Encountering Jesus in the New Testament helps students further their personal relationship with Jesus Christ by growing in understanding of Jesus' historical, cultural, and religious background through an in-depth look at the Scriptures. Other objectives of the text are: to present the mystery of the Incarnation so as to improve the students' understanding of Jesus as both human and divine; to allow the students to enter into the passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus by connecting his Paschal mystery with the everyday "little deaths" and "little resurrections" that they experience; to help the students understand Jesus' mission to establish the kingdom of God, and ways they can participate in this mission; to encourage a familiarity of the books of the New Testament-especially the gospels-so that the students can use the Scriptures to help them deepen their relationship with Christ. Answering the question, "Who is Jesus of Nazareth, the person people of faith call 'Christ, the Son of God?,'" is a central focus of the text. In answering this question, the students will explore how the New Testament scriptures provide us with an answer.