Topic 2 World of Jesus and NT A.Jewish history (late OT – NT period) Oppression, persecution, and rebellion 1.Babylonian period ( BC ) – Jerusalem fell; Temple destroyed; Exile – “Babylonian captivity” 2.Persian period ( BC ) – Restoration - Temple rebuilt 3. 3.Hellenistic period ( BC ) - Greek influence.   Alexander the Great – spread Greek language/culture.   167 BC - persecution by Antiochus IV Epiphanes.   Daniel – written about 165 BC as call to faithfulness.   1 and 2 Maccabees – stories of persecution and resistance Maccabean/Hasmonean period ( BC )   Maccabean Revolt – won Jewish independence   Hasmonean dynasty – provoked Jewish factionalism

A. A.Jewish History (cont.) 5. 5.Roman period (63 BC – 135 AD ) - NT period a. a.Pax Romana - Augustus (27 BC ) b. b.Indirect rule of Palestine through the Herods – Jewish client rulers appointed by Rome 1) 1)Herod the Great (37-4 BC )   “King of the Jews/Judea”   Great building campaign - rebuilt Temple   Brutal tyrant – ruthless   Birth of Jesus c. 6 BC (Mt. 2) 2) 2)Three sons: a) a)Herod Antipas (4 BC -39 AD ) - Galilee and Perea  Capital at Sepphoris (and Tiberias)  Beheaded John the Baptist; suspicious of Jesus. b)Philip (4 BC -34 AD ) – NE districts c) c)Archelaus (4 BC -6 AD ) – Judea and Samaria  Removed in 6 AD; replaced by Roman procurator. Herodian Palestine Pictures Sepphoris Pictures Map

A.Jewish History (cont.) 5. 5.Roman period – cont. c.The procurators (prefects) – 6 AD onward   Direct Roman rule of Judea; census; new tax.   Uprising of Judas the Galilean.   Pontius Pilate (26-36 AD ) – crucified Jesus c. 30. d.Jewish War (66-70 AD )   70 AD – Jerusalem fell; Temple destroyed.   Josephus – Jewish historian. e.Council (Academy) of Jamnia ( AD )   Reorganized Judaism around Scripture, tradition, and synagogue.   Closed Hebrew canon.   Banned Christians from synagogue. f.Second Jewish Revolt ( AD )   Simon bar Kochba – alleged “messiah.”   Jerusalem demolished, rebuilt as Roman city.

B. B.Religious developments in Judaism 1. 1.Scripture (Hebrew Bible)   Torah (400 BC)   Prophets (200 BC)   Writings (90 AD) 2. 2.Oral law – Cumulative body of interpretations of Torah by scribes and rabbis Synagogues   Jewish centers of worship and study.   No animal sacrifices (as in Temple).   Reading/interpreting Scripture; recital of prayers. 4.Sanhedrin   Jewish ruling council (71 members).   Presided over by high priest (appointed by procurator).   Had limited authority under Roman rule.

5.Jewish Eschatology – doctrine of “last things” a. a.Hope for Messiah   Ideal king to restore Israel; rule over Golden Age of peace and justice.   “Messiah” = Hebrew for “anointed one”   “Christ” = Greek for “anointed one”   NT claims that Jesus fulfills messianic hope – but in unexpected ways. b. b.Apocalypticism   Apocalypses flourished c. 200 BC -200 AD in times of crisis.   Apocalypse = “revelation”   Symbolic visions of (near) end of world   Doctrine of two ages: “this age” and “age to come”two ages   Expectations: tribulation; defeat of evil; resurrection of dead; final judgment; glorious new age/world.   Usually not a messiah; sometimes a heavenly “Son of Man” as cosmic judge.   New age is “Kingdom of God” –restoration of God’s sovereignty.   These themes pervade the NT.

Doctrine of the Two Ages

C.Jewish Parties (Sects) Before 70, Judaism was quite diverse; many different forms. After 70, many parties disappeared; Judaism became more uniform. 1.Sadducees  Chief priests; wealthy aristocrats.  Controlled Temple, local government.  Compromised with Romans; maintained order.  Conservative: rejected oral law, resurrection.  Opposed Jesus as potential revolutionary.  After 70, disappeared. 2.Pharisees  Devoted to Torah: written and oral law.  Maintained ritual purity in daily life.  Rules for Sabbath, tithing, washings, fasting, etc.  Progressive: believed in resurrection; afterlife.  Neglect of Torah delays Messiah.  Challenged Jesus’ view of Torah.  After 70, Pharisaism survived, developed into Rabbinic Judaism.

C.Jewish Parties (cont.) 3.Essenes  Josephus (and others) describe as a sectarian group living on shore of Dead Sea.  Probably associated with Dead Sea Scrolls at Qumran.  Origin in Hasmonean period as Temple protest.  Apocalyptic: expected final war between good and evil (Sons of Light vs. Sons of Darkness); expected 2 messiahs.  Strict discipline and ritual purity – daily baths of ritual purification; sacred meals.  Not mentioned in NT; many parallels.  Destroyed in Jewish War. 4.Zealots  Militant revolutionaries; freedom fighters.  Not a single, continuous party.  Ideology of violent opposition to foreign rule and compromise of Jewish law; motivated by devotion to God and Torah.  Many wished Jesus to be Zealot type leader.  Zealot movements faded after 70 and 135. Qumran Pictures

D.Hellenistic Judaism 1.Diaspora - “scattering/dispersion” of Jews outside Palestine. 2.Diaspora Judaism - more open to Hellenistic influence Septuagint (LXX) - Greek translation of Jewish scripture (OT).   Produced in Egypt, beginning c. 250 B.C.   Adopted by early Christians; influenced NT writers Philo of Alexandria   Jewish theologian; trained in Greek philosophy.   Combined Jewish theology and Greek philosophy Proselytes and God-fearers a.Proselytes - Gentile converts to Judaism (see Acts 6:5):   Circumcision   Ritual immersion (“proselyte baptism”)   Sacrifice b. b.God-fearers – Gentiles attached to synagogues; did not convert (see Acts 10:1-2).

E.Larger Greco-Roman World 1.Hellenistic culture   Greek culture dominant.   Pessimism: no confidence in human ability to cope.   Superstitious: fatalism, magic, astrology. 2.Religious ferment   Proliferation of new religions.   “Syncretism” – “blending together” different religions into new pattern. 3.Popular philosophies   Platonism, Stoicism, Epicureanism, Cynicism.   Wandering philosophical teachers.

E.Larger Graeco-Roman World (cont.) 4.Mystery religions   Secret rituals bring rebirth to immortality.   Myth of dying and rising gods.   Influenced Christian sacraments (cf. Rom. 6:3-4). 5.Gnosticism   Dualism of spirit (good) and matter (evil).   Human being: good spirit trapped in evil body.   Salvation by secret gnosis (knowledge).   Ethics of asceticism or libertinism Asceticism - rigorous discipline of fleshly appetites. Libertinism - absence of moral restraint.   Interacted with early Christianity.