The Christian Bible is made up of the Old and New Testaments. The Old Testament covers Jewish history and law, while the New Testament focuses on Jesus Christ and the birth of Christianity. The Bible is a foundation of literature and spirituality and Christianity claims a unique relationship with God.
The Old and New Testaments make up the Christian Bible, the set of sacred scriptures of Christianity. The Bible details what Jews and Christians believe is their creator God’s participation in human history.
The first two-thirds of the Christian Bible is called the Old Testament. It contains all of the Jewish scriptures compiled up to approximately 400 BC, 400 years before the birth and ministry of Jesus Christ. The first five books—Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy—comprise the Pentateuch, or Torah for the Jews. These books tell the story of creation, the story of the fall of mankind and how sin entered the world, and of God’s first intervention in human history. It also tells the story of Moses and the Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt, their emergence as a people and their wandering in the desert for 40 years, until they reached Canaan. Jewish law is also covered in these books.
Joshua, Judges, First and Second Samuel, Kings I and II, Chronicles I and II, Ezra, and Nehemiah all cover Israel’s early history and the Age of Kingdom. These books detail the history of the nation as it was formed from a band of nomads into a first world power. The books also describe the fall of Israel, its captivity in Babylon and its return to Jerusalem to rebuild the Temple.
Esther, Ruth, Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Songs are called “wisdom and devotional literature.” They don’t relate the story so much as they illustrate God’s work among his people and how it relates to his people. The Psalms comprised the hymnbook of the Jews and the early Christian church. Proverbs are a collection of wise thoughts and sayings that still have value.
In the background of the historical books the prophets speak, from Isaiah to Malachi. They spent much of the Era of Kingdom prophesying to the kings and people of Israel. Their main target was the idolatry that had crept into Israelite worship and the mistreatment of the poor, widows and orphans. They prophesied the doom of Israel if they did not repent. But the prophets also spoke of the Day of the Lord, when He will send His Messiah and Savior of all people, to restore the throne of David and the house of Israel. The Old Testament closes on this hope and, historically, a silence of 400 years has followed.
The New Testament arrived, like its predecessor, in pieces. It is all about the life, ministry, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the emerging first century Christian Church, exhortations to live a Christian life, and the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.
Christians believe that Jesus Christ was the fulfillment of the Old Testament, and this is a vital point in understanding the relationship between the Old and New Testaments, according to Christianity. Christianity makes a claim unique among world religions: that human beings can personally know their creator God and have a personal relationship with him. No other world religion suggests that this is a possibility. The entire New Testament tries to show that this is possible, however, because the Jewish Messiah was sent for all people.
The four Gospels—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John—all deal exclusively with the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Matthew particularly draws parallels between the Old Testament and the life of Christ in his gospel.
Luke probably also wrote Acts, which covers the early church, then Paul comes to the fore with his epistles, or letters, to various churches where he had served. These letters are filled with advice and wisdom on how to live a Christian life. The pastoral epistles written by Peter, John, James and Jude follow, with the Apocalypse closing the New Testament. Revelation has been discussed and referenced since its inclusion in the Bible, with its imagery and vivid descriptions of the end of the world.
In short, the Old Testament focuses on the history of the Jews, while the New Testament focuses on Jesus Christ and the birth of the Christian faith. The New Testament always shows how the God of the Old Testament completed his redemptive work in the person of Jesus Christ, who died to atone for the sins of all mankind. The Bible has permeated Western culture to its core, it is a foundation of literature and spirituality.
While Jews believe that the Messiah has not yet arrived, for Christians the Old Testament is inextricably linked to the New. The New Testament verbalizes the Old Testament inference of a free salvation for all humans as a promise.
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