This four part series is based on the teaching of the Roman Catholic Church
By DeLisle Callender & Ivo Corazza
The New Testament
There are 27
books that most Christian denominations agree as comprising the “canon” of the
New Testament writings. The Catholic
Church accepts and venerates as inspired these 27 books which can be grouped as
follows:
·
Four Gospels whose authorship has been ascribed
to the four Apostles - Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
·
The Acts of the Apostles which was also written
by the author of the Gospel of Luke.
·
Twenty-one letters or epistles - attributed to
Paul (14), John (3), Peter (2), James, and Jude; and
- The
Revelation to John.
The four Gospels occupy a central
place because Christ Jesus is their center.
The unity of the two Testaments proceeds from the unity of God’s plan
and his Revelation. The Old Testament prepares for the New and the New
Testament fulfills the Old; the two sets of inspired writings shed light on
each other; both are true Word of God.[1]
The Books of the New Testament
reflect three distinct stages of its formation.
- The words and deeds of Jesus Christ during His public
ministry (28 A.D. to 30 A.D.)
- The first communities beginning to learn about Jesus and
live the Gospel. St. Paul's
preaching and letters (30 A.D. to 70 A.D.)
- The
Gospels being put into writing (70 A.D. to 100 A.D.)
When God revealed Himself to Abram
(Abraham), “The Lord said to Abram: Go forth from
your land, your relatives, and from your father’s house to a land that I will
show you. I will make of you a great
nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, so that you will be
a blessing. I will bless those who bless
you and curse those who curse you. All the families of the earth will find
blessing in you.[2]
The first promise of “land that I
will show you” was fulfilled through Moses.
Moses led the Jewish people out of slavery in Egypt to the promised land
even though he himself died before the Jews entered the promised land. God made a covenant with Moses and the twelve
tribes of Israel in Exodus and Deuteronomy. [3] The covenant was a blessing if the Israelites
were faithful to God, but a curse if they were not.
The second promise was fulfilled
through King David. Israel became a
great nation under David. Again, God
made a covenant with David and promised to establish his royal throne forever.
[4]
The third
promise to Abraham and the promise to David were both fulfilled in Jesus
Christ, from the tribe of Judah, descended from the royal line of David whose
kingdom will stand forever.[5]
The four Gospels were written by
men who were among the first to have the faith and wanted to share it with
others.[6] What is written is a true testimony of what
was seen and experienced by those who were with Christ during His public
ministry.[7] What is written in the Gospels was set down
there “so that you may believe that Jesus
is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in his name.”[8]
The four Gospels are actually
four different presentations of the “Good
news of the Kingdom of God,”[9]
as told and inaugurated by the life, works, teachings, passion, and
resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Three of the Gospels are called
Synoptic because they contain a large amount of similar content. Thus the core of those three Gospels seem to
derive from the same source. Matthew and
Luke also contain material from a source labeled “Q” that Mark did not use.[10]
The Gospels were written in
different decades after the death of Christ.
Mark was written around the year 70 A.D.; Matthew and Luke were written
between the years 80 and 90 A.D.; John was written between the years 95 and 100
A.D. The gospels were written for
different audiences.
Matthew was written for a Jewish
audience in Palestine, Mark was written in Greek to a non-Jewish audience in
Rome, Luke was written in Greek to Gentile converts, and John reflected the
theology on the divine nature of the mission of Jesus that was developing
around the turn of the first century. It
was addressed to the early Christian community.
“But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a
woman, born under the law, to ransom those under the law, so that we might
receive adoption.”[11] Jesus’ birth, his public ministry, and his
suffering and triumphant death were all part of God’s plan of salvation and
were foretold in the Old Testament. From
the covenant with Abraham,[12]
the Old Testament pointed forward to Jesus.
The prophet Isaiah spoke
centuries earlier about the birth of Jesus; “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign; the young woman,
pregnant and about to bear a son, shall name him Emmanuel.”[13] In the Gospel of Matthew, the angel spoke to
Joseph about Mary’s pregnancy and said, “She will bear a son and you are to
name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” All this
took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “Behold,
the virgin shall be with child and bear a son, and they shall name him
Emmanuel,” which means “God is with us.”[14]
Of his public ministry the
prophet Isaiah foretold, “Here is my
servant whom I uphold, my chosen one with whom I am pleased. Upon him I have put my spirit; he shall bring
forth justice to the nations. He will
not cry out, nor shout, nor make his voice heard in the street. A bruised reed he will not break, and a dimly
burning wick he will not quench. He will
faithfully bring forth justice. He will
not grow dim or be bruised until he establishes justice on the earth; the
coastlands will wait for his teaching.”[15]
Jesus the Christ was born of the
Virgin Mary in Nazareth around 6 B.C. and died around 30 A.D. Jesus was a member of the tribe of Judah and
was descended from the royal line of David.
