Episode Transcript
[00:00:01] The New Testament In a the 50 word summaries of each Book all of them by Bart Ehrman When I started the New Testament in a Nutshell series, I promised to provide 51 sentence 50 word summaries of each book of the New Testament. And I promised when it was done that I would put them all together in one post. So here is the post.
[00:00:24] It includes a few other 50 words on the Gospels and Paul.
[00:00:28] The idea behind this is that if somebody asks you what's the letter to the Galatians about? You should be able to give a brief statement that covers what it is in a way that's distinctive. So what you say for Galatians is not the same thing that you would say for Romans or Ephesians and so on.
[00:00:43] So here they are. You may well be able to improve on them, but hopefully you'll find them of some good use.
[00:00:49] The Gospels as a whole, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John are our oldest narrative accounts of Jesus, the Son of God, who fulfilled Scripture in his life, death and resurrection, who taught the way of salvation, performed miraculous deeds, was rejected by his own people, was crucified by the Romans and was then raised from the dead.
[00:01:08] The Gospel of Matthew Matthew portrays Jesus as the miracle working Messiah who fulfilled the predictions of Scripture, who taught the correct understanding of the law of Moses, who insisted his followers keep it by living lives of love, who came to be rejected by his own people but died for others before being raised from the dead.
[00:01:28] The Gospel of Mark the Gospel of Mark reveals Jesus as the authoritative miracle working son of God, the Messiah who tried to keep his identity secret and was misunderstood by nearly everyone, including his disciples, who could not believe that the Messiah would have been rejected by his people and then crucified.
[00:01:49] The Gospel of Luke the Gospel of Luke portrays Jesus both as a Greco Roman divine man shown by his supernatural birth, his astounding miracles, his death and his exaltation, and as the final prophet sent by God to the Jewish people who rejected him, fulfilling God's plan for salvation to go to all the peoples of the earth.
[00:02:09] The Gospel of John Unlike the other Gospels, John portrays Jesus as a pre existent divine being who was with God in the beginning, created the world, and then became a human to provide eternal life to all who believe he was sent by God for salvation, doing miraculous signs to prove his divine claims.
[00:02:27] The Book of the Acts of the Apostles, a companion volume to the Gospel of Luke, Acts narrates the miraculous spread of Christianity from Jerusalem to Rome, from Jew to Gentile, through the miraculous deeds and inspired preaching of Jesus, original apostles and the convert Paul, all empowered by the Spirit and in complete harmony with one another.
[00:02:50] Paul's seven Undisputed Letters Paul wrote seven of the letters attributed to him addressing problems of churches he had established. There's five letters right there of a church he planned to visit and of an individual convert, Philemon, resolving their issues by explaining the implications of his Law free Gospel of Christ for faith and communal life.
[00:03:15] Paul's Life Paul, originally a zealous Greek speaking Jew, vigorously opposed early Christians before having a vision of the resurrected Jesus that convinced him that the crucifixion was God's plan of salvation for both Jew and Gentile, leading him to spread his Law free Gospel to Gentiles in major urban areas of the Mediterranean Romans.
[00:03:37] Paul writes his letter to the Roman church to garner their support for his missionary endeavours to the far west by explaining that salvation comes only through through Christ's death and resurrection on the basis of faith both for Gentiles and Jews, who are and always will be God's chosen people.
[00:03:55] 1 Corinthians In 1 Corinthians, Paul addresses numerous problems that have arisen among his Gentile converts in Corinth infighting, division, sexual immorality, chaotic worship services, whether women must wear head coverings in church if Christians can offer meat offered to idols, and a major theological problem, the future resurrection of the dead.
[00:04:18] 2nd Corinthians In 2 Corinthians Paul explores the history of his checkered relationship with the church in Corinth, recounting both his gratitude that they have turned back to him in friendship and loyalty after earlier having rejected him and severely upbraiding them for questioning his apostolic authority and following other super apostles.
[00:04:40] Galatians Paul's letter to the Galatians strenuously argues that being right with God comes to all people, Jew and Gentile, only by faith in Christ, not by doing what the law of Moses requires of Jews as the people of God, such as circumcision and observing a Sabbath and holy days.
[00:05:00] Ephesians the Letter to the Ephesians is a circular letter sent to unnamed churches made up of Gentiles, reminding them that they were saved by Christ, not by their good deeds, urging them to seek unity with Jewish believers, stressing the importance of exemplary ethical behavior for all followers of Christ.
