Prelude to the New Testament

The Old Testament ends with a number of prophetic passages, probably written around 400 BCE. More than four centuries later, Jesus begins his ministry in Galilee and we have the writings of the New Testament. It might be good to review the history that leads up to the New Testament.

The Old Testament records God calling Abraham out of the area of modern Iraq to Canaan, the site of modern Israel, around 2000 BCE.  The children of Abraham's grandson, Jacob, eventually settle in Egypt, where they become a large tribe which eventually leaves Egypt about 1500 BCE under the leadership of Moses.  This tribe, the people of Israel, settles the land of Canaan where, around 1000 BCE, they are a nation ruled by a king, David.  The nation of Israel reaches its greatest strength during the reign of David's son, Solomon, but splits into two kingdoms, the northern ten tribes ("Israel") and the southern two tribes ("Judah") at Solomon's death.

Much of the Old Testament history then chronicles the ups and downs of these two countries, as they are repeatedly urged to return to God and Mosaic law.  Eventually the two kingdoms are invaded by the Babylonian empire with Judah becoming a Babylonian vassal around 605 BCE.  Shortly after this, the inhabitants of Judah (such as the young man, Daniel) are deported to Babylon.  The Jews living in Babylon were allowed to return to their original land then around 538 BCE, an event covered by the books of Ezra and Nehemiah.  Shortly after that time, the Old Testament prophets go silent.  But we know from other sources that Alexander the Great conquered the region around 332 BCE, as he expanded his empire east and that the region was ruled by the Ptolemaic dynasty from 301 BCE to 198 BCE and then by a number of Jewish priest-kings after the Maccabean revolt in 167 BCE. In 63 BCE the Roman ruler Pompey conquered Jerusalem and after that time, the Romans ruled Judea, delegating their authority a series of Jewish kings given the name Herod, beginning with Herod the Great, the founder of the Herodian dynasty. It is within this dynasty that Jesus is born.  The nation of Israel was officially ruled by Herod the Great, but ultimately Herod answered to Caesar Augustus in Rome.

This Wikipedia page has more details on the history of Israel.

The New Testament opens with four accounts of the ministry of Jesus. The “synoptic gospels”, Mathew, Mark and Luke have much in common (thus the term "synoptic" or "similar") and presumably reflect the early accounts of Peter and others on the ministry of Jesus.  These three gospels often tell of the same episodes, with slightly different points of view.  Matthew, a Jew, emphasizes that Jesus is the Jewish Messiah.  Mark, while reporting Jesus as the Messiah (in Greek Christos) also portrays Jesus as a man of action, engaged in reformation of Israel.  Mark's gospel is a sequence of short vivid accounts of Jesus's acts and words and is most likely the life of Jesus as reported by Peter during Peter's later ministry.  Luke, a Gentile convert, emphasizes the role of Jesus as a universal savior, savior not just of the Jews but of all mankind.

The Gospel of John is apparently the report of the young disciple John. John was probably a teenager during the ministry of Jesus and, written after the other gospels, this account fills in details missed by the earlier ones.  It also adds a philosophical view, from the vantage point of sixty years after the events.  John describes Jesus as not just the Jewish Messiah but the (Greek) Logos, the Creator of the universe appearing in the flesh, living among mankind.

We will continue in the Gospel of Mark tomorrow.