Preamble to The New Testament

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Preamble to The New Testament

• Subtext and context and all that stuff

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Welcome to Jesus world 15 BC or 6 AD Jerusalem

• Jews primarily spoke Aramaic
• Had a low educational level
• An agrarian society
• Because they couldnt read and were farmers, they
  used oral stories and traditions to celebrate and
  worship God, used agri-imagery or images and
  similes found on the farm
• Think mustard seed or the wheat and the chaff
• Jesus wasnt actually born on 00AD, the
  calendar was made up by Dionysius Exiguus in 525
  to record Easter dates... He got the dates wrong
  because there were conflicting reports on Jesus
  birthday

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Welcome to Jesus world Jewish power structure
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A whos who of Jewish societyFrom
http//catholic-resources.org/Bible/Jewish_Groups.
htm

• Sadducees
• The elite Jews, had money and power,
  influential within the Roman government
• Observed the Torah, but rejected newer customs
  and rituals (very strict, kept Jewish Law as
  close as possible)
• Sadducees" comes from the Hebrew tsaddiqim
  ("righteous ones"), which may refer to the way
  they wished to live their lives

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A whos who of Jewish societyFrom
http//catholic-resources.org/Bible/Jewish_Groups.
htm

• Sadducees cont.
• Long-time political and religious rivals of the
  Pharisees, although their influence was more with
  the wealthy ruling elites
• Closely associated with the Jerusalem Temple and
  with the ruling council ("Sanhedrin") of the Jews
  (Acts 41 517 236)
• Did not believe in life after death (Mark
  1218-27 Luke 2027) or in angels or spirits
  (Acts 238)
• NT Gospels portray them (often together with the
  Pharisees) mainly as opponents of Jesus (Matt
  161-12 Mark 1812-27

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A whos who of Jewish societyFrom
http//catholic-resources.org/Bible/Jewish_Groups.
htm

• Pharisee
• Advocated and adhered to strict observance of the
  Sabbath rest, purity and dietary laws, etc.
• A monastic-like group, the name means separated
  ones
• Rivals of the Sadducees, fought for power and
  influence
• Mostly laymen with some Priests
• Unlike the Sadducees, they believed in the
  resurrection of the dead

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A whos who of Jewish societyFrom
http//catholic-resources.org/Bible/Jewish_Groups.
htm

• Pharisee cont.
• Followed not only the laws of the Hebrew Bible,
  but also the "traditions of the elders" (Mark
  71-13 Matt 151-20)
• Leaders were called "rabbis (teachers), ex
  Nicodemus (John 31-10 750 1939) and Gamaliel
  (Acts 534 223). Also had "scribes" (Mark 216
  Acts 239)
• The Apostle Paul (then named Saul) was a Pharisee
• Generally considered opponents of Jesus

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A whos who of Jewish societyFrom
http//catholic-resources.org/Bible/Jewish_Groups.
htm

• Essenes
• Monastic group of priests who lived near the Dead
  Sea (the Dead Sea scrolls are associated with
  this group)
• Regarded the Jerusalem priests as illegitimate
  and rejected worship in the Temple
• Expected God to send a great prophet and two
  different "Messiahs" (anointed leaders), one
  kingly and one priestly
• Not mentioned in the NT but are assumed to be
  associated with the Herodians (a faction that
  supported the policies and government of the
  Herodian family) in the NT

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A whos who of Jewish societyFrom
http//catholic-resources.org/Bible/Jewish_Groups.
htm

• Zealots
• one of several different "revolutionary" groups
  in the 1st century CE who opposed the Roman
  occupation of Israel. "Zealots" were probably not
  an organized group at first, but any Jews
  "zealous" for God's law (Num 2513 1 Kings
  1910 Acts 223 Gal 114).
• Just before and during the First Jewish War
  against Rome, "Zealots" were a nationalistic
  revolutionary party opposed to the Romans.
• One of Jesus' apostles (not the same as Simon
  Peter) is called "Simon the Zealot" in Luke 615
  and Acts 113 (but "Simon the Cananaean" in Mark
  318 Matt 104).
• He may have belonged to a revolutionary group
  before joining Jesus, but more likely was
  "zealous" in the older sense.

