The Birth and Early Years of Christ

So this is an area that could either take me weeks to cover, or I could try my best to sum it all up as briefly as possible...I'm shooting for the second option. I think this is an area that tends to be easier for people to grasp than the history stuff, and we tend to be more familiar with this subject matter as well. So...that being said, here we go!

The Birth and Early Childhood Years
Matthew 1,2 and 3
Luke 1,2
You really should take the time to read through both accounts. There are details that are specific to each account that together paint a very good picture of how things tie together, and why things happened as they did. I thought of separating out the info for you, but naahhh, I really think you should open your bible and see for yourself!! (hehehehe)
(Mark says nothing about the birth of Jesus)

• The angel Gabriel (Luke says it was Gabriel) came to Mary and told her she was going to have a baby. As confirmation (although Mary didn't really ask for it) he told her about her cousin Elizabeth who was expecting a baby. (That would be John the Baptist)
• Mary went to visit Elizabeth in Elizabeth's 6th month of pregnancy.
• According to Luke, Mary stayed with Elizabeth for a few months, returning right before the baby was born. (odd she didn't stay for the baby to be born...oh well)
• Joseph (he was pledged to marry Mary) was considering calling it all off, but being a gentleman he wanted to do it quietly as to not disgrace Mary. An angel told Joseph not to worry, it was God's baby, so Joseph took Mary as his wife. (I love a happy ending!)
• Caesar Augustus wanted a census of the entire Roman empire, so everyone had to go to their town of birth. Joseph was from Bethlehem, so off they went. By this time Mary was really preggo!
• Jesus was born in Bethlehem (read Micah 5:2 - pretty cool huh!)l
• Shepherds came to see baby Jesus, and left proclaiming the good news of a savior being born. 
• At 8 days old Jesus was circumcised and brought to the Temple, where Mary and Joseph offered a sacrifice for their new baby. (As was the Jewish Law)
• While at the Temple Jesus was prophesied over my Simeon and Anna
• King Herod heard of the birth of a Jewish King and was jealous, so he ordered the death of all baby boys 3 years old and younger. (This really makes me sick to my stomach, I plan on talking to God about this when I see him in Heaven)
• Joseph was told this in a dream, so he and Mary escaped with Jesus to Egypt until King Herod died. (I really hope it was a slow and painful death!...I know I shouldn't wish such things, but well...I really think that man was pure evil!!)
• They returned to the town of Nazareth in Galilee, and that's where Jesus grew up.
• At the age of 12 they temporarily "lost" Jesus at the Temple during their annual pilgrimage there for the Feast of the Passover. They found him 3 days later chillin' in the temple courts with the teachers, impressing everyone with his awesomeness. (Mary and Joseph had a "little talk" with Jesus, and reminded him that if he was going to live in their house, he needed to follow their rules...which meant at 12 years you didn't ditch your parents! Jesus being the good boy he was returned to Nazareth with them.)
• That's all we hear about until the start of Jesus' public ministry that he begins in his young 30's. (Being the parent of a teenager, I can understand these years of silence.)

John the Baptist

uh...why are covering John the Baptist in a study of "Christ in the Synoptic Gospels"?

cuz, my textbook did, and there is some really interesting stuff to be covered!!

If you really want the most details about John the Baptist (can I just call him John, it would really make this easier...thanks!) the best place to look is the book of Luke chapter 1.

• Born to Zechariah and Elizabeth
• They were "well along in years" and past the age of having children. Zechariah was a priest, and as he was serving in the Temple the angel Gabriel appeared and told him he was going to have a son, and to name him John
• Gabriel identifies John's 3 main purposes to be:
1. to be a joy and delight to his parents...ahhh, isn't that great! (apparently Gabriel never dealt with a tantruming toddler...or worse...a tantruming teenager!!)
2. turn many of the people of Israel back to the Lord
3. prepare the people for the coming of Christ
• John was a Judean
• John was a relative of Jesus
• John was a rough mountain man who lived in the desert until the Lord called him to ministry at the age of 30. (John was about 6 months older than Jesus, so this gives us a good reference for how old Jesus was at the beginning of his ministry)
• John preached in Judea
• He preached a baptism of repentance. First repent, then be baptised as an outward sign of an internal change. (Isaiah 40:3-5)
• Many people believed that John was the Christ.
• He responded to this with...(Luke 3:16-18)   yup, I'm going to make you read it yourself!
• John baptised Jesus in the Jordan river
• John was put in prison and beheaded. Mark 6:17-29
• John was Elijah returned. Matthew 17:1-13

The important thing to remember about John the Baptist is that he prepared the people for the coming of Jesus.

Palestine of Jesus' time, and Its People

As mentioned earlier, Palestine was the name given to the whole area that was traditionally the land of Israel. First it was divided into the 12 tribes, then the 2 kingdoms, then into 4 regions. (The Romans did the region thing, it helped them to manage all their territories...cuz they had so much! They would appoint a Roman leader to manage the area, kind of like a State Governor I suppose).

The 4 regions were as follows:

1) Galilee  (yellow)
2) Samaria (purple)
3) Perea (middle green)
4) Judea (bottom pink)

We will give the regions of Syria (upper green) and Decopolis (middle pink) an honorable mention, because they are not necessarily considered to be a part of Palestine, they are still areas that are mentioned in the Bible.

 Take a minute to remember where the different regions lie, it will help you to follow along better as we get more into the ministry of Jesus and where he traveled. Jesus spent most of his time in the two regions of Galilee and Judea. Galilee encompassed the city of Nazareth where Jesus grew up, and Jerusalem was in Judea.

Galilee:

• Fertile land with lots of gardens, vineyards, and olive groves
• Lots of big cities
• Biggest population of Gentiles
• The greater diversity created a more friendly and accepting people
• Jesus was a Galilean

Judea:

• Dry, more desert like
• Many of the ancient cities were in ruins
• More orthodox Jews
• The Judean was proud, haughty, and reserved.
• Few Gentiles lived in this region

Now that we have a general working knowledge of the area and the people that Jesus was working with, we are going to look a little deeper into the Jewish religious system. This will give you a much better understanding of why Jesus met some of the resistance he did from the different religious leaders. I will approach this more like a vocab lesson (since as we recall, history and me don't really get along all that well!)

Synagogue (meeting place)- created after the Babylonians destroyed the temple in Jerusalem, these were places for Jews to meet and pray.

Pharisee - arose sometime during the intertestamental period (the 400 years of quiet time between the old and new testament) of  as a response to the Greek invasion and subsequent Hellenism (spreading of the Greek culture). Some Jews were concerned that their people would again turn from God's law, so a group of men took it upon themselves to help keep their Jewish brethren on the right path. While the motives were good and pure at the beginning, over time the Pharisees got a little caught up with themselves. They were middle class laymen, not priests. To become a Pharisee one needed to be approved by the other Pharisees. These were the most popular group of religious leaders, somewhat in part to their average middle class status, and that they did their business in they synagogues all over Palestine, not in the temple. And last but not least I need to mention the Pharisees passion for the Law; and not just the written Law of God (you know, the one they were developed to protect!) but over time as they grew more arrogant they put much emphasis on oral tradition. In fact they thought that the oral teachings (or in other words their interpretation of the law) was just as important as the written Law. Matthew 15:8-9 captures this problem well.
   (ok, so that was a long vocab lesson...sorry!)
One more thing...the Pharisees were the foundation for Judaism in later centuries. Ok, now I'm moving on!

Sadducees -

• Surfaced during the intertestamental period
• Wealthy class
• The overwhelming majority of them were priests
• More focused on political gain than upholding the Law
• Accepted Hellenism (they didn't want to go against the current Roman reign, the peace that came with Roman rule protected their privileged lifestyle.)
• Worked mostly out of the Temple.
• Closed society, you were born into it.
• Not as popular as the Pharisees
• Only accepted the written Law (although again, they were more focused on politics)

(see, I can be short and to the point!)

Zealots -

• Arose in the early years of the Roman rule
• Crazy passionate about the Law, even more so than the Pharisees
• Strongly opposed the Roman government
• Would use violence to achieve their goals, and were unrestrained in their vengeance.
• Roman efforts to suppress this group only resulted in a stronger backlash.
• Viewed themselves as agents of God's judgment
• The Roman-Jewish war that resulted in the destruction of Jerusalem in 70AD was largely a result of the Zealots.
• Luke 6:15...see, Jesus really can use anyone for His ministry!

Scribes -

• Professional group, not religious group (but oh so important none the less!)
• Mentioned in both Old and New Testaments
• The duties of the Scribe evolved over time from secretarial duties to interpreters and teachers.
• Old Testament Scribes were often priests, not the case during Christ's time.
• Experts on the Law
• Their word on matters of the Law was final.
• Highly respected

Sanhedrin - the institution from which the Jews governed themselves. The "Council" or "Court".

• Two levels
• Smaller councils associated with Synagogues
• Supreme Court level associated with the Temple (I will call them the Great Sanhedrin)
• The Great Sanhedrin consisted of 71 men representing the 3 groups. (Saducees, Pharisees, Scribes). Most were Saducees, the High Priest (or leader of the pack) was always a Saducees.
• The Great Sanhedrin's authority was limited to Judea, but they were still the most powerful body of Jews in Palestine.
• These were the people that condemned Jesus to death. (booooo) Although they condemned Jesus to death, they didn't have the power to actually carry the execution out. Rome maintained that authority. That's why Jesus was brought before Pilate (and then Herod, and then back to Pilate! Luke 23) to be executed.

WAHOOO!!!

Well done, we are now through the History and background part, and now we will move onto the Man of the hour, Jesus!

We will pause here for a happy dance moment :)

Just a little more History...I promise, it's just a bit!

Just a little heads up, this section will make much more sense if you first read the History and Geography entry!

Ok, so we are going to back it up a bit back to the time of the Persian reign. Remember how under the rule of Cyrus the Jews were allowed to leave Babylon and return to their home land; and how the exile in Babylon did wonders in curing their habit of practicing idolatry?  Well after that they didn't seem too concerned with who was governing them, as long as they were allowed to worship God and follow His Law. If the ruling government attempted to introduce foreign religion and idols the Jews would rebel. This is what happened at the end of Syrian rule. During this time a family named the Maccabees, or as they were later called, the Hasmoneans, rose to power and led the Jews in a successful rebellion against Syria. So for just an ever so brief moment of about 100 years, Palestine was independent (way to go guys!!). This was from 164-63 BC

About 65 BC the Hasmoneans were struggling for power in Palestine with the ever growing control coming from Rome. In the midst of this time a man named Antipater (an Idumean...Orthodox Jews didn't like these people!) wiggled his way onto the scene and into a position of influence in Palestine. He wiggled and wormed his way to full control of Palestine and the Jewish nation in 46 BC. And why does any of this really matter you might be asking...well, you see, Antipater was the father of Herod the Great (who consequently, I don't think was really all that Great!). Herod the Great was that nasty man that ordered all those little baby boys to be killed in an attempt to kill Jesus.

When Herod the Great died (yay!), Rome appointed three of his sons as rulers over his kingdom (boooo!).
Herod Antipas - ruled for most of Jesus' life, so this is the Herod we read of the most.
Herod Philip - ruled the large area North of the sea of Galilee and East of the Jordan River. This is all my texts really say about him, I would love a little juicy gossip if any of you know anything interesting about this man!
Herod Archaleaus - he was nasty mean, so Rome removed him in AD 6. This was the Herod Joseph heard about as he returned from Egypt, so he didn't go to Judea, but instead to Nazareth in Galilee. (Matt 2:22-23)

I think it's so interesting to see how in hindsight we can see how God's hand was working to bring His Son at just the right time, in just the right place.

You see, people from Galilee were considered to be from the "wrong side of the tracks". This area was a hot spot for the various kingdoms that invaded and ruled over Palestine. This made the orthodox Jews look down on people who were from there.

