Week Forty-One Reading Assignment:
Zechariah 10 - Matthew 14
"Matthew might be described as the workhorse of the four Gospel writers...
Mark has his electric compactness and swiftness of narrative, Luke has those tender human episodes (the annunciation, the birth of John, the nativity in the manger, the twelve-year-old Jesus in the Temple at Jerusalem, the story of Mary and Martha, the parables of the prodigal son and the pearl of great price, the good criminal on the cross, the appearances of the risen Jesus at Emmaus and Jerusalem) absent from the other Gospels, and John has his poetic fire and Platonic thrust...
Matthew takes up the task of giving these events [Jesus' life and teachings] a cosmic context by knitting them tight to the sacred texts of the Jewish people collected in what is now called the Old Testament."
(John Updike, Incarnation: Contemporary Writers on the New Testament)
Mark has his electric compactness and swiftness of narrative, Luke has those tender human episodes (the annunciation, the birth of John, the nativity in the manger, the twelve-year-old Jesus in the Temple at Jerusalem, the story of Mary and Martha, the parables of the prodigal son and the pearl of great price, the good criminal on the cross, the appearances of the risen Jesus at Emmaus and Jerusalem) absent from the other Gospels, and John has his poetic fire and Platonic thrust...
Matthew takes up the task of giving these events [Jesus' life and teachings] a cosmic context by knitting them tight to the sacred texts of the Jewish people collected in what is now called the Old Testament."
(John Updike, Incarnation: Contemporary Writers on the New Testament)
This Week's Teaching Video: Introduction to the New Testament - Table of Contents |
This Week's Teaching Video: Introduction to the New Testament - Geography |
charting our progress
Between the Testaments: GreeceWhen the curtain closes on the Old Testament, the text is written in Hebrew and the map is oriented toward the east -- specifically, Persia. But when the curtain opens on the New Testament, the text is written in Greek and the map is oriented to the west -- specifically, Rome.
What happens during those 300+ years when the curtain is closed? An amazing scene change! We know from the world history classes that we took in school about the wars between the Greeks and the Persians. And so, as the final chapters of Old Testament history take place during the era of the Persian Empire, we know that the Greeks are on the horizon. And, indeed, shortly after the time of the final book of the Old Testament, Alexander the Great moves through the land of Palestine. Two principal effects of Alexander's empire should be noted as we consider the time between the testaments. First, the spread of Hellenism -- or Greek culture and language. Koine Greek became the lingua franca of the entire Mediterranean world. It also became the language in which the New Testament was written and in which the gospel was preached through the missionary work of the early church. And, too, the spread of the Greek language also gave rise to a very important Greek translation of the Old Testament known as the Septuagint. Second, the competing interests on either side of Palestine in the wake of Alexander's death. He died a relatively young man (323 BC, about ten years after conquering Palestine), and there was no heir apparent to his empire. The region of Palestine was caught between two regional powers that emerged after Alexander's death -- the Ptolemies in Egypt and the Seleucids of Syria. The Ptolemies controlled Palestine from 310 to 198 BC and afforded the Jews there considerable freedom. In 198 BC, however, the Greek dynasty in Syria took control of Palestine, and their administration was far less accommodating to the Jews. The relationship became so hostile, in fact, that it led to a revolution -- the Maccabean Revolt -- and a brief period of Jewish independence under the Hasmonean dynasty. It was during this era that several sects developed within Judaism, which become prominent in later stories (e.g., the Sadducees, the Pharisees, and the Essenes). |
Between the Testaments: RomeWe know that the Roman Empire forms the geopolitical context for the New Testament, for it figures prominently into the two most familiar stories of the New Testament. The location of Christmas is introduced by the decree that went out from Caesar Augustus. And, at the other end of Jesus' earthly life, there is the infamous role of the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate.
It was as divisions and power struggles emerged in the Hasmonean dynasty that the Romans stepped into life and politics in Palestine. Rome occupied Jerusalem under Pompey beginning in 63 BC. And, in 37 BC, Rome granted to Herod the Great the role of king -- albeit puppet king -- of Judea. Hence, Herod was "king of the Jews," though he himself was not Jewish but Idumean (Edomite). Following Herod's death (shortly after the birth of Jesus), his son Archelaus ruled in Judea. The Romans, however, found his administration to be inade-quate, and so they removed Archelaus and the province was governed by Roman procurators. Pontius Pilate was one of these. Roman soldiers and taxes were part of life for the Jews of Jesus' time. And, predictably, there was intense debate about the Jews' proper response to the Roman occupation. Some argued for cooperation, others opted for separa-tism, and still others worked for revolt. Revolt did occur, beginning in AD 66. The Romans responded to the uprising with brutal retaliation. The cataclysm resulted in both the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem in AD 70 and the last stand at Masada, which fell to the Romans in AD 73. Meanwhile, the network of Roman roads and the fabled pax Romana are often credited with helping the spread of the gospel. As the early church sought to carry the message of Jesus out into the larger Mediterranean world, the ease and safety of travel in the Roman Empire -- along with the common language that was part of Alexander's legacy -- combined to greatly enable their mission. |