The Bible from Scratch: The New Testament for Beginners

The Bible from Scratch

Also Available in the Bible from Scratch Series

The Bible from Scratch: The Old Testament for Beginners

Genesis from Scratch: The Old Testament for Beginners

Matthew’s Gospel from Scratch: The New Testament for Beginners

Mark’s Gospel from Scratch: The New Testament for Beginners

Luke’s Gospel from Scratch: The New Testament for Beginners

The Bible from Scratch

The New Testament for Beginners

Donald L. Griggs

©2003 by Donald L. Griggs

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. For information, address Westminster John Knox Press, 100 Witherspoon Street, Louisville, Kentucky 40202-1396.

Worksheets from Leader’s Guide may be reproduced for one-time use.

Scripture quotations unless otherwise indicated, are from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. and are used by permission.

The worksheet on page 101 is from Meeting God in the Bible: 60 Devotions for Groups, Donald L. Griggs, The Kerygma Program, © 1992. Used by permission. For more information contact www.kerygma.com or (800) 537-9462.

Book design by Teri Vinson

Cover design by Night and Day Design

First edition

Published by Westminster John Knox Press

Louisville, Kentucky

This book is printed on acid-free paper that meets the American National Standards Institute Z39.48 standard.

11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20—20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Griggs, Donald L.

The Bible from scratch : the New Testament for beginners / Donald L. Griggs.

    p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN-13: 978-0-664-22577-3 (alk. paper)

ISBN-10: 0-664-22577-2 (alk. paper)

    1. Bible. N.T.—Introductions. I. Title.

BS2330.3 .G75 2003

225.6'1—dc21

2002035836

This adult Bible study is dedicated to

Father Elias Chacour

Compatriot of Jesus, who walks daily where Jesus walked in Galilee, man of God who builds on his dreams that God’s children can live in peace, champion of peace who teaches love and respect for all God’s children, founder of Mar Elias Educational Institutions in Ibillin, Galilee, Israel, and dear friend, mentor, and colleague.

Contents

Introduction

Part 1

Participant’s Guide

1 Introducing the New Testament

2 The Gospel of Matthew

3 The Gospel of Mark

4 The Gospel of Luke

5 The Gospel of John

6 The Acts of the Apostles

7 Epistles of the New Testament

8 The Revelation to John

Part 2

Leader’s Guide

Guidelines for Bible Study Leaders

1 Introducing the New Testament

2 The Gospel of Matthew

3 The Gospel of Mark

4 The Gospel of Luke

5 The Gospel of John

6 The Acts of the Apostles

7 Epistles of the New Testament

8 The Revelation to John

Appendix

Introduction

You may have read the book The Bible from Scratch: The Old Testament for Beginners, or been in a Bible study class based on it. If so, you are familiar with the approach this book will take. If this book, and perhaps a study group you will be attending, is your first exposure to the topic, then you will discover a lot of new information about the New Testament and will experience an approach to its study that may be different from what you are accustomed to.

Do you have memories of your Sunday school teacher expecting you to memorize all of the books of the Bible in order? Can you still recite them?

Have you been in conversation with someone who quotes so many Bible verses that you feel intimidated and embarrassed about how little you know about the Bible?

Were you ever in a Bible study group when the leader instructed the class members to look up a Bible passage and you weren’t quite sure how to do it?

Have you been invited by a friend or someone in your church to attend a Bible study group and you thought of many reasons not to go because you were sure you would feel out of place?

If you have answered one or more of the above questions in the affirmative, it may be that you have found the right resource to help you. After you have read this book, and perhaps been part of a group using the book for its study, you may not have memorized more Bible verses but you will find yourself becoming more comfortable with reading and studying the Bible. A research project¹ was conducted in the mid-1980s in which 3,567 adult members of 561 congregations were asked which topics they were interested or very interested to study. Of twenty-six possible topics, The Bible ranked the highest, with 77 percent indicating interest or high interest. If your church is anything like the ones I know, it is obvious that 77 percent of the adult members are not involved in Bible study classes, groups, or programs. It is more likely to be closer to 15 to 25 percent.

I think the adults represented by the 50 to 60 percent who expressed interest but are not involved in Bible study in our churches are sincere in their desire to study the Bible but for a variety of reasons they are not motivated to participate in such groups. Perhaps you can identify with those who would like to know more about the Bible but are reluctant to seek out a Bible study group or accept an invitation to attend one. I have heard such reluctance stated as: I’m sure everyone else in the group will know more about the Bible than I do. Whenever people talk about the Bible I get confused and have a lot of questions that I’m afraid to ask because they seem like stupid questions. I can’t keep up with those who know where to find Bible passages. "To learn my new computer program I bought Microsoft Office for Dummies. That’s what I need for learning the Bible." This book is written to address the concerns represented by such statements.

My vision for teaching the Bible and my desire are that all believers become biblically literate so that they will be comfortable reading and studying the Bible and be able to enter into conversation with others about the Bible. By biblical literacy I mean several things:

• Having one’s own Bible and reading it regularly

• Being able to find Bible passages and use the footnotes and cross-reference notes

• Being comfortable using Bible study tools such as an atlas, dictionary, and concordance

• Gaining a sense of the story line of the Bible

• Recognizing major characters and events in the Bible in the order of their appearance

• Seeing connections between the themes of the Old and New Testaments

• Relating the passages and stories of the Bible to one’s own faith and life journeys

• Viewing events in the world and making decisions from a biblical perspective

This book, and the course you may be involved in, is one small effort to assist you in increasing your biblical literacy.

