How to Read the New Testament for Beginners

The New Testament is 27 books long, but most beginners can read through the entire thing in 90 days or less — about 15 minutes a day. Start with the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John), then work through Acts, the letters, and finally Revelation.

Where to Start in the New Testament

Many people open the New Testament at Matthew chapter 1 and immediately hit a long genealogy. That's fine — push through it. Within a few verses you're into the story of Jesus's birth, and the narrative picks up quickly from there.

If the genealogy feels like a wall, try starting with the Gospel of Mark instead. It's the shortest Gospel, moves fast, and drops you straight into Jesus's ministry. Once you finish Mark, circle back to Matthew, then Luke, then John. Reading all four Gospels gives you four different perspectives on the same life — and the differences are actually fascinating, not confusing.

After the Gospels, read Acts. It picks up where Luke leaves off and reads almost like an adventure story — the early church, Paul's missionary journeys, shipwrecks, prison breaks. It connects the Gospels to the letters that follow.

How to Read Paul's Letters Without Getting Lost

The letters (Romans through Jude) can feel disjointed if you don't know the backstory. A few things that help:

Read one letter at a time, in one sitting if possible. Paul wrote these as actual letters meant to be read aloud in a single sitting. Romans takes about 45 minutes. Shorter letters like Philippians take under 20.

Look up who the letter was written to. Galatians was written to churches arguing about circumcision. Corinthians was written to a church dealing with sexual immorality and divisions. Knowing the audience makes the content click.

Don't get bogged down trying to understand everything. Some of Paul's theology in Romans is dense. Read it, note what confuses you, and keep going. Understanding deepens with repeated reading over months and years.

Use a Reading Plan to Stay on Track

The biggest mistake beginners make is reading inconsistently — a chapter today, nothing for a week, then a burst of five chapters. Progress requires a rhythm.

A structured daily reading plan takes the decision-making out of it. Apps like Bible In A Year give you a set portion each day and track your progress automatically, so you're not constantly figuring out where you left off or second-guessing how much to read.

Even a simple plan like "one chapter per day" works. The New Testament has 260 chapters — at one chapter a day, you'd finish in under nine months.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does it take to read the entire New Testament?

At a relaxed reading pace, the New Testament takes about 18-20 hours total. Broken into 15-minute daily sessions, most people finish in 2-3 months.

Should I read the New Testament before the Old Testament?

There's no rule, but many beginners find the New Testament more accessible as a starting point. Once you know the story of Jesus and the early church, returning to the Old Testament to understand its prophecies and background makes a lot more sense.

What's the hardest part of the New Testament for beginners?

Revelation is almost universally the most confusing book — it's full of symbolic imagery drawn from the Old Testament. Most beginners do better saving it for last and reading it as a closing vision rather than a literal roadmap. Hebrews can also be challenging without knowledge of Old Testament sacrificial systems.