His coming was announced by the angel Gabriel to His mother Mary when
she was betrothed to Joseph. The angel
Gabriel said, “Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you
shall name him Jesus.”[16]
Jesus was conceived by the Virgin
Mary when the Holy Spirit came upon the virgin Mary and “The power of the
Most High” overshadowed her. Mary
was also told that “the child to be born
will be called holy, the Son of God.”[17] Mary was obedient and accepted God’s will for
her.[18] Jesus was both fully Divine and fully human,
born of Mary through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus began his public ministry
after he was baptized by John the Baptist in the river Jordan at approximately
28 years of age.[19] Through many signs and miracles, He
established Himself as the Son of God and preached about the Kingdom of
Heaven. He spoke in parables using
imagery from his day and encouraged all who heard him to follow the spirit of
the Mosaic Law and not just the letter of the law.
Jesus’ deeds, miracles, and words
all revealed that, “in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily,”[20]
and that he was the Son of God as attested to by God Himself.[21] When he raised Lazarus from the dead it
showed that he had power over death.[22] When he healed a paralytic it showed that he
had the power to heal and forgive sin.[23] He showed that he had power over nature when he
quieted the storm,[24]
and walked on water.[25]
It was the Son’s task to
accomplish the Father’s plan of salvation in the fullness of time. Its
accomplishment was the reason for him being sent. “The Lord Jesus inaugurated
his Church by preaching the Good News, that is, the coming of the Reign of God,
promised over the ages in the scriptures.”
To fulfill the Father’s will, Christ ushered in the Kingdom of heaven on
earth. The Church “is the Reign of Christ already present in mystery.”[26]
The Ten Commandments (The
Decalogue) was given to the Israelites by God during the Exodus from Egypt.[27] The Levites, the priestly class anointed by
God, wrote many more laws explaining how God wanted His laws to be fulfilled.[28] But over time the essence of the Laws of God
sometimes became distorted.[29] Jesus told His followers, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the
law or the prophets. I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.”[30]
From His life and His teaching,
Jesus directly and indirectly bestowed on us grace to strengthen us on our
journey of faith. “His words and deeds,
his silences and sufferings, indeed his manner of being and speaking —is
Revelation of the Father.”[31] For Jesus said, “Whoever has seen me has
seen the Father.”[32] He gave us the Beatitudes,[33]
the seven Sacraments,[34]
the Virtues,[35]
Works of Mercy,[36]
and the Gifts and fruits of the Spirit,[37]
all of which strengthen us to lead a holy life through God’s grace.
In the Gospel of John in the
Bread of Life Discourse,[38]
Jesus said, “I am the bread of life;
whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never
thirst.”[39]
Before His suffering and death, Jesus instituted the Eucharist at the Last
Supper; “While they were eating, Jesus
took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and giving it to his disciples said,
“Take and eat; this is my body.” Then he
took a cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of
you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which will be shed on behalf of many
for the forgiveness of sins.[40]
“The miracles of the
multiplication of the loaves,[41]
when the Lord says the blessing, breaks and distributes the loaves through his
disciples to feed the multitude, prefigure the superabundance of this unique
bread of his Eucharist.”[42] The Eucharist is the center of the Catholic
Church’s life[43]
with essentially the same structure as it had in the time of Christ. The Church spiritually feeds thousands every
day with the Body and Blood and blood of the risen Christ.
Through the Paschal Mystery,
Jesus’ passion, crucifixion, death, burial, descent among the dead,
resurrection, and ascension,[44] Jesus allowed us to be reconciled to God, our
Father, as He bore the sins of the whole world on the cross in our place.[45] It is through this selfless act that God
showed His love for us[46]
and Jesus showed His obedience to God.[47] Jesus’ obedience was in direct contrast to
Adam’s disobedience.[48] Adam’s disobedience damaged our relationship
with God while Jesus’ obedience repaired the damage and resulted in our
salvation. Man’s nature was raised to
something even greater than that of Adam’s.[49]
The Prophet Isaiah, speaking of
Jesus’ suffering and triumphant death said, “See, my servant shall prosper, he shall be raised high and greatly
exalted. Even as many were amazed at
him—so marred were his features, beyond that of mortals his appearance, beyond
that of human beings—So shall he startle many nations, kings shall stand
speechless; For those who have not been told shall see, those who have not
heard shall ponder it.”[50]
The Acts of the Apostles
The Acts of the Apostles was the
second book written by Luke[51]
and it tells of the acts of Jesus during the forty days between His
resurrection and His ascension.[52] After the ascension of Jesus, Acts
chronicles the beginning of the Christian Church and the difficulties some of
the first communities experienced.