The Bible from Scratch: The New Testament for Beginners is written to address other needs as well. You may be among those who have been attending Bible study groups for a number of years where the study has focused on specific passages or stories or books of the Bible. You have enjoyed such studies but have wished for an overview of the Bible so that you could see the relationships between its various parts. Or you wish you could place the biblical events and characters in their historical context. If that is an interest of yours, this study guide will be a helpful resource.

Another value of this book may be to provide you with a refresher course where you review familiar material but look at it from a different perspective. Whatever brings you to this book, I pray that God will bless you by the portions of the Bible that you read, by the thinking you do guided by the questions, and by the prayers you are prompted to pray. If you would like to join with others in the adventure of exploring the Bible, consider taking the initiative to form a group of fellow pilgrims on the journey. Ask your pastor or a Bible study leader in your church to guide such a group. When you are able to do Bible study with others in a group in your church, you are almost guaranteed to receive even more blessings than if you do the study solo.

If you find this study to be of value you may be interested in exploring the companion study, The Bible from Scratch: The Old Testament for Beginners, also available from Westminster John Knox Press.

1. Effective Christian Education: A National Study of Protestant Congregations, funded by the Lilly Endowment and conducted by Search Institute, 1990.

Part One

PARTICIPANT’S

GUIDE

Chapter One

Introducing the New Testament

Getting Started

This book is the second in a series. If you have already read or been in a study group with the first book, The Bible from Scratch: The Old Testament for Beginners, you may want to read this chapter quickly because much of the material is similar to chapter 1 of the first book. If you are coming to this book without benefit of the first one, then you will want to work through the chapter more carefully. This chapter deals with the New Testament as a whole. It sets the stage for reading and studying the remaining seven chapters, each of which focuses on a specific portion of the New Testament.

Prayer Prompted by Scripture

We follow the same pattern as we did in the first volume of this series. We begin each chapter with a prayer exercise that is prompted by one or more passages of the book or books of the New Testament that are the focus of the chapter. We begin each chapter in this way for at least three reasons:

1. To discern the most meaning from Scripture, we must approach the texts in a prayerful way.

2. The Bible is not just a book to read and study; it is also a book that speaks to us. We are able to hear its message when we are in a listening mode of prayer.

3. When we approach the Scriptures prayerfully, we will be more centered and ready for our reading and reflection.

The New Testament arose out of the life and ministry of the first generation of Christians in the early church. They were inspired by the life and teachings of Jesus and were empowered by the Holy Spirit to share the good news of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus the Christ. The disciples and those who joined with them learned and taught, worshiped and worked, and healed and helped for many years before the first words were written that are now the collection of writings we know as the New Testament.

In Acts 2:42 we read, They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. In this passage we gain some clues regarding the life and ministry of the members of the emerging church. This verse is in the context of what happened on the Day of Pentecost, fifty days after Jesus’ resurrection. The followers of Jesus were gathered in Jerusalem for the Pentecost celebrations when to their surprise they received the gift of the Holy Spirit. They were empowered to share the good news of that gift to all who were present. Before the day was over, three thousand people believed and were baptized. They [the baptized ones] devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. In this one verse we gain some clues regarding life in the early church. Among the important aspects of their life together was prayer. In this book and course we continue in that tradition, with prayer being central to our life together in Christ.

Read Matthew 5:1–12, a passage we know as the Beatitudes. The word beatitude is from the Latin and means blessing. In this passage there are nine blessings, each extended to a people with particular needs or circumstances. What follows is a litany based on the nine blessings. The first line of each blessing is quoted from the Contemporary English Version, and the second line is a prayer response reflecting the meaning of the second line in the biblical text.

God blesses those people who depend only on him.

I desire to be with you, dear God, you are my strength and my life.

God blesses those people who grieve.

I seek your comfort and love in my time of sorrow and despair.

God blesses those people who are humble.

Help me to continue to know my place of worth in your world.

God blesses those people who want to obey him more than to eat or drink.

You grant me more than I deserve and I am deeply grateful, gracious God.

God blesses those people who are merciful.

Remind me, O God, that I will be treated by others as I treat them.

God blesses those people whose hearts are pure.

I am unworthy and yet you receive me into your presence.

God blesses those people who make peace.

Remind me, God, that to be your child is to live in peace with all your children.

God blesses those people who are treated badly for doing right.

You welcome me into your realm, which is more important than anything else.

God will bless you when people insult you, mistreat you, and tell all kinds of evil lies about you because of me. (Write your own prayer response below.)

_____________________________________________

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Take a few minutes to reflect on two questions:

What do these blessings say to us about God’s love and grace?

What do these blessings teach us about our life commitments and responsibilities?

Approaching This Bible Study

If you come to this book and study without benefit of the first book in the series, then you may have some questions that I would like to answer briefly.

You may be thinking, What can I expect in this course? Some of the things you are likely to experience are:

• You will be on a quick journey through the whole New Testament. More time will be spent on some books than others. For a more in-depth study it will be necessary to find other resources. An excellent collection of resources for in-depth Bible study is published by The Kerygma Program.¹

• You may develop a lot of questions. Questions are good. Questions lead to understanding. Don’t be bashful about having questions; ask them of your