Religion 9 - Chapter 6: Jesus's World

Septuagint

the Greek translation of the Old Testament, most widely used in New Testament Times

Parousia

refers to the second coming of Jesus, early Christians believed it would happen soon

Sadducees

1. Priests and aristocrats who supervised Temple practices and worship

2. Theologically conservative

3. Accepted the Pentateuch but not the prophets or some other sacred writings

4. Did not believe in the Resurrection of the Body, nor the existence of Angels

5. Disappeared after the destruction of the Temple

   1. Without the Temple, there was no need for them

   2. Lost political and spiritual power

Pharisees

1. Jesus’s teachings closely resembled their beliefs

2. Were a smaller but very influential group

3. Made up of mostly middle-class laymen

4. Believed in the Resurrection of the Dead and the Divine Judgement of the living and the dead

5. Believed in strict observance of the law

6. Believed they earned Heaven by keeping the Law

7. Actively pursued holiness

8. Criticized Jesus for associating with people who didn’t observe Jewish Law

   1. Tax collectors, prostitutes, etc.

   2. Anyone who was considered a notorious sinner

9. They saved Judaism after the fall of Jerusalem

   1. Importance of Rabbi, & worshipping in the home stems from them

   2. St. Paul was a Pharisee

Essenes

1. Believed the Jerusalem priesthood and Temple worship were impure and that most Jews failed to truly live out the Law

2. Withdrew to live in the desert

3. Lived celibate lifestyles

4. Shared goods with each other

5. Believed in extreme ritual purity

6. Believed God’s reign would come about with dramatic events

7. Disappeared after the destruction of the Temple

8. May have influenced John the Baptist

Zealots

1. Despised Roman rule

2. Believed in the violent overthrow of the enemies of Judaism

3. Began as a group in Galilee who were formed to protest foreign taxation and occupation

4. Were very active as Jesus grew up and began to preach

5. St. Peter may have been; Apostle Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot were Zealots

What are the four Gospels?

1. Proclamation of the “Good News” of Jesus Christ

2. Results of living/reflecting upon the Christian Message

3. Four different pictures of the same event: the coming of Jesus as the Messiah

4. They are testimonies of faith, & a biography of Jesus

How many Gospels are there really?

only ONE Gospel, but four accounts

What are the three stages of HOW the Gospels were formed? 

1. Historical

2. Oral

3. Written

When/where did Jesus’ ministry begin? Who is involved? What happened?

Jesus’s ministry began when he was BAPTIZED by JOHN THE BAPTIST in the JORDAN RIVER at the age of 30. His ministry lasted for 3 years.

What is the Holy Land? What did the Jews call it?

• Canaan - promised to Abraham by God

• Strategic place in the world

• The Jews call it “The Promised Land” or “The Land of Israel”

What did the Romans and Greeks call the Holy Land?

Palestine

Galilee

1. Land in the Northwest

2. Fertile, rolling hills watered by Jordan River and Sea of Galilee

3. Prosperous farmers and shepherds

4. Excellent area for fishermen

5. Jesus was a Galilean

6. Most of the apostles were from Galilee

7. Center of Jesus’s earthly ministry

8. Important cities: Nazareth, Cana, Bethsaida, Capernaum

Samaria

1. Land south of Galilee

2. Ancestors were foreigners who came to Palestine during Assyrian conquest

3. They accepted the Law of Moses & belief in one God, but rejected Wisdom & Prophetic writings

4. Rejected the Temple in Jerusalem as the center of Jewish worship and built their own shrines

5. Jews viewed Samaritan worship as false & hated them even more than they did the pagans

6. Relations between the Samaritans and the Jews were strained

Judea

1. Land in the south

2. Dry, barren, rugged land

3. Mostly Jews who returned after the Babylonian Captivity

4. Jewish religious/political leaders settled here

5. The City of Jerusalem was the political, economic, and religious center

6. Important cities: Jerusalem, Jericho, Bethany, and Bethlehem

   1. Most people lived either in Jerusalem or Jericho

Who was King Herod the Great? His sons?

• Herod the Great - Deceitful, cruel leader; appeased Romans & built pagan temples; built 3rd Temple; kingdom divided after his death

  • Archelaus

  • Herod Antipas - ruled over Jesus’s area for most of Jesus’s life, had John the Baptist beheaded

  • Philip the Tetrarch

How many Temples were there?

3

Who built the first Temple?

Solomon

Under whose reign was the last Temple built?

Herod the Great

When was the Temple destroyed and by whom?

around 70 AD by the Romans

What was the most important feast day to the Jewish people? Why?

Passover because it celebrates the Jews’ liberation from slavery in Egypt

What were the three purposes of the Synagogue?

1. House of prayer and worship

2. Place of discussion for legal arguments

3. Served as the local school

What is the Pax Romana? What are its benefits?

“Roman peace;” entire area united under one rule, no wars anywhere in the Empire

Benefits:

1. Common language (mostly Greek/Latin)

2. Sophisticated road system

3. Good system of Justice

4. Strong military force

What does “Messiah” mean? What is the Greek word for Messiah? 

• Hebrew for “anointed one”

• Greek word = Christ

What is the historical root of the word “Messiah?”

It was originally a title meant for the king as God’s chosen to rule.

What are the Greek and Hebrew words for the first five books of the Bible? What does each mean?

• Pentateuch - Greek for “Five Scrolls”

• Torah - Hebrew for “Law” or “Instruction”

Sanhedrin

the Supreme Court & law-making body of Judaism; made up of 71 members of mostly Pharisees and Sadducees

Reign of God

everyone accepting God’s Will; was central to Jesus’s teaching; Christians believe that Jesus’s life, ministry, and death usher in the Reign of God

Nazareth

city where Jesus lived for most of his life; a town of about 1,200 people; 2 miles off the main road in Southern Galilee

Gamaliel

argued that if Christianity was not from God, then it would never survive

evangelist

Gospel writer; “teller of the Good News”

Temple

• Only ONE Temple, and it’s in Jerusalem

• Holy place where sacrifice to God was offered

• (Re)built 3 times

What feast were Jesus and his Apostles celebrating on Holy Thursday?

Passover

What did the earliest Christian writings stress as important?

Jesus’s death and resurrection (believers wanted more, so the Gospels were written)

Who was a famous New Testament person who was a(n) Sadducee? Pharisee? Essene? Zealot?

• Sadducee - Zechariah

• Pharisee - St. Paul

• Essene - John the Baptist

• Zealot - possibly St. Peter, definitely the Apostle Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot