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Week One: The New Testament and It’s Environment

Understanding the New Testament: The Big Picture

New Testament emphasis on fulfillment

Term "fulfill" is used 55 times in the NT. God as the sovereign of history has been working according to his wisdom, a plan unfolding through the pages of biblical revelation.

The foundation is laid in the OT, which is quoted directly at least 280 times, and alluded to hundreds more.

God has a plan—Isaiah Is. 46:8-11

Abrahamic Covenant (Gen. 12; 15)

1. Personal blessing

2. Nationhood

3. Blessing to the world

Mosaic Covenant (Ex. 19ff; Leviticus; Deuteronomy)

Passover and redemption—Exod. 12:12-14

Death of the innocent lamb is the price of redemption, to be remembered throughout Israel’s history. God is the redeemer.

Relationship to Abrahamic Covenant

1. A nation of priests—Exod. 19:4-6

2. Sacrificial system—Lev. 16, 17

Conditions for God’s blessing

Exod. 19:5 "If…then"

Davidic Covenant (2 Sam. 7)

1. Personal blessing

2. Eternal kingdom

3. Eternal dynasty

4. "Torah for man"

Prophets

1. Davidic kingdom and God’s rule

Ezek. 37:26-28

2. Davidic king as messiah "anointed"

Ezek. 34:23,24; 37:24,25

Is. 9:6,7

Ps. 89:1-4, 34-37

Jer. 23:5,6

3. Incompleteness of the sacrificial system and the "suffering servant"

Ps. 51; Hos. 6:6; Isaiah 52:13—53:12

Gospels

1. Jesus qualifies as the Davidic messiah

John 7:42; Mt. 9:27

Genealogies (later)

2. Kingdom of God has come

In your midst (Lk. 17:21)

It is mysterious (Mt. 13)

At hand; something to seek and enter; completed in the future

Acts

1.Historical unfolding of the Kingdom to all peoples

Blessing of good news to the world (Ac. 1:8; cf. Gen. 12:3…)

2.The ministry of the Holy Spirit

"Day of the Lord" (Joel 2:28; Jer. 31) fulfilled

Acts of the Holy Spirit (2, 8, 10, 19) as salvation spreads

Epistles

1. What is Christianity?

Answers to Jews concerning ethnicity and Law

Answers to Gentiles concerning paganism

2. What does the messianic community look like?

The inclusive nature of the "Body of Christ"

Its mission to the world

Revelation

Consummation of the age: Kingdom in its completeness

Relationship to Daniel and Ezekiel

Jesus’ pre-authentication of apostolic writing

John 14:26; 16:13

Apostles’ awareness of the inspiration of their own writing

1 Cor. 14:37,28

Apostles’ awareness of the inspiration of other apostles’ writing

2 Peter 3:16

Early attestation by "church fathers"

Extensive citation of all books of the NT as apostolic and as scripture in the 2^nd and 3^rd generation of the church—preserved by Eusebius in 4^th century (Esslastical History)

Antiquity of books noted from Rylands Fragment; logia

Best manuscript history of any book of antiquity—reliability:

Kathleen Kenyon wrote, "The interval between the date of the original composition and the earliest extent evidence becomes so small as to be negligible, and the last foundation for any doubt that the scriptures have come down to us substantially as they were written has now been removed."

The "canon"

Recognition of apostolic authorship

Gospels as "thematically based chronologies"

Lk. 1:1-4. Clear interest in historical accuracy (see 2 Peter 1:16; John 21:24,25)

Gospels were written with the specific intent to provide genuine knowledge of the historical Jesus. The sovereign Lord of history has disclosed his will for man through the extraordinary events of the incarnation, ministry, death and resurrection of his Son. History matters! Sir William Ramsey states, "Luke is a historian of the first rank; not merely are his statements of fact trustworthy; he is possessed of the true historic sense; he fixes his mind on the idea and plan that rules in the evolution of history, and proportions the scale of his treatment to the importance of each incident. He seizes the important and critical events and shows their true nature at greater length, while he touches lightly or omits entirely much that was valueless for his purpose. In short, this author should be placed along with the very greatest of historians." Interesting to note that Ramsey became a Christian only after decades of careful study of the historical narrative of Luke/Acts.

Mt. different only to the extent that same narrative is arranged slightly differently according to themes

Mk and Jn are different in emphasizing the last week of Christ’s life

Prophetic history of the Gospels

The reason for the Gospel—Jn. 20:30, 31

Answers the question, "why four Gospels":

a. Matthew. Primarily a Jewish audience. This is evident from the emphasis on fulfilled prophecy and Jesus' critique of Jewish legalism.

b. Luke. Luke wrote his gospel to gentiles, as the preface indicates. He focuses on the historical evidence for Jesus. For example, his references to Roman officials. He is also clear to document that Jesus was innocent of any crime against Rome.

c. John. Writing to a gentile audience. His concern is more with the message of Christ than with a chronology of his life. There is no genealogy, and half of the book covers the last week of Jesus' life.

d. Mark. Earliest of the gospels. It was written with both Jewish and gentile readers in mind.