Interesting stuff if you take that into consideration while reading
Psalms 22:6,7
Psalms 118:22
Isaiah 53:2,3

History and Geography (pre-Jesus)

Ok, so these are my worst two subjects by far!! I have never been good with dates, and can hardly ever even tell you what day it is today, much less what happened during what time period in the past! So this section of the coursework was PAINFUL for me, but it was so helpful in gaining a better knowledge of what led up to Christ's first coming.

(this might be a good time to remind you that it's OK to correct me...just please be nice about it)

This is a general outline of where the original 12 Tribes of Israel were. The history that I'm going to cover begins after the 12 tribes have divided into 2 kingdoms; the Northern Kingdom (which kept the name Israel and consisted of the 10 northern tribes), and the Southern Kingdom or Judah (the 2 southern tribes). The land area that included both areas is referred to as Palestine. There is SO much more history in regards to Israel, but that just might push me over the edge right now, so this is where we will start!

In the late 8th century (725-722 BC) God moved the Assyrians to invade the wayward Northern Kingdom. The Assyrian King deported many of the Israelites to other areas of the the Assyrian Kingdom to prevent an uprising. He also brought non-Jews into the area to live among the Jews that were allowed to stay. After a while the groups started to mingle...and well...there was a generation of children being born that were part Jew and part Assyrian. These people were called Samaritans (after Samaria, the capital of the Northern Kingdom).

A little over 100 years later (around 595 BC), the Babylonians conquered Assyria (therefore taking over control of Israel) under the rule of King Nebuchadnezzar. God also used the Babylonians as a tool of judgement on the Southern Kingdom (Judah), because they too were not following God's Law. So Babylon took control of it all! When the Babylonians invaded Judah, they destroyed the Temple in Jerusalem, stealing the temple treasures. They also sent many of the Jews to exile in Babylon. This exile lasted for about 70 years.

Ok, now it's Persia's turn at bat! About 530 BC they conquer Babylon, so now they have control over Palestine and the Jews. King Cyrus is ruling in Persia, and he allows the Jews to return to Jerusalem to rebuild to the temple. Many Jews chose to stay in Babylon (after all, they had been living there for 70 years!) but yet some returned to their homeland. The time in exile helped to cure these Jews of their nasty habit of idolatry. After they returned to Jerusalem they sincerely wanted to follow God's Law. But like so many times before they lost sight of what God's purpose, and they began to misuse the Law greatly during this time.

(A little side note - the last Old Testament prophet Malachi spoke during this time, around 450 BC)

Cuz I like visuals :)  This is a map of the area the Persian Empire covered. (impressive!) (Reminder that Palestine lay East of the Mediterranean Sea)

You still with me?  YAY for you!! If not, don't worry, we are almost to the end ;)

Persia ruled for about 200 years, and then in about 330BC the Greeks, led by Alexander the Great, conquered Persia. The Greeks had a long-lasting influence on the Jews. A good example of this is the Greek language, which became the common language used in trade and politics. This common language made the spreading of ideas and values much easier. This spreading of the Greek culture and influence is referred to as Hellenism.

After the death of Alexander the Great (who died at the young age of 33) his successors divided the empire into 4 different areas. {My text only names two of the empires, Egypt and Syria, if anyone knows the names of the other 2 I would love to know them. I tried to look them up on-line but kept getting lost :(}

Anyhow...For about 150 years these two areas battled it out over who would have Palestine. First Egypt had it, then Syria got it's hands on it...but not for long!

About 200 years after the Greeks conquered Persia and took control of Palestine, the Roman Empire rose to the top and conquered the remnants of the Grecian Empire. (That would put us at about 130 BC). The Roman Empire stood strong without serious challenge for nearly 600 years.

So yup, you guessed it!...The Roman Empire was in power at the time of Christ's birth.

So why did God choose this time to send his Son?

I'm sure God had a handful of very good reasons to pick this particular time, one of them might have been that Rome established widespread peace, making travel and communication everywhere in the Empire easier. This would make it the ideal time for Christ to come and preach the Good News!

