Religion - Life in the Time of Jesus

Holy Land

The Promised Land

Land of Judah

Palestine

Target for Greek and Roman conquest

Where does Palestine get its name? Why is it important?

It gets its name from the Philistines, a traditional enemy of the Jews. It is important because it has always played a strategic role in world history due to bordering three continents.

Galilee

Land of fertile rolling hills, watered by Jordan River

Population was mostly Jewish

Farmers and Shepherds prospered here

Jesus was Galilean, as were most of his apostles

It was the locale of most of Jesus' public life

Where did Jesus live?

He grew up in Nazareth, performed his first miracle at Cana, and used Capernaum as the base of his ministry.

Jordan River

Site of the Baptism of Jesus

Sea of Galilee

Large freshwater lake in Northern Israel

Provided livelihood for fisherman, including many of Jesus' disciples

Betsaida

Fishing village on the shore of Sea of Galilee

It served as the unofficial headquarters for Jesus Followers

Bethlehem

Means the "House of Bread"

A.k.a. The City of David

City where Jesus was born

Nazareth

Home of the village of Mary

Site of Annunciation (Gospel of Luke)

City where Jesus grew up

Samaria

Area of the Holy land, south of Galilee

Assyrians conquered this area

Home to Samaritans

Samaritans

Accepted the Law of Moses and the Pentateuch as inspired Scripture, but rejected the writings of the Prophets and the Temple in Jerusalem.

They constructed their own temple on Mount Gerizim.

Jews considered them heretical.

Descendants of foreigners who intermarried with northern Israelite tribes at the time of Assyria's conquest of the northern Kingdom.

Judea

Southern part of the Holy Land, dry, craggy, barren land

Home to Jews who had returned from the Babylonian

Include Jerusalem, Bethlehem, and the Dead Sea

What languages did Jesus speak?

He spoke Aramaic, a Semitic language closely related to Hebrew. He also spoke Hebrew and Greek.

Jerusalem

Political, economic, and religious center of the Holy Land

Temple in Jerusalem

Holy place where Jews offered sacrifice to God where they thought God dwelled in a special place.

Only the high priest could enter the Holy of Holies.

Center of Jewish sacrifice to Yahweh and the destination for the celebration of various religious festivals

This was the third Temple in Jerusalem and was constructed by Herod the Great.

It was built in 69 A.D. and destroyed in 70 A.D.

What were the three major Jewish feasts in Jesus' time?

Passover: Celebrated the Exodus

Pentecost: Celebrated the Sinai covenant

Tabernacles: A fall harvest festival

What is Hellenism?

The love of Greek culture, was imposed by the Seleucid ruler Antiochus IV (175-164 BC)

Trans-Jordan, Decapolis

Land to the east of the Jordan River

Some of Jesus' ministry occurred here

Pilgrimage

Holy trip to the temple in Jerusalem for major religious feasts

Passover

Most important feast which celebrated Jewish liberation from Egypt

Synagogue

Prayer meeting house found in every Jewish community of ten or more men.

Jesus often proclaimed his message in synagogues.

Place for study and worship.

What purposes did the synagogue have?

To be a house of prayer, a meeting place, a place of discussion for legal settlements, and a local school.

Pax Romana

"Peace of Rome" region was united under Rome

Jews hated Roman rule, since they had been under foreign rule for six centuries.

What were the benefits of the Pax Romana?

Had the benefits of a commons language, an intricate system of roads, a system of justice, and a strong military force.

Herod the Great

Referred to himself as "King of the Jews"

Constructed the third temple in Jerusalem, but also erected pagan temples and supported worship of the Roman Emperor.

Ordered the slaughter of infants in Matthew's Gospel.

Who ruled after Herod the Great?

His territory was split among his five remaining sons.

Archelaus ruled Samaria, Idumea, and Judea.

Herod Antipas ruled Galilee and Perea.

Also Philip was a son that ruled.

Herod Antipas

Son of Herod the Great

Ruled during most of Jesus' lifetime

Executed John the Baptist.

Instrumental in the arrest and trial of Jesus, questioned him.

Pontius Pilate

Roman Prefect (26-36 A.D.) responsible for collecting taxes, criminal executions, keeping peace and reporting into Rome about general affairs.

He passed the death sentence on Jesus.

Replaced Herod Archaleous after he was removed.

Caesar Augustus

Roman emperor at the time of Jesus' birth

Caesar Tiberius

Roman Emperor during the life and death of Jesus

What were the ideas about slavery at the time of Jesus?

Slavery existed in the Roman Empire but was not as widespread in Palestine. Christ's teachings on the fundamental dignity of persons would, after centuries, eventually lead to the abolition of slavery throughout most of the world.

