The New Testament World in Pictures is a library of information about the first-century world that lies behind the New Testament, especially the Greco-Roman culture. The religion, superstitions, trades, commerce, family life, city layout, lifestyle, amusements, and dress of this period are covered in considerable depth. The Palestinian and Eastern influences are briefly included in the text to provide the proper context, but the book primarily focuses on the world confronted by Paul and the early Christians of the first century. The text and photographs are thoroughly integrated, with the text explaining details in the photographs so extensively that first-century life is documented and clearly described.

The photographs depict artefacts from both major and regional museums across the world and architectural features from excavated sites located throughout Europe and the Near East. Information has been gleaned from sources that range from well-known to relatively obscure to provide in one volume an authoritative single source for an understanding of the first-century world. Both subject and Scripture indexes are provided to allow quick access to information in the book, and the text accompanying most of the photographs guides the reader to New Testament texts that are illuminated by the information.