YEAH!!! You did it! Now you know a bit about the history of the Jews :)

ahhhh, doesn't knowledge feel good!!

The Book of Luke

A little bit about Luke the man...

• Luke was a Doctor
• Was with Paul in ministry and in prison
• Luke was likely a Gentile - which would make him the only Gentile writer of the scriptures
• Luke also wrote the book of Acts

A little bit about Luke the book...

• Written around 65-70 AD
• Written with the Greek Gentile as primary audience
• Longest book in the New Testament
• Includes the most details about the childhood of John the Baptist and of Jesus.
• Gives the most complete picture of Jesus as a man. Following him from before his birth all the way to his death.
• Called the "Gospel of Prayer"
• Emphasis on how salvation is for ALL people!

The Book of Matthew

A Little about Matthew the man...

• Named Levi, was called Matthew after Jesus called him as a disciple
• Matthew was most likely a Levite
• Levi was a tax collector. Tax collectors were knows for being greedy and corrupt. And the fact that Levi was a Jew, showed that he was likely a "Jew gone bad". Thus showing that the redemptive power of Jesus is for anyone!!
• Matthew had a brother James the Zealot*. The two would be been complete opposites! Jesus called them both into ministry with him...ahhhhh, a little family restoration!

A Little about Matthew the book...

• Written around 65-70 AD
• Target Audience was Jews
• Because Jesus did not come as the Jews had expected, Matthew focused on showing how Jesus was indeed the Messiah based on the Old Testament. He showed how Jesus came to fulfill the Law, not to destroy it.
• Because of the intended Jewish audience, Matthew uses the most Old Testament references.
• Called the "Teaching Gospel" because of the focus on Jesus' teachings.

*Zealot - People who were strongly opposed to the Roman government, and sought to overthrow it by use of force if necessary.

A little bit about the book of Mark and it's author...

While there is no hard evidence that John Mark wrote the book of Mark, there are some very good reasons to believe he did.
       1) The conclusions of early church historians Papias and Eusebiaus of Caesarea
       2) The relationship between Peter and Mark's writings. (it seems that Mark was Peters interpreter)

• Written by John Mark. John was his Jewish name, Mark was his Roman name.
• Mark is the most often referred to in the Bible of the synoptic gospel writers.
• Barnabas (Marks cousin) and Saul (aka. Paul) invited Mark to join them on their first missionary trip from Cyprus to Perga
• Mark left the team in Perga and returned to Jerusalem. The reason for this is unclear, but it must not have been on the best of terms. It seems like this is reflected in Pauls later reluctance to include Mark on their second mission trip.
• Barnabas wanted Mark to come on their second mission trip. This led Paul and Barnabas to part ways.
• Barnabas and Mark went to Cyprus
• At some point Paul and Mark made amends and Mark became like a "son" to Paul.
• It is believed that Mark could be the young man mentioned in Mark 14:51-52.

• Mark wrote his account in Rome, with his primary audience being Roman Gentiles.
• His emphasis was on Christ's actions more than his teachings. He showed Christ to not only be the son of God, but the Christ of power and action. This would have related well to the Roman Gentiles.

Christ in the Synoptic Gospels: Vocab and a little background info.

Synoptic- Seeing with or seeing together
Gospel - Good news

Synoptic Gospel - Seeing the good news alike or in the same way.
            *Matthew, Mark, and Luke are considered the Synoptic Gospels
            *This is not to say that each account does not stand on its own merit. Each one is valuable, and each one gives us unique perspective and information.

Priority of Mark - the widely accepted idea that Mark was written first. "Priority" in the sense that it was written first, NOT that it is the most important

             *Luke and Matthew may have used Mark's gospel as a reference, however the true source for all the gospels is the Holy Spirit!

The logistical Stuff

Ok, so before I really start to get into what it is I'm studying I think I should probably point out the obvious.

I AM NOT an expert on this stuff!

That means the information you are getting is my interpretation of the coursework.

Sometimes I will be wrong. (But please don't ever ask me to admit that again!)

If you have a different interpretation or perspective feel free to share, but please do so respectfully.