Introduction to the New Testament

The gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) are narrative works offering teachings of Jesus and accounts of events in his life. They were a new literary form driven by their purposes of convincing readers that Jesus was the messiah, encouraging conversions to Christianity and instructing the converted. They were not written in their present form until a generation or two after Jesus' death.(1) The Acts of the Apostles is also a narrative work, taking up where the gospels leave off. It gives a schematic history of the early spread of Christianity.

The letter is the most common literary form in the New Testament. Thirteen or fourteen letters have been attributed to the most important figure in the early church, the Apostle Paul. Others are attributed to the apostles Peter and John, and James and Jude (brothers of Jesus). Some works that most scholars do not regard as letters have been included as such in the New Testament (i.e. Hebrews, First John, James). The Revelation (of John) is the only apocalyptic book to be included.