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Whew, that was lots of info, lets recap!
From http//www.abu.nb.ca/ecm/topics/people12.htm

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The Jewish world in the time of Jesus

• Remember, Judaism was the only major religion
  that was monotheistic
• This is not to say that the Romans did not
  believe in a one, true deity that was ahead of
  all other gods
• Remember Zeus and Jupiter
• The major difference was that Jews insisted that
  there was only one God

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The Roman world

• Emperor Octavius and the Pax Romana
• The Greek Empire fell with Alexander the Great
• Ptolemy and other generals were unable to hold on
  to the empire in the face of the Romans
• After the Roman Republic ends and Julius Caesar
  is assassinated, Octavius became emperor (Also
  known as Augustus)
• This created 200 of peace known as the Pax
  RomanaThe Roman Peace

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Octavius Augustus Ceasar
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The Pax Romana

• The Pax Romana had several benefits for Rome
• Possibilities of travel with no piracy
• A common coinage
• A common language (Greek)
• A common culture (again, Greek)

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The Roman Worldfrom http//gbgm-umc.org/UMW/cori
nthians/maps/empire.gif
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Upon Further Review A Basic Rundown of the Roman
World

• Religion in the Greco-Roman world was much more
  fluid than most religions today
• Little to no hierarchy or doctrinal statements
• A loose combination of local gods who reported
  or were subordinate to larger gods and,
  sometimes, The God
• Ethical commitments tied to religious stories

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Religion and the Roman World

• The Basic point is that the Roman world was fluid
  religiously
• People co-opting gods, developing odd
  hybrid-religions
• Judaism was an anomalyan odditybut because the
  Romans admired anything considered ancient they
  allowed Judaism within the Empire
• Eventually this fluidity would clash with
  Christianity due to Christianitys emphasis on
  one exclusive God and Way or path to get to God

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Roman gods

• Polytheism taken for granted
• What do you mean there is only one god?!?
• Many gods were localized to one area, like patron
  saints of countries (St. Patrick)
• Travel and trade made certain gods great i.e.
  widely accepted
• Gods mentioned by Homer or Virgil for example

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Roman gods

• Most of the Romans viewed gods in a pyramid, or
  hierarchy
• great gods on top
• Local, or lesser gods on below
• The Romans often took gods from the Greeks
• Religious Hellenization

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The godly hierarchy for Romans
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Common aspects of Roman religious life

• Belief in a religious afterlife
• Stories and plays based on the afterlife
• Elysian Fieldstheir Heaven
• Talk about a shadow world
• Religions focused on cultic acts rather than
  doctrine
• Doctrine had virtually no role in religion
• Religion depended on cultic rituals and festivals
• Practiced extispicy

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Existpicy eww!

• Existpicy the practice of divining the future by
  reading the entrails of sacrificial animals
• Priests would kill a sacrificial animal and pull
  out the animals entrails and look for
  imperfections
• If the entrails had flaws, then bad things would
  come
• Shows that Roman religion had a give and take
  not just people placating the gods but gods
  communicating to the people just through
  intestines

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Roman/Jewish exchanges

• Jews were looked up to because of their ancient
  heritage
• Romans loved everything old
• This would eventually be a problem for
  Christians, the new kids on the block
• A new group evolved God Fearers
• Pagan gentiles who accepted mosaic law
• Nearly the same number of believers as the
  diasporic Jews
• Often were wealthy
• Couldnt be Jewish because of circumcision and
  Kosher laws

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Roman Life outside of religion

• There were several social classes within Roman
  society
• The Ruler, or the emperor
• The Governor, appointed to a province or city
• The Merchant Class, traders, the military
  bureaucracy and politicians
• The Peasants, farmers and land owners
• Artisans and craftsmen
• The unclean or social outcasts

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Breaking it down(From pg 19 of your textbook)
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Philosophical Movements in Rome
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To Recap

• The Jewish world was hierarchical, with several
  groups vying for power
• Pharisees, Sadducees, Essenes, etc.
• Within the Roman world, Jews were the exception
• A monotheistic, ancient culture
• The Romans were a polytheist culture who cared
  little for doctrine
• Existpicy
• Christ and his disciples would eventually throw a
  great wrinkle into what was a delicate balance
  between the Roman world
• Christianity opened up Jewish principles to
  gentiles
• Christians were not quite Jewish, not quite
  gentile