Christianity: The Holy Land & Roman Rule

• Christianity is a religious education study

The Holy Land

• The Holy Land consists of three provinces: Galilee, Samaria, and Judea.
• Bethlehem is the birthplace of Jesus.
• Nazareth is noted as the town where Jesus grew up.
• The River Jordan is where Jesus was baptized.
• The Sea of Galilee is where Jesus met his first disciples.
• Jerusalem is the town where Jesus was arrested, put on trial, put to death, and resurrected.

Jerusalem Under Roman Rule

• During Roman rule, Palestine was governed by Pontius Pilate.
• The Jewish people had a history of suffering under foreign rule.
• Jews were subject to Roman laws and taxation.
• Romans allowed Jews to practice their religion.
• Romans sought more power and wealth.
• Jews awaited a Messiah while the Romans were focused on wealth.

Roman Empire and Timeline

• In 63 BC, Palestine was conquered by the Romans.
• In 40 BC, Herod was appointed King by the Romans, though he was not accepted by the Jews due to not being Jewish.
• Jesus was born between 8-4 BC.
• Pontius Pilate became governor of the province of Judaea in 1 AD.
• Jesus began his public ministry between 24-25 AD.

Religious Leaders in Palestine

• Pharisees, Sadducees, Zealots, and Essenes

The Old Testament

• Foretells the coming of the Messiah.
• It contains 3434 books.
• Describes the creation of the world along with the life of Jews.
• Old Testament Prophets spoke on behalf of God, e.g. Jeremiah.
• Reminded the Jews about God's law and warned them against disobeying it.
• Traces the history of the Jews.

The New Testament

• Contains the story of Jesus.
• Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are considered the four Gospel writers, known as Evangelists.
• The Gospels developed in three stages:
  • Actual events of Jesus' life
  • Disciples preaching about Jesus
  • Writing down of the Gospels

Historical Documents

• Josephus wrote about 60 AD, and was a Jewish scholar.
• Tacitus wrote about 80 AD, and was a Roman Scholar.
• Both historians wrote about Pilate, Jesus' death, and resurrection.
• They described Jesus as a wise man and leader.
• They weren't followers of Jesus, and had nothing to gain.

Kingdom of God

• Jesus' vision for a perfect world involves people allowing the love of God to rule their hearts.
• The kingdom of God is Jesus' vision of a way of life that loves God and is good to other people.
• It is found in the goodness of peoples hearts.
• It isn't a place on a map.

Parables

• Short stories used by Jesus to teach about the kingdom of God.
• The stories are based on earth with a message about heaven.
• The parables used by Jesus made the disciples and others question the way they live their lives.
• They commanded attention from the disciples, challenged the growth in faith, and explained difficult concepts in simple everyday terms.

Miracles

• Amazing cures or deeds performed by Jesus to show the power and love of God.
• Jesus used them to show people how God's love and power exist.
• Jesus performed different types of miracles;
  • Healing
  • Nature
  • Expelling
  • Raising to life

Table Fellowship

• Jesus shared meals with everyone to show the Kingdom of God is open to all.
• He showed that the Kingdom of God is open to anyone who turns away from sin and wrongdoing and turns towards the love of God.

Kingdom of God Discipleship

• A disciple is someone who learns from a teacher (rabbi).
• Jesus wanted his disciples to learn from and to follow his example.
• Discipleship involves a total change of heart, a break away from old habits to follow Jesus.
• Jesus needed his disciples to help him establish the Kingdom of God on earth, and trained them to pass on his teaching and way of life to others.
• Jesus calls his first disciples in Mark 1:16-20
• Jesus calls the 12 disciples in Luke 6:12-16

Vocations and Missions

• Vocation:
  • Comes from the Latin word 'to call'.
  • A person's sense of being called by God to live in a certain way of life.
  • The Christian way of life involves following Jesus' teachings to 'love God and love one another as yourself'.
  • Jesus calls everyone to a special way of life.
• Mission:
  • The specific work carried out by members of a Christian community.
  • Sr. Stanislaus Kennedy set up an organisation that helps young homeless.
  • Mother Teresa set up a community to help the poor in India.
  • Brother Roger founded an ecumenical community in Taize France.

Resurrection

• The central Christian belief that Jesus rose from the dead 3 days after he was crucified.
• It shows that there is life after death, Jesus is the promised Messiah, the power of good has triumphed over evil, and Jesus offers hope to all humankind that death is not the end.

Transformation

• Jesus' appearance and his nature were changed after the resurrection, different yet somehow everything about him was still the same.
• After the Resurrection, Jesus appeared to:
  • Mary Magdalene at the tomb (John 20:11-18)
  • Disciples on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-35)
  • Disciples in a house in Jerusalem (John 20:19-25)
  • Thomas in a house in Jerusalem (John 20:24-29)

Ascension

• For 40 days after his death Jesus appeared to his apostles, continued to teach them about the kingdom of God, and told them ‘Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift I told you about, the gift my father has promised.
• John baptised with water, but in a few days they will be baptised with the holy spirit'.
• The disciples watched as was Jesus was taken up to heaven and a cloud hid him from their sight.

Pentecost

• 10 days after the Ascension, the disciples gathered to celebrate Pentecost, as Jesus had promised he would send the Holy Spirit during this festival.
• They met in a room in Jerusalem, and the sound of a powerful wind filled the room.
• Tongues of fire appeared to the disciples and rested on their hands, then they began to speak in other languages.
• The Pentecost is often referred to as 'the birthday of the church', as the Apostles formed.

First Christians

• Christian communities, past and present, believe in and follow the teaching of Jesus, believing he's the Son of God.
  • They had faith in Jesus, the Son of God
  • On Sunday, the day of the Resurrection, they met in each others homes and celebrated the breaking of bread, as Jesus had requested
  • They shared everything with each other and helped people in need.
• The first followers believed Jesus was the Messiah and followed Jesus’ commandment to love God and love their neighbour.
• Over time they began to see that their way of life, faith and worship was different than other Jews.
• At this stage they realised they could no longer become known as Jews, and so Christianity began.