What are the Best NT Introductions?

Students and pastors should have a few really good introductions to the New Testament in their personal library. The good news is that there are lots to choose from. But with such a wide selection comes questions about preferred academic level, theological distinctives, methodological preferences, and “best bang for your buck.”


Basic Level Introductions (best for undergraduate)

Mark Allan Powell, Introducing the New Testament (Baker; 2nd ed). Powell has produced what many consider the best concise introduction to the New Testament. Powell is an excellent scholar and a masterful writer. He finely balances historical, literary, and theological material with a dash of reception studies thrown in for good measure. Powell is ecumenical, but his introduction is “evangelical-friendly.” The icing on the cake—it is a beautifully designed book with lots of full-color images.


Gary Burge and Gene Green, The New Testament in Antiquity: A Survey of the New Testament within Its Cultural Contexts (Zondervan; 2nd ed). As the title suggests, this introduction focuses on background and context while not neglecting the major elements of content and meaning in the New Testament. When I teach NT, I like to have an introduction that is more theological than this one, but it makes for a handy reference resource with gorgeous color images to illustrate the ancient world.


David Wenham, Steve Walton, I. Howard Marshall, Stephen Travis, and Ian Paul, Exploring the New Testament (2 vols; SPCK/IVP, 2016). This two-volume set (~700 pages total) from UK scholars offers an excellent introduction from notable experts in their respective fields. This set is especially helpful for courses where Gospels/Acts is one course and Paul and other NT texts are another.


Own it: Powell


Detailed Introductions (best for seminary/grad level)

I regularly turn to my more in-depth introductions for refreshers and guidance on a variety of issues related to book outlines, key critical issues, and theological themes.


David deSilva, An Introduction to the New Testament: Contexts, Methods & Ministry Formation (IVP, 2nd ed). I recently taught NT Introduction and gladly used deSilva’s excellent textbook. It is up to date, well-written, comprehensive, and leans into spiritual formation and ministry questions. It is massive (~900 pp.) but well worth the investment for a reference tool. I would assign it again without hesitation.


Luke Timothy Johnson, Writings of the New Testament (Fortress Press, 2010). Johnson, a Catholic biblical scholar, has written commentaries across the whole New Testament. It is rare to find a scholar so proficient in Jesus studies, Acts, Paul, and the Catholic Epistles. He is also a fresh thinker, willing to challenge the status quo of biblical scholarship. This deserves to be called a “modern classic.”


Paul Achtemeier, Joel B. Green, and Marianne Meye Thompson, Introducing the New Testament: Its Literature and Theology (Eerdmans, 2001). This is one of the more academically-rigorous textbooks on this list. The authors are major contributors to New Testament studies in their respective fields. The one downside of this book is that it is almost two decades old now. 


Own It: Johnson (ecumenical) deSilva (evangelical)


Wild Card

I wanted to make sure to mention the new textbook from N. T. Wright and Michael F. Bird called The New Testament in Its World (Zondervan, 2019). I have not read this book cover to cover, but I did consult on a couple of chapters in production, and I found it very helpful. Even if you already have a NT introduction, there is no reason not to pick this one up as well, as you have the wise teachings and perspectives of two excellent scholars. And Zondervan has made this giant book affordable. 


Classic Introductions

For you die-hard armchair scholars, I thought I would throw in a couple of classics.


Raymond Brown, An Introduction to the New Testament (Anchor Yale). At times, the twenty-first-century reader can sense that Brown’s introduction comes from a previous era of scholarship. And yet, much of his work—especially his questions about the New Testament and its meaning—stands up over time. This is a keeper.


Ralph Martin and Carl N. Toney, New Testament Foundations (Cascade). Martin’s original New Testament Foundations dates back to the 1970s (if you have the old hardcover, the cover design is a dead giveaway of its era!). Toney has updated this classic to be readable and available to a new generation today.


Nijay Gupta (PhD, University of Durham) is associate professor of New Testament at Portland Seminary. He is a prolific author and a regular contributor to theLAB. 

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13 comments
  • As an historial theologian (rather than a biblical scholar) who has had to teach the Bible, I can’t say that I have ever found a good introduction. Every single book I find takes the same sort of approach: they discuss the cultural/historical context, and then does some sort of biblical scholarship, such as source criticism.

    What’s the point of telling undergraduates that Matthew is a compilation of Mark and Q if they don’t even have the basic grasp of that biblical narrative?

    What I need is a text that gives students basic biblical literacy. For example, who are the Pharisees? Who are the Sadducees? Why did they have such a problem with Jesus? Why is the temple so important? What was the Jewish understanding of priesthood and sacrifice? How is the biblical concept of leprosy different from how we understand leprosy today?

    My kingdom for a relevant introduction.

  • I appreciate the kind words regarding my Introducing the New Testament. I only want to add that Baker Academic has generously created a website to accompany the book and that this website contains many resources to aid students and professors. These materials are available free of charge, regardless of whether you are using the text they were intended to supplement. Check out http://www.introducingnt.com.

    Also the book is now available in a Spanish edition, published in the U.S. by Baker Academic for the growing number of students in this country for whom Spanish is a first or preferred language.

  • Looking at the average church, (at least in America) as we come closer to the end of the Age of Grace, I find it fascinating that so many people are talking about what book is better for introduction to the New Testament.

    My question is why aren’t teachers at Seminaries and “Divinity” schools doing more to enforce the necessity of in depth bible studies in Church or in home bible studies.

    There is a seemingly huge disconnect in what is taught students and what is taught by students to people in church.

    As someone who has an online discernment work, I’m constantly encouraging people to start reading the word for themselves and using the free version of Logos if they don’t have a lot of money because there is such a vacuum of good thick rich meaty steak and potato and lobster bible teaching in churches today.

    As an example, the way it should be done I would call attention to Redeemer Bible Church in Arizona. John, their senior Pastor has an incredible gift for teaching. The Pastors have fulfilled their calling to teach. The idea behind studying the Bible and Greek and Hebrew and learning Theology and Apologetics and Hermenutics and exegesis vs. eisegesis isn’t to hoard all that is learned but to share it with the people you serve.

    God bless and I pray for you all, in your ministsry to your flocks and your walk with God.

    • I don’t see it as an “either-or” (academic study OR inductive study). All the legitimate Biblical scholars I know promote and teach both. Martin Luther was theologically educated. John Calvin was theologically educated. Bonhoeffer was theologically educated. MLK was theologically educated. Investing in professional education has long term benefits – most pastors I know say seminary was indispensable for their overall well-being, personally and professionally.

      Not sure what the “Age of Grace” is, but Christians always and everywhere are called to a long obedience in the same direction. I don’t think God is in a rush to cut out seminary for Christian leaders.

Written by Nijay Gupta
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