Hellenism

Greek culture, called Hellenism was spreading all over the territory controlled by the Greeks. They not only conquered militarily, but they Hellenized the cultures which they dominated. Greek language became the dominant , official language of the Med. world. 70 Greek-style cities were constructed under Alexander. Worship of Greek deities was mandatory.

Division of Alexander’s empire

When Alexander died in 323 B.C., his four leading generals took control of the empire. The two of importance to Palestine and biblical history were Ptolemy and Seleucid. The Ptolemaic Empire was centered in Egypt. The last of his dynasty was Cleopatra, who died in 30 BC. The Seleucid Empire was centered in Syria. Antioch was its capitol. Its rulers were called Seleucus or Antiochus. This empire lasted until it was destroyed by Pompey of Rome in 64 BC.

Greek attitudes toward Jewish religion

Jews resisted the cultural integration. Greeks viewed this as a problem. During the nearly 300 years of Greek domination of Palestine, Israel was a vassal state, with no political, military or religious autonomy. Developments in Judaism during this period are important if we are to understand the New Testament world. The Greeks were not sympathetic to the Jewish religion. The Seleucid kind Antiochus iv Epiphane (175-164 BC) made circumcision a capital offense and began to force pagan worship at the Jewish temple. Many Jews, including priests were participants in this paganism. Antiochus appointed high priests who would conduct pagan rituals, which included drunken parades in honor of Cacchus, ritual prostitution and sacrifice to Greek gods. In 168, a minor revolt among pious Jews took place. Greek countermeasures were quick in coming. The troops of Antioicus destroyed much of Jerusalem, killed and enslaved many of the men and children and desecrated the temple once again by offering the sacrifice of a pig on the alter, and reinforcing worship of pagan gods.

Maccabean Revolt

Resistance among the Jews came almost immediately. In the village of Modin, the Greeks tried to force a Jewish priest, named Matathias to offer pagan sacrifice. Mattathias refused. When another Jew stepped in to do the job, Mattathias killed him and the royal agent sent to place the demand. Mattathias then demolished the altar and fled to the mountains with his five sons. Many sympathizers joined them. Mattathias' family, known as the Hasmonians, and later the Maccabeeans, launched a guerrilla way against the Seleucid army (167 BC). For a short time, the Maccabeeans were able to reestablish worship in the Temple.

This was a defining event in the history of Israel. The revolt allowed the Jews to enjoy religious freedom, a privilege that was also extended to them by the Romans. This will be of critical importance to the growth of the early Christian church. It is clear that the early Christians spread the message of Christ throughout the Roman empire with the understanding that Christianity is rooted in legal Judaism. For the last century BC and the first century AD, the Maccabean revolt distilled the religious and nationalistic passions of the Jews. They would never fully accept occupation by a foreign army. This both shaped their messianic expectation (later) and sealed their destruction.

Roman influences on culture.

Roads, commerce, common language, rule of law, relative safety and social order. While Greeks demanded cultural conformity (homogeneity), the Roman culture was more like stew (diversity with the Roman government being the unifying dimension). Rome was called the "cosmopolis", or world city. Emperor became associated with divinity ("Augustus"). Unconditional surrender to the awesome power of Rome insured "pax romana."Contributions of the Romans

Roman rule

i. Herod the Great (37-4 BC). An Edomite, hated by the Jews. He was scheming, jealous and cruel. He killed two wives and three sons. "Better to be Herod’s pig than his son." It was he, in Matthew’s account, that had the male children of Bethlehem slaughtered. He was an absolute tyrant. He engorced curfews, demanded high taxes and operated a secret police to uncover any plots against him. On the other hand, in times of famine, he provided free grain and clothes, and contributed a fortune to beautify the Jewish Temple. At his death, he ordered the leading Jews be slaughtered so that while no one would morn over his death, they would at least mourn at his death--the order was not followed.

ii. Herod Antipas. This was the guy singled out for rebuke by John the Baptist for marrying his half sister, and who ordered up John’s head on a silver platter (Mk. 6:17-29). Jesus stood trial before him (Lk. 23:7-12).

iii. Agrippa I. Grandson of Herod the Great executed James, imprisoned Peter.

iv. Agrippa II. Heard Paul’s defense (Ac. 25,26).

Because of the mismanagement by Herod’s sons, Rome sent governers to oversee the region. Pontuis Pilate, one such governer, condemned Jesus to death.

