In our series we’ve now reached the New Testament. We’ve seen how God’s covenant people once again fell under foreign rule, this time under the Romans in 63 BC. But a new King was coming, Jesus of Nazareth, the one foretold throughout the Old Testament. A very different kind of King.

We turn first to Matthew’s Gospel, the first book of the New Testament. Though once thought to be the earliest Gospel, we now know it wasn’t. Similarly, while our calendar is based on Christ’s birth, scholars believe he was actually born in 4 BC.

The main story of Jesus begins about thirty years after his birth. Baptised by John the Baptist, he commenced his public ministry of preaching, teaching, and healing. He came to proclaim the Good News of God, and one of the most profound records of this is found in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew’s Gospel.

A central aim of Matthew is to demonstrate that Jesus fulfilled Old Testament prophecy. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus declares: So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets. Mark’s Gospel is the shortest and most straightforward of the first three. Luke’s Gospel speaks of God’s care for people who were seen as insignificant in the society of his day. Specifically, this referred to women, children, the poor, and disreputable ‘sinners’.

Jesus taught that every person is valuable to God. He called for love, appreciation, and respect in our dealings with one another, urging honesty, forgiveness, and service. This, he taught, is the path to healing and wholeness.

His life had a profound impact on those he encountered, inspiring many to follow him in faith. We know how he lived, how he died, and how he rose again. Through his Spirit, he continues to touch lives today, calling us to follow him in faith.

This is one of a series of posts outlining all the books of the Bible. Previous Next