The New Testament tells the story of Jesus' birth and life. His mother Mary conceived him through the power of the Holy Spirit. He was born in Bethlehem because his parents had traveled there for the census. Around age thirty, Jesus began to preach to the men of Judea. He gathered twelve disciples to learn his teachings and to help spread his lessons. Jesus' primary lessons were that there was only one God and the most important of his commandments was to love your neighbor as yourself. Unlike previous prophets, Jesus reached out to base people more than the virtuous. His message was that everyone could obtain salvation through God.
It revealed to some of his disciples that Jesus was the son of God. This had been prophesied in Jewish scripture. He entered the city of Jerusalem heralded as a King. In the city he continued to teach. He threw the sinners out of the Jewish Temple. On the feast of the Passover, Jesus revealed to his disciples that one of them would betray him and one would deny that he knew him three times before dawn. Jesus was betrayed by Judas and turned over to the hands of the authorities. At the request of the people, Jesus was condemned to crucifixion. He died on the cross. After three days they checked his tomb and found that he was gone. An angel reported that Jesus had risen from the dead. He appeared to some of the disciples and instructed them to spread his teaching throughout the world.
The rest of the New Testament tells the story of the Apostles and the early spread of Christianity. One of the most significant of these men was Paul. He was an Apostle who traveled to many cities and wrote letters to churches discussing faith and the doxology of the new church. These letters provided early guidance for church leaders. They discuss everything from who may follow Jesus to the importance of circumcision.
The last book of the New Testament is Revelations. It purports to be a vision from Jesus Christ given to John. It tells of the end of the world when Jesus will come back to judge men. The New Testament contains the books that provide the basis for modern Christianity.
