Summary The Gospel of John is the latest-written of the four biographies of Jesus that have been preserved in the New Testament. Written by a Christian named John, the contents of the book indicate quite clearly that the author was not the John who was one of the twelve disciples […]
Read more Summary and Analysis The Gospel of JohnSummary and Analysis The Book of Revelation
Summary In the Book of Revelation, the apocalyptic hopes of the early Christian community find their clearest and most complete expression. Apocalypticism was not a new phenomenon among Christians; it was a well-established belief among Jews, who held that the coming of the kingdom of God would not be brought […]
Read more Summary and Analysis The Book of RevelationSummary and Analysis The Letter to the Hebrews
Summary After the Christian community had existed for a few decades, the enthusiasm that characterized its earlier years began to wane. The expected return of Jesus had not taken place, opposition to the movement had developed from different quarters, and doubts were beginning to arise concerning any permanent significance that […]
Read more Summary and Analysis The Letter to the HebrewsSummary and Analysis Open Letters to the Churches
Summary The era that immediately followed the death of the apostles is usually designated as the early post-apostolic period. It was a critical time in the history of the Christian church, for the church’s membership had spread to various parts of the world, and in both size and influence the […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Open Letters to the ChurchesSummary and Analysis The Pastoral Letters
Summary Three short letters in the New Testament are addressed to Christian pastors. Traditionally, these letters were attributed to Paul on the assumption that he wrote them while he was a prisoner in Rome. Two are addressed to Timothy, a young man whose parents became Christians prior to the time […]
Read more Summary and Analysis The Pastoral LettersSummary and Analysis Acts
Summary The Book of Acts, which continues the narrative that Luke began in his gospel, is especially important because it was the first written history of the Christian church. Acts concerns the very vital period in Christian history between the resurrection of Jesus and the death of the apostle Paul, […]
Read more Summary and Analysis ActsSummary and Analysis The Gospel of Luke
Summary The Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts are closely related. Written by the same author and for the same purpose, both were addressed to a Christian named Theophilus and were designed for the purpose of presenting to him a complete and well authenticated narrative of the early […]
Read more Summary and Analysis The Gospel of LukeSummary and Analysis The Gospel of Matthew
Summary Although the Gospel of Matthew was not the first gospel written, it is generally regarded as the most important and was placed first in the collection of writings that constitute the New Testament. In addition to materials found in the Gospel of Mark, the Gospel of Matthew contains a […]
Read more Summary and Analysis The Gospel of MatthewSummary and Analysis The Gospel of Mark
Summary From a historical point of view, Mark, being the oldest of the Gospels, is the most reliable, the reason for which is not merely that it is closer in point of time to the events that it records but that less interpretation concerns the meaning of these events than […]
Read more Summary and Analysis The Gospel of MarkSummary and Analysis The Synoptic Gospels and Acts
The earliest Christians did not have any written records of the life and teachings of Jesus. During the course of Jesus’ public ministry, no one felt the need to make a written account of what Jesus did or what he said. Those who were close to him could pass to […]
Read more Summary and Analysis The Synoptic Gospels and Acts