotions.net/bible/00new.htm>.
Shrimad Bhagavad Gita. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Web. 2 Nov. 2014. <http://www.bhagavad-gita.org/>.