[00:05:20] Philippians Paul writes to the Gentile Christians in Philippi from prison we don't know where, thanking them for sending much needed funds, urging them to remain joyful in their faith whatever the circumstances, exhorting them to live for others instead of for themselves and warning them against false teachers who promote Christian circumcision.
[00:05:42] Colossians the letter to the Colossians, allegedly written by Paul from prison, praises the Christians in Colossae and warns them against false teachers who urge them to follow the Jewish law, live strictly ascetic lives, and worship angels.
[00:05:56] For this author, Christ alone represents the Godhead and deserves to be worshipped.
[00:06:05] 1 Thessalonians expresses Paul's anxiety over his former pagan converts in Thessalonica, fearful that they have left the faith because of persecution, worried about acts of sexual immorality among them, and in particular concerned because they are distressed about the eternal fate of church members who have died before Jesus returned.
[00:06:27] 2nd Thessalonians 2nd Thessalonians is a deutero Pauline letter written to assure Christians in Thessalonica that the day of the Lord is not imminent. An antichrist figure empowered by Satan and called the man of lawlessness, must first arise and declare himself to be God before Jesus returns in judgment to destroy him.
[00:06:48] First Timothy the first pastoral epistle 1 Timothy, allegedly by Paul to his protege Timothy, whom he appointed leader of the church in Ephesus, provides instructions for repressing false teachings, appointing properly qualified church leaders, and keeping order in the church, especially among widows and women who are wrongfully asserting authority.
[00:07:11] 2nd Timothy 2nd Timothy A more intimate letter allegedly by Paul to Timothy recounts their past relationship, expresses hope that his disciple will come to visit him in prison in Rome, and urges him to fulfill his duties as a leader of the church by quashing false teaching and maintaining his upright character.
[00:07:31] Titus the third Pastoral Epistle is allegedly written by Paul to a one time companion appointed leader of the church in Crete. Titus with many themes comparable to those of First Timothy, encouraging him in his pastoral duties, urging him to correct false teaching, and exhorting him to maintain a good character.
[00:07:53] Philemon Paul's letter to his former convert Philemon concerns Philemon's slave Onesimus, who has fled from his master, possibly with stolen goods, found Paul in prison, converted and begged him to intervene on his behalf, which Paul does by by urging Philemon to receive his slave as a fellow believer without punishment.
[00:08:14] Hebrews the anonymous letter to the Hebrews urges followers of Jesus not to abandon their faith by turning or returning to Judaism because God has made a new covenant through Christ that is superior in every respect to the Jewish religion and anyone who abandons their faith will lose their salvation.
[00:08:34] James the Book of James consists of ethical instruction for followers of Jesus who are to live in ways pleasing to God as a way of demonstrating their faith, since anyone who thinks they can be saved only through what they believe does not understand that faith without works is dead.
[00:08:52] 1 Peter 1 Peter is a letter allegedly written by the Apostle Peter to Gentile Christians scattered throughout Asia Minor who are suffering persecution, urging them to remain true to their faith and to suffer only for upright behavior in imitating of Christ and in anticipation of his imminent return in judgment.
[00:09:11] 2nd Peter 2nd Peter is a short letter written in the name of Peter to warn readers to avoid false Christian teachers who endorse immoral lifestyles so as to avoid severe condemnation on the Day of Judgment that is coming soon, even though some scoffers have denied that it's coming at all.
[00:09:31] First John addresses a problem involving a group of Christians whom he calls Antichrists, who had split from the church over a difference of belief, claiming that Christ did not come in the flesh and that they themselves had no sin, undercutting for the author the essence of the Christian message.
[00:09:49] 2nd and 3rd John 2nd and 3rd John are letters by an author called the Elder, the first addressed to a community and the other to one of its prominent members, warning against believers who preach a false understanding of Christ and who refuse to welcome Christian travelers because they disagree with their views.
[00:10:08] Jude the Letter of Jude warns its unnamed readers of ungodly teachers who promote lawless living and who, along with their followers, will suffer the severe condemnation of God on the Day of Judgment, just like other apostates discussed in Scripture, both human and angels, who turned to lives of disobedience.
[00:10:28] The Revelation of John the Revelation of John is a graphic and highly symbolic narrative that describes how God and his Christ will bring a terrifying end to this world through a series of horrible disasters, ruthlessly destroying all their human and superhuman enemies before bringing in a new, glorious world for their followers.
