Consisting of 27 books, four of which are Gospels and 21 are Epistles, the New Testament was primarily written by the Apostle Paul and the 12 Disciples of Jesus. The Epistles were aimed at various churches or people that needed guidance. These letters involve rhetoric while the historical books, called Gospels, established a background of the Church and the teachings of Jesus. 

The Gospels were written in the 1st century, the oldest complete copy is from 360 AD. Widely known by about 100 AD these books were written in Koine Greek, a language used during trade. The Old Testament was regarded as authoritative in the New Testament. Chapters and verses were not added until much later in the 13th and 16th centuries. Unlike Greek literature written for entertainment purposes, the New Testament was meant for worship. Roman literature was focused on the city of Rome and was tied to the past and present, while the New Testament was about the teachings of one man and had specific views of the future. Classical literature relied on mythology, but the gospels of Christ were historic accounts.

The earliest and shortest of the four Gospels, Mark is about the life and ministry of Jesus. Gospel means “good news,” Christ means “anointed,” and Jesus means “Yahweh” or “salvation.” Baptism was not practiced by the Jews before Jesus, when he was baptized by John. Mark begins with a declaration proclaiming that Jesus is the son of God. Using miracles to reinforce His message, Jesus began preaching the Kingdom of God. He gained opposition from religious leaders, since He was not a Levite meaning that he was not eligible to become a priest. The religious leaders called “Pharisees” and “Sadducees” disliked him because he held meetings with sinners, like tax collectors, and prostitutes. Proclaiming a new unique law and order, Jesus’ coming was to fulfill the Old Covenant and assert the New Covenant. Along with increasing opposition, Jesus also gained massive amounts of followers, His 12 disciples, and many others. The Disciples were empowered by Jesus and given the ability to heal; this way His message would spread faster. Speaking in parables, Jesus told the story of the mustard seed, which said most people would not accept his message, and among those who did, most would eventually fall away.