The New Testament in Its World

This course is designed to open your eyes to the larger world of the New Testament. Guiding you in how to think like a first-century Christian, it stands to become the definitive seminary-level introduction on the topic.

At a Glance

Gain deeper understanding of the purpose of the New Testament and greater ability to bridge the gap between the first-century understanding of the kingdom and our lives as twenty-first-century Christians
Knowledge of each New Testament book, including their significance, textual layout and content, and critical topics that provide commentary with implications for Christian life today
Access to all course material—video lectures, readings, key concept reviews, and quizzes
Access to the Cerego learning system to build memory retention of course objectives
24/7 access for 12 months to complete the course at your own pace

Intermediate

120 hours

12 Month Access ($229.99 USD)

This course can be taken for academic credit through the BibleMesh Institute: Click Here.

More Details

Enter the world of the New Testament. This course will serve as your passageway from the twenty-first century to the era of Jesus and the first Christians. An ideal guide, The New Testament in Its World course addresses many difficult questions faced by those studying early Christianity.

On-location and in-studio videos, maps, charts, diagrams, and photos will immerse you into the world of the New Testament as this course takes you on a journey with Wright and Bird to Jerusalem, Corinth, Athens, Rome, Nazareth, Qumran, Capernaum, and the shores of the Sea of Galilee.

This course brings together decades of ground-breaking research, writing, and teaching into one learning experience that will open stduents’ eyes to the larger world of the New Testament. It presents the New Testament books as historical, literary, and social phenomena located in the world of Second Temple Judaism, amidst Greco-Roman politics and culture, and within early Christianity.

Course Outline:

Beginning Study of the New Testament
The New Testament as History
The New Testament as Literature
The New Testament as Theology
The History of the Jews between the Persian and Roman Empires
The Jewish Context of Jesus and the Early Church
The Greco-Roman Context of the Early Church
The Study of the Historical Jesus
The Profile and Praxis of a Prophet
Who Did Jesus Think He Was?
The Death of the Messiah
The Afterlife in Greek, Roman, and Jewish Thought
The Story of Easter According to the Apostle Paul
The Story of Easter According to the Evangelists
The Story of Paul’s Life and Ministry
A Primer on Pauline Theology
Galatians
1 and 2 Thessalonians
Philippians
MIDTERM
Colossians, Philemon, and Ephesians
1 and 2 Corinthians
Romans
The Pastoral Epistles
The Gospel According to Mark
The Gospel According to Matthew
The Gospel According to Luke and Acts of the Apostles
The Gospel According to John
The Making of the Gospels
Introduction to Early Christian Letters
The Letter to the Hebrews
Letters by Jesus’s Brothers: James and Jude
Petrine Letters: 1 and 2 Peter
Johannine Letters: 1, 2, and 3 John
Revelation
Introduction to Textual Criticism of the New Testament
The Canonization of the New Testament
Bringing It all Together
FINAL EXAM

About the Technology

Authors & Instructors

N.T. Wright

D.Phil. and D.D., University of Oxford

N. T. Wright is professor of New Testament and Early Christianity at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland and also senior research fellow at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford.

Michael F. Bird

PhD., University of Queensland

Michael F. Bird is a lecturer in theology at Ridley College in Melbourne, Australia. He is the author of many books, including Jesus and the Origins of the Gentile Mission, The Saving Righteousness of God: Studies on Paul, Justification, and the New Perspective, and Evangelical Theology, and editor of The Apostle Paul: Four Views. He blogs at the New Testament blog Euangelion.