Jewish tensions and Jerusalem’s destruction

i. Sanhedrin. The only Jewish court of appeal. It was in the precarious position of not offending Rome, and staying loyal to the people. Ultimately, the middle ground striven for by the Sanhedrin would not work. Polarized by Zealots and others, revolution broke the seams of Jewish society and ultimately brought about its' downfall.

ii. Revolts (70, 132 AD). The nationalism and sacrifice that characterized the Maccabean revolution was carried on through the rest of Israel's ancient history. Roman governer Florus raided the temple treasury and ignited the rebellion that led to the destruction of Jerusalem. Explain Messada, and the Bar Cochba revolt, the destruction of Jerusalem and the scattering of the people.

Diaspora

By the first century, the majority of Jews did not live in Israel. Probably only 700,000 Jews in Palestine, with as 3.3 million in the Roman world. More Jews lived in Alexandria, Egypt than Jerusalem, more in Syria than Palestine. Even in Palestine, many regions, such as Galilee were populated more by non-Jews than Jews.

Synagogue

With no Temple for much of the time, and certainly no temple close by, the synagogue was the center of Jewish religious life. For most Jews, the rabbi (teacher) replaced the priest as the central religious figure. The synagogue is a community within a community. It is a context for education, religious identity, meeting social needs. Synagogues were autonomous, self-governing bodies. They were led by elders. The synagogue was the model for the early Christian church.

Rabbis

The priest played a diminished role in the religious life of most Jews. The reason was that Temple worship was, for most Jews either completely absent, or a once in a lifetime event.

a. Rabbinical traditions:

i. Hillel. Liberal views. These were rabbis that had to a significant extent, merged with the thought forms and culture of the pagan world. An example of how their commentary on the Law went can be found with divorce. The allowance of divorce under Moses is interpreted by the Hillel school as "for any reason whatsoever."

ii. Shammai. Conservative views. Only strict observance of the Law will prevent another destruction for the Jews. So the Law, especially the Sabbath laws were spelled out in thousands of details. What, for example would constitute "work" on the Sabbath? Eg: spitting, dragging a chair, etc.

By the time of Christ, the words of the rabbis carried as much authority as the scripture itself, at least in the practice of Judaism. That is why Jesus would contrast the rabbis words with his own by saying "you have heard it said...."and "truly truly (amen, amen) I say to you."

Sects: See handout

Pharisees

 

Sadducees

 

Essenes

 

Zealots

 

Hassidim

The poor and oppressed

"Sinners"

Messianic expectation

Establishing the royal line

Significance of the two accounts

It is of interest that Matthew includes four gentile women in Jesus' line: Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, Bathsheba. This again links Jesus to the gentiles, and also reminds the Jewish audience of the lineage of David (a bit sorted indeed).

Luke traces Jesus' genealogy back to Adam. This is indicative of the universal significance of Jesus' ministry

Luke links Jesus to David, but not the royal line. Mary is thus in the line of David. Matthew traces the genealogy through the kingly line. Luke ends with Joseph, even though Joseph wasn't Jesus father. We point out (1) that he was Jesus' father de jure, not de facto; (2) in Mt. 1:16, Joseph's genealogy, "whom" is feminine (tied to the "seed of woman" in Gen. 3:15).

Starting point for chronology (see Hohner chart).

a. Luke 2:1. Christ born in the reign of Ceasar Augustus (r. March 15, 27 BC-August19, 14 AD).

b. Matthew 2:1; Luke 1:5. Herod the Great was still alive. Herod was proclaimed king of the Jews by the Roman Senate in late 40 BC. Josephus (Antiquities, xvii. 8.1) states that an eclipse of the moon occurred shortly before Herod's death. It is the only eclipse ever mentioned by Josephus, and we know it to have occurred on March 12, 4 BC.After his death there was a celebration of Passover, on April 11, 4 BC. So, his death occurred between March 12 and April 11, 4 BC. Therefore, Christ could not have been born later than April 11, 4 BC.

c. Luke 2:1-5. A census was taken just before Christ's birth. The purpose of the census was to provide statistical data for the levy of taxes. This was of particular importance during the last few years of Herod's rule, because his kingdom had become unstable (he changed his will three times, and executed much of his family who were vying for his throne). Further, in 8/7 BC, Herod came into disfavor with Augustus and was treated as a subject rather than a friend. With his autonomy taken away, Rome would have had reason to take a census.

d. This places the birth of Christ in late 5/4 BC in Bethleham (Matthew 2:1; Luke 2:6).

Siblings

Luke 2:7; Mt. 13:55,56

Death of Joseph

Carpenter; died young, leaving Jesus with responsibility for mother and family

Beginning of public ministry

When he was in his 30s

Jewish understanding of baptism

Conversion of pagans

John’s baptism of the Jews

Mk. 1:7,8 (see Mal. 3:1; Is. 40:3)

Jesus’ baptism by John

Identification as messiah: Jn. 1:29-34; Lk. 3:21,22 (cf. Ps. 2:7)

Identification with humanity: 2 Cor. 5:21

See sheet for assignment.

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