1. Chapter 3 – The World of Jesus
Jesus has to be seen as a devout Jew of
His day
Jesus must be seen in the context of the
local synagogue, the Temple, the role of
the Sadducees and Pharisees, and the
Roman occupation of Israel
The importance of learning in Judaism
The Jewish sense of destiny dating back to
God’s covenant with Abraham

2. How Jesus saw himself The local Synagogue as the center of Jewish life
See sample in picture on page 50
Read Jesus recitation of Isaiah on page 49
Read questions on page 50 to better understand the role of faith in Jesus life
Jesus dated his lineage back to Abram – whose belief in the One God earned him a special covenant with God and the new name Abraham
Prior to Abraham, the Jews were part of a group of tribes known as the Hebrews
God’s covenant with Abraham occurred about BCE

3. The Covenant with Abraham
God promised Abraham and his successors a land of safety and well being
These ‘Jews” were in turn to be loyal to God and to love Him
Abraham and Sarah had a son, Isaac, and God tested Abraham’s faith by telling him to sacrifice Isaac – which He stopped at the last moment
Isaac and Rebekah had a son Jacob
God renewed His covenant with Jacob

4. A New Name & A New Race
Jacob received a new name, Israel, as a sign of his special relationship with God
Jacob fathered 12 sons ,each of whom went on to lead one of the twelve tribes of Israel
Is other sons were jealous of his favorite son, Joseph, and sold into slavery in Egypt
Joseph eventually became Prime Minister of Egypt and saved the country from famine
The same famine caused him to invite his father and brothers to leave Canaan and go to Egypt where they prospered

5. The End of the Patriarchal Period
The Patriarchal period was dominated by the three patriarchs: Abraham, Isaac and Jacob
The term Patriarch means “father and leader of a family or a people”
As a side note, given the culture of the period the often important role of Matriarchs was often ignored until Jesus came along and especially affirmed and dignified the role of women
The Israelites derived their name from the special name God gave to Jacob: Israel

6. The End of the Patriarchal Period continued
This period of the patriarchs lead to 150 years of prosperity in Egypt followed by about 250 years of slavery
The dynasty of Pharaohs the Jews originally met in Egypt were similar to themselves in that they came from the same general geographic region
But turmoil in Egypt lead to the country being taken over by a new dynasty of Pharaohs who came from the south and had nothing in common with the Jews

7. Moses Arrives with the name of God
Imagine going from being free to a slave over the course of a few short years – that was the fate of the Jews and over time they lost sight of their God and began to believe that their God had abandoned them
Around 1290 BCE Moses arrived
In textbook read Exodus 3:13-15 on page 53
It is thought that Yahweh is derived from the Hebrew word for the verb “to be” meaning God is Creator, Ruler of nature & history, and the One who is always present

8. The Significance to the Israelis of Learning the name of God
In the ancient world to know a name was to give you some special relationship with the owner of that name – interestingly this was especially true in the Paranoiac culture of Egypt
Giving the name of God of to the Israelis lies in the fact that n their culture the act of naming anything indicated the power of the namer over the named
By revealing His name first, rather then the Israelis naming Him, God claimed sovereignty over His people as the one, true God at a time when many gods were believed in

9. The Tenth Plague and Passover which is still celebrated to this day
From your reading, write a list of all ten plagues in your notebook – you’ll need it for your next quiz
The 10th plague caused the death of all thr firstborn children in Egypt
The Jews slaughtered an animal and put some of the blood on their doorposts and over the doors of their homes
The flesh of the animals was to be eaten with unleavened bread and bitter herbs

10. Passover – “to pass over”
Read on page 55 of your text, in the right-hand column in the paragraph beginning “The tenth…” the quote from God taken from Exodus 12:14. Please read this now
This is why Passover must be “remembered” every year and is one of the major religious holidays in the Jewish religious calendar