Belief in the Messiah

Most Jews believed that God would send a messiah (anointed one, Hebrew word for King).

This messiah would be a military king who would usher in God's reign, throw of Roman rule, and restore Israel's glory.

Many did not believe Jesus was the Messiah because he was not a mighty military leader.

Belief in the Reign of God

Justice will reign, material needs will be fulfilled, peace (shalom) will embrace the world.

This was the central theme of Jesus' preaching.

Torah

The Law, which is at the heart of Jewish life

It is God's self revelation

It is what God expects in response to the Covenant

Jesus had profound respect for The Law and came to fulfill it.

The first five books of the Old Testament (Pentateuch) a makes up the Jewish sacred Scriptures along with the Prophets and Writings.

Belief in Judgement and Resurrection

Yahweh would judge the dead by rewarding the good and punishing the evil. The good would be resurrected to everlasting life.

The Sadducees did not share this view, despite being Jewish.

Parousia

The Second Coming of Christ, thought to be imminent

Belief in the Spirit World

It was common to believe in heavenly messengers (angels)

Many believed demons were the source of sickness, temptation and sin.

Jesus cast out many demons and warred against the Devil in the synoptic Gospels.

Shema

Most important prayer recited daily: "Hear O Israel: The Lord your God is one God. You must love the Lord with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength." (Dt. 6:4-9)

Josephus

Jewish historian who provides accounts of the life of Jesus outside of the Bible

Sadducees

Priests and aristocrats who supervised temple practices, believed that Jews should strictly follow the Torah.

Did not believe in an after life

Sanhedrin

64-member major law-making body and Supreme Court on Judaism

Pharisees

Believed in strict observance of the law, but also believed that the Torah was in the eye of the beholder

Criticized Jesus for associating with those who did not observe Jewish law

Believed in an after life

Scribes

Experts in Jewish law and taught with the authority of the Law

Enemies of Jesus because he taught on his own authority

Essenes

Lives in a desert community at Qumran, near the Dead Sea

Lived a celibate life, shared goods in common, and practiced ritual purity by cleansing throughout the day.

Zealots

Revolutionaries who used violence to oppose Roman taxation and occupation

How many covenants were there in the Old Testament? What were they?

There were 5: the protoevangelium, Noah & the flood, patriarchal (Abraham), Israel, and David.

What are the stages of the sin cycle?

1. Prosperity

2. Idolatry, Israel turns away from God

3. Prophets, warning

4. Destruction

5. Repentance - Deliverer

Who is the last deliverer?

Jesus is considered to be the last deliverer because he fulfills all the Old Testament covenants.

What is a canon?

A closed collection of community-formed writing; the official list of approved books that a faith uses to write their story

What is the TaNaK?

The three scrolls in the Jewish religion, considered to be 24 books, the Torah, Nevi'im, and Kethuv'im.

How many books are in the New Testament?

27 books

Where does the name Christ come from? What does it mean?

It comes from the Greek word for Messiah which is Christos, meaning anointed one or king.

Why did we learn about the Letters first?

The Letters were written first before the Gospels, and were primary sources of early Christian life and theology.

What was the first step of the New Testament development?

The life and teachings of Jesus, stories were passed around orally and not written down because people thought Jesus was coming back imminently.

What was the second step of the New Testament development?

Kerygma: stories designed to attract followers; the stories of Jesus were written down because they wanted people to become Jesus followers.

What was the third step of the New Testament development?

Litorgia: The stories changed and became sources for ritual; every word said in mass is from Scripture.

Why were the Gospels written?

The Gospels were written to tell the message of Jesus and each Gospel emphasizes different parts of his story depending on who the intended audience was.

What are the steps of humanity understanding God/religion?

1. Animism - People realize there is something greater than them

2. Polytheism - Belief in multiple Gods

3. Practical Monotheism - Worships only one God but believes that others exist

4. Universal Monotheism - Belief that there is only one universal God

What were the four social classes in Rome at the time of Jesus?

1. Nobility, people with money and power

2. Businessmen, people with money but no power

3. The poor

4. Women and slaves

Describe how the Romans conquered the Israelites.

Israel overthrew the Greeks who had conquered them, then they had a civil war and they invite the Romans to conquer them to end the civil war. Pompeii was sent to conquer them and then they installed Herod the Great.

Where were the two places that the Jews worshipped? What are their differences?

The Temple and in synagogues. The temple is for worship and sacrifice only, the synagogues were for study and worship.

Was Alexander the Great successful in Hellinisation? How do you know?

He was and we know because the scripture was written in Greek.

How does geography influence Jesus teaching?

He uses the idea of a city on the hill, etc.

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