Acts tells of the birth of the
Christian Church when the Holy Spirit that was promised by Jesus[53]
came upon the Apostles at Pentecost. “And suddenly there came from the sky a noise
like a strong driving wind, and it filled the entire house in which they
were. Then there appeared to them
tongues as of fire, which parted and came to rest on each one of them. And they were all filled with the holy Spirit
and began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them to
proclaim.”[54]
Acts tells us how the first
Christian community lived[55]
in anticipation of the second coming of Christ who would preside over the Last
Judgment and the end of the world. Chapters one through nine tell of how Peter
took the lead in spreading the Christian religion among the Jews. We are also told about the first Deacons of
the Christian Church who were needed to assist the Apostles so that they would
not have to neglect preaching the word of God to attend to administrative
matters.[56]
We are told about Saul of Tarsus,
a devout Pharisee, who persecuted the early Christians.[57] He was on his way to Damascus to find those
who belonged to the Way to bring them back to Jerusalem in chains[58]
when, “A light from the sky suddenly
flashed around him. He fell to the
ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting
me?” He said, “Who are you, sir?” The
reply came, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. Now get up and go into the city and you will
be told what you must do.” The men who
were traveling with him stood speechless, for they heard the voice but could
see no one. Saul got up from the ground,
but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing; so they led him by the hand
and brought him to Damascus. For three
days he was unable to see, and he neither ate nor drank.[59]
After Saul’s conversion, he
fervently began to preach about Christ and Acts chapters 11-28 give us details
about how he spread the Christian religion among the Gentiles. Saul was his Semitic name, but his
Greco-Roman name was Paul.[60]
In writing the Acts of the
Apostles, Luke records the spread of the Church after Pentecost and refers to
the apostolic evangelization by the apostles and Paul as “they”. In Chapter 16 of the Acts, Luke speaks as
“we”, indicating the he was now accompanying them in the mission of spreading
the faith.
The early Christian Church was
not without its share of controversy.
Some of the Jews were demanding that the Gentile converts observe fully
the Mosaic Law. Paul and Barnabas went up to Jerusalem to meet with Peter, the
Apostles and the Presbyters. The first
council was convened.[61] The council concluded that, “‘It is the decision of the holy Spirit and of
us not to place on you any burden beyond these necessities, namely, to abstain
from meat sacrificed to idols, from blood, from meats of strangled animals, and
from unlawful marriage. If you keep free of these, you will be doing what is
right.’”[62]
There are twenty-one documents
that take the form of letters or epistles in the New Testament canon. Paul’s letters were written before any of our
gospels, though the sayings and deeds of Jesus stand behind all the New
Testament writings. The dates of the
other New Testament letters are more difficult to determine, but for the most
part they belong to the second and third Christian generations rather than to
the first.[63]
The basic format of the letters
uses the conventions of letter writing common in the ancient world with
modifications by the Christian writers.
The general form is usually as follows: [64]
·
A greeting
·
The names of the sender(s) and recipient(s)
·
A prayer
·
Teaching on the issue that led to the letter
·
Conclusion
The letters usually addressed
specific situations encountered in the early Christian Churches. Some were systematic and doctrinal, as in Paul’s
Letter to the Romans; some were forceful, as was Paul’s Letter to the Galatians
in which he said, “O stupid Galatians! Who has bewitched you,”[65].
Fourteen of
the twenty-one letters have been traditionally attributed to Paul. Four of the letters were written while Paul
was in prison and three were of a pastoral nature. Like the prophetic writings in the Old
Testament, the letters are arranged primarily in descending order of length.
The Book of Revelation was
addressed to, “The seven churches in Asia,”[66]
and is a revelation given to John in a series of visions in symbolic and
allegorical language borrowed from the Old Testament. The symbolic descriptions are not meant to be
taken as literal descriptions and the symbolism is not meant to be pictured
realistically.[67] The reader does not know if the author
experienced real visions or if the visions were simply literary conventions.
