Are the first gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John New Testament or Old?

Question

I believe Acts is because it starts after Christ death. Any other opinions out there?

Answer 1

That's the New Testament. The New Testament starts with the LIFE of Christ because that shows us his perfect example.

Answer 2

Opinions? Why in the world do you want opinions about a matter that is known fact? There can't possibly be any more than one correct answer to this. Don't settle for hearsay; find the facts yourself.

Go to your Bible (or borrow one from a friend or the local library) and look in the table of contents near the front. You can easily see for yourself that Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are the first four books in the New Testament. Acts is the fifth book in the NT, immediately following the gospels. The name "Acts" is short for "The Acts of the Apostles." The Apostles were Jesus' closest followers.

Answer 3

The Books of the Old Testament are:

Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings, 2 Kings, 1 Chronicles, 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, The Song of Songs, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi

The Books of the New Testament are:

Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, Romans, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Phillippians, Colossians, 1 Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon, Hebrews, James, 1 Peter, 2 Peter, 1 John, 2 John, 3 John, Jude, Revelation

Answer 4

Matthew, Mark, Luke and John are the first 4 books of the new testament.

Answer 5

You are right, Acts was written before the 4 gospels in their current form, but that is not the whole story. Religious scholars have confirmed that Mark used more ancient sources to prepare his account, making Mark the oldest tradition. Matthew and Luke were written later with John following much later. Acts, while being the earliest, is also written by a man who was not an original follower of Jesus, nor did he keep their original message, nor did he ever meet Jesus. I would think Mark would be the greater authority

Answer 6

They are the Old Testament. The new does not start until Acts.
Matt, Mark, Luke and John (is the New Testament being established)is God revealed. Jesus born of a woman; born under the law. The Old Testament shows the nature of God and the church the promise of God.

Answer 7

Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are New Testament writings because they were written after Jesus' birth, life, death and resurrection. They tell the story of Jesus and because of Jesus, we have a New Covenant (NT) with God .

These accounts of Jesus were written after He rose from the dead. He lives!

The Bible is God's written Word to us.
It was written by human authors, under the supernatural guidance of the Holy Spirit.

“Above all you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation. For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” 2 Peter 1:20-21. (New International Version)

Breakdown of the Bible
36 human authors inspired entirely by God over 1600 years.
66 separate books

39 Old Testament
Genesis- The creation of the world, sin, flood and birth of Israel
Exodus to Esther- History of the nation of Israel
Job to Proverbs- the books of poetry and wisdom
Isaiah to Malachi- Prophecy or foretelling of the future events to come.

27 New Testament
Matthew to John - Four Gospels representing the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ now with all authority in Heaven and earth.
Acts- Birth of the Church (The Bride of Christ)
Romans to Jude - Letters to the Churches
Revelations - The ultimate future plans for: The Church, Heaven, Hell, a New Heaven and a New Earth.

Here are some Bible Study Resources for anything you may want to look up:
http://www.Biblegateway.com
http://www.Ntgateway.com
http://www.Bible.org
http://www.bible-history.com
http://www.answersingenesis.org/

Answer 8

the gospels you mention are new testament and record accounts of jesus's life, they are recommended to be read first so one can come to know jesus. they are recorded after the death of jesus although the stories would have been recorded in the oral tradition that preceeded the usage of written tradition. the reason being not all that many could read or even write at that time. at the death of jesus we entered into a new covenant that we see in the gosepls and rest of the new testament,the old testament deals with old covenants, between adam,noah,moses,abraham and david. jesus perfected the old covenant. in the gospels we find references to old testament scripture, this is based on the premise

the old testament is revealed in the new and so the new testament is hidden in the old.

you may want to try these sites for more research
www.scripturecatholic.com
www.catholiceducation.org
www.fisheaters.com
www.salvationhistory.com

Answer 9

Matthew,Mark,Luke,John,and Acts ,and the books that follow,are all part of the New Testament.

Answer 10

Quite correct... There were NO CHRISTIANS until Acts 2. The Gospels record Jesus teaching TO JEWS LIVING UNDER THE LAW and must be considered such in order to be accurately interpreted.

The "Old Testament" and "New Testament" labels were not part of the original texts. These were inserted by the publishers. To properly understand the Gospels, we must first understand that they DO NOT present Christianity, but Jesus' teaching to Jews.

...Notice Jesus' words about John the Baptist in Matthew 11:11 "What I’m about to tell you is true. No one more important than John the Baptist has ever been born. But the least important person in the kingdom of heaven is more important than he is."

The kingdom, or the church (Mk 9:1 Jesus said to them, “What I’m about to tell you is true. Some who are standing here will not die before they see God’s kingdom coming with power.”) DID NOT YET EXIST. John WAS NOT a part of it.

The writer of Hebrews answers your question directly:

Hebrews 9:15 That’s why Christ is the go-between of a new covenant. Now those God calls to himself will receive the eternal gift he promised. They will receive it now that Christ has died to save them. He died to set them free from the sins they committed under the first covenant.
16 What happens in the case of a will? It is necessary to prove that the person who made the will has died.
17 A will is in effect only when somebody has died. It never takes effect while the one who made it is still living.
18 That’s why even the first covenant was not put into effect without the spilling of blood.
19 Moses first announced every commandment of the law to all the people. Then he took the blood of calves. He also took water, bright red wool and branches of a hyssop plant. He sprinkled the scroll. He also sprinkled all of the people.
20 He said, “This is the blood of the covenant God has commanded you to keep.”
21 In the same way, he sprinkled the holy tent with blood. He also sprinkled everything that was used in worship there.
22 In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be made clean with blood. Without the spilling of blood, no one can be forgiven.
23 So the copies of the heavenly things had to be made pure with those sacrifices. But the heavenly things themselves had to be made pure with better sacrifices.
24 Christ did not enter a sacred tent made by people. That tent was only a copy of the true one. He entered heaven itself. He did it to stand in front of God for us. He is there right now.

The 9th chapter of Hebrews is an extensive look at a "testament." The writer clearly explains that it takes effect AFTER THE DEATH OF THE TESTATOR. From it we see clearly that the new covenant or testament WAS NOT IN EFFECT DURING THE LIFETIME OF JESUS. Yes, the Gospels were written during "New Testament times," that is, after Jesus' death and resurrection, BUT the times they represent WERE NOT related to the New Testament, but the old, being the ministry of Christ to the Jews.

Though MANY people misunderstand, you are quite correct that the Gospels record material which is more closely associated with the law of the Old Testament, which everyone at that time were still living and dying under. -- Until AFTER Jesus' death and resurrection no one could come to God through him... It had not yet been finished - John 19:30 After Jesus drank he said, “It is finished.” Then he bowed his head and died.