The New Testament is the second half of the Bible, which contains the birth of the Messiah, His life, His death, His resurrection, and the development of the Church. Although the New Testament is shorter than the Old Testament, it contains many truths to guide, instruct, and teach us. We will do well to pay attention to these things and reflect on them. There is nothing in the Old Testament or New Testament that we should overlook or ignore.
All parts of the Bible are equally important and deserve to be read, treasured, and kept in our hearts. For many of us, it can be hard to get ourselves as well as others engaged in reading the Bible, but there are many things we can do about this. One is to get interested in a few fun facts about the Bible. Knowing a few fun facts can spark our curiosity to dig into God's Word even more.
Here are five fun facts from the New Testament:
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1. The Shepherds, Wisemen, Angels, and Animals Weren't at Jesus' Birth
One fun fact from the New Testament is that the shepherds, wise men, angels, and animals were not present at the birth of Jesus. Although the nativity decorations at Christmas are a nice gesture, they are not biblical. The only people present at the birth of Christ were Mary, Joseph, and Jesus Himself.
The shepherds were spoken to by the angels in the field; however, they (angels included) are not said to be present at the birth of Jesus.
In the same way, the wise men were not present at the birth of Christ. They came many years later and visited Mary, Joseph, and Jesus when they were living in a house. Jesus would have been a few years old by then.
The same is true for the animals because they aren't recorded as being present at the birth of the Savior. The animals are simply a mental filler that we include, assuming the stable was filled with sheep, goats, cows, etc.
The Lord deserved a triumphal entry, but instead, He chose to enter the world on a silent, lonely night. There was not an orchestra of music nor was there a big celebration. Instead, the Lord was born into the world and humbled Himself by taking on the form of a human being. This is what the Lord did to grow up, die for our sins, and redeem us to become His people once more.
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2. Jesus Fulfilled All the Prophecies of the Coming Messiah
A second fun fact from the New Testament is that Jesus fulfilled all the prophecies of the coming Messiah. There are numerous prophecies recorded about the Messiah in the Old Testament, including Genesis, Psalms, and Isaiah, to name a few. All of these prophecies concerning the coming Messiah were fulfilled in Jesus’ birth, His ministry, His death on the cross, and His resurrection.
The people of Israel were always looking for the Messiah, yet when He came to them, they rejected Him. If they were as keen to know the Scriptures and truly know God, they would not have rejected Him because Jesus fulfilled all the prophecies concerning the Messiah.
Sadly, the same can be said about many people in the present day. Instead of believing in Jesus and taking Him as their Savior, they reject Him. They would rather live a life apart from Christ than live a life loving Him. It is our responsibility and privilege to spread the message of Jesus, even if not everyone will accept it.
We cannot force anyone to believe anything. If we are sharing the truth about Jesus, then we are truly obeying Him. Even if people don’t place faith in Jesus, He sees our dedication to serving Him. Focus on sharing the truth of Jesus and how He fulfilled all the prophecies concerning the Messiah spoken of in the Old Testament and you might help many people grow interested in Christ.
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3. Paul Once Persecuted Christians
A third fun fact from the New Testament is that Paul used to be a persecutor of Christians. Before being the Apostle Paul, he was known as Saul. He was a mass persecutor of Christians and was zealous for the Law rather than God. Paul identified himself as a Pharisee before he became a believer (Philippians 3:5-6). This would tell us that Paul was an advocate for the Jewish Law, but he would have been very hateful, judgmental, and prideful.
Paul meets Jesus on the road to Damascus (Acts 9). As soon as Paul encounters the Lord, He acknowledges Him as His Savior and repents of his ways. Despite Paul once being a persecutor of the faith, he became someone who would learn what it meant to truly suffer for Jesus. Paul goes on to become one of the greatest servants of Christ and lives his entire life to advance the gospel. There is much we can learn from Paul’s life, including the truth that nobody is too far gone from receiving the grace of Jesus.
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4. Women Were Highly Favored by Jesus and the Early Church
A fourth fun fact from the New Testament is that women were highly favored by Jesus and the early Church. Through Jesus’ earthly ministry, He went to all people, including women. This would have been an outrage to the people of Israel at the time because they did not place a high value on women. However, Jesus teaches, talks to, and comforts women. Never does Jesus treat a woman less than.
Instead, the Lord treats women with the utmost respect and sees them as equals. The early Church does the same, which is approved by the hand of God. A disciple of Jesus named Philip had four daughters who were prophetesses (Acts 21:9). God blessed the four daughters with the gift of prophecy, which would have been valued in the early Church. Individuals today need to also recognize that the Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit all love women and men alike. Never does God show favoritism between men or women nor does He view one as better than the other.
God loves both men and women equally. In this way, we can see that during Jesus’ earthly ministry, a goal of His was to reach women and ensure them of their worth. The women during this time would have been oppressed and not given much rights in society. Even though they were oppressed by culture, they were given freedom in Christ. The same is true for us today as God loves both women and men equally, and salvation is open to all.
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5. John the Apostle Saw Jesus Return
John sees the Lord again—not at the Second Coming of Christ, which hasn't happened yet, but—in his vision of Revelation. All of John’s visions are recorded in the Book of Revelation, which gives us information about eschatology (John 21:20-24).
While many people overlook this book or see it as “too complicated,” it is a book of the Bible that we can obtain much information from. In Revelation, we see Jesus return to tell John many important truths and pronounce curses and blessings on the various churches. The Apostle John’s vision of Jesus and eschatology was recorded to help us learn more about future events as well as the end times. Despite the Book of Revelation being seen as frightening by many people, it provides much hope for believers, such as the New Heaven and New Earth.
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Originally published Thursday, 11 January 2024.