The literary style is apocalyptic
and, even though it is difficult for modern day readers to understand, the
early Christian communities would have understood it because that style of
writing was popular between 200 B.C. and 150 A.D. The early Christian communities that were
being persecuted would have understood the underlying spiritual message of
hope.
Apocalyptic literature is a literary genre that foretells supernaturally inspired cataclysmic events that will transpire at the end of the world. A product of the Judeo-Christian tradition, apocalyptic literature is characteristically pseudonymous; it takes narrative form, employs esoteric language, expresses a pessimistic view of the present, and treats the final events as imminent.[68]
[1] Catechism
of the Catholic Church, para. 138-140
[2] Gen. 12:1-3
[3] Ex. Chap. 24; Deut. Chaps.
29 & 30
[4] 2 Sam. 7:8-17
[5] Heb. 7:14-17
[6] Catechism
of the Catholic Church, para. 515
[7] Jn. 21:24; Mark 1:1
[8] Jn.
20:31; Catechism of the Catholic Church, para. 514
[9] Lk. 8:1
[10] Gigot,
F. (1912). Synoptics. In The Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert
Appleton Company. Retrieved August 29, 2016 from New Advent:
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/14389b.htm
[11] Gal. 4:4-5
[12] Gen. 12:2
[13] Is. 7:14
[14] Mt. 1:21-23
[15] Is. 42:1-4
[16] Lk. 1:31
[17] Lk. 1:35
[18] Lk. 1:38
[19] Mt. 3:16; Mk. 1:10; Lk. 3:21-22;
Jn. 1:32
[20] Catechism
of the Catholic Church, para.515
[21] Mt. 3:17
[22] Mt. 8:23-27; Mt.
14:22-33, Jn. 11:32-44
[23] Mk. 2:3-12
[24] Mt. 8:23-27
[25] Mk. 6:45-52
[26] Catechism
of the Catholic Church, para.763; Mt. 4:17; Mk. 1:15
[27] Ex. 20:2-17
[28] Lev. Chapters 11 to 26
[29] Mk. 7:13
[30] Mt. 5:17
[31] Catechism
of the Catholic Church, para. 516
[32] Jn. 14:9
[33] Mt. 5:3-12
[34] Catechism
of the Catholic Church, para. 774
[35] Catechism
of the Catholic Church, para. 798; 1266; 1844.
[36] Catechism
of the Catholic Church, para. 2447
[37] Catechism
of the Catholic Church, para. 1830; 1845
[38] Jn. 6:22-59
[39] Jn. 6:34
[40] Mt. 26:26-30; Mk.
14:22-26; Lk. 22:14-20; 1 Cor. 11:23-26
[41] Mt. 14:13-21; Mk.
6:34-44; Lk. 9:10-17; Jn. 6:1-13
[42] Catechism
of the Catholic Church, para. 1335
[43] Catechism
of the Catholic Church, para. 1343
[44] Catechism
of the Catholic Church, para. 512
[45] 1 Pet. 2:24; Is. 53:5; Isa.
53:12
[46] Jn. 3:16
[47] Phil. 2:8
[48] Gen. 3:17
[49] Rom.
5:20; Catechism of the Catholic Church, para. 412
[50] Isa. 52:13-15
[51] Acts 1:1
[52] Acts 1:3
[53] Acts 1:4
[54] Acts 2:2-4
[55] Acts 2:42-47
[56] Acts 6:1-7
[57] Acts 8:3
[58] Acts 9:2
[59] Acts 8:3-9
[60] Acts 13:9
[61] Acts 15:1-35
[62] Acts 15:28-29
[63] Confraternity
of Christian Doctrine. (2010). New American Bible (Revised ed., p.
1251). Totowa, NJ: Catholic Book Publishing Corp.
[64] Confraternity
of Christian Doctrine. (2010). New American Bible (Revised ed., p.
1251). Totowa, NJ: Catholic Book Publishing Corp.
[65] Gal. 3:1
[66] Rev. 1:4
[67] Confraternity
of Christian Doctrine. (2010). New American Bible (Revised ed., p. 1401).
Totowa, NJ: Catholic Book Publishing Corp.
[68] Lerner,
R. E. (2008, May 28). Apocalyptic literature. In Encyclopædia Britannica.
Retrieved August 30, 2016, from https://www.britannica.com/art/apocalyptic-literature
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