like a small library, containing diverse types of literature, compiled by many different authors, at different points during the first century A.D. But, for all its diversity, the New Testament has one central focus. These books are all part of the same story. They reflect the fervour and devotion of the first followers of Jesus Christ, but more than that: they claim that the story of Jesus is the grand metanarrative of all history—the one big story that gives meaning and significance to all the