2 the World of Jesus

8/4/2019 2 the World of Jesus

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Prepared by:Richard G. PazcoguinUST Institute of Religion



JESUS OF NAZARETH

Nazareth was a small town in

Galilee. It was relatively poor andoverpopulated but not destitute.

The inhabitants of Nazareth had abad reputation, perhaps it wasbecause the people of Galilee were a

rude and less cultivated class.

Jesus’ parents lived in Nazareth. In

was in Nazareth that the Lord spenthis growing-up years. This surelywas a setback for Jesus in hispublic ministry.

Even in his hometown, Jesus wasrejected so after being expelledtwice, it is believed that the Lord

took residence in Capernaum.

NAZARETH

CAPERNAUM

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Jesus was a Palestinian Jew. He must

have been familiar with his country’slong history of oppression andconquest.

When Jesus was born, Palestine wasunder the Romans.

The Romans allowed power-sharing.They appointed native kings to governthe people in the name of Rome. Thesenative kings were half-Jew Idumaeans:

the Herods.

Despite this system implemented by theRoman Empire, the Jews wantednothing less than freedom.



Hebrew was the classical language of the Jews,but in the time of Christ, very fer spoke orunderstood Hebrew. This was perhaps a resultof Hellenization, when Greek was spokenuniversally. Greek and Roman names werecommon among the Jews.

The Jews during the time of our Lord spokeAramaic. This was the language that the Lordhimself spoke. The merchants who dealt withGentiles would have spoken Greek, and the

Roman soldiers in Palestine spoke Latin.The Jews were either farmers or herdsmen. InGalilee, the city of our Lord, the major industrywas fishing since it was a coastal region. Fiveof our Lord’s disciples were from Galilee. Four

of them were certainly fishermen.

THE SEA OF GALILEE

THE LORD’S PRAYER IN ARAMAIC



There was a double taxationsystem in Palestine. The Jewshad to pay taxes to Rome.They also had to pay theirtemple dues.

Jerusalem was the center of the

Jewish world for it is where thetemple stands. A male Jew issupposed to make a pilgrimage toJerusalem for three major feasts:Passover, Pentecost, and theFeast of Tabernacles.

The Bible rarely speaks of Jesusbeing in Jerusalem. This isbecause Galilee is at the farnorth and journeying to

Jerusalem would take days.

ROMAN MONEY JEWISH MONEY



Education was a priority for the Jews.Jesus would have learned the Torah and other scriptures from the local

synagogue.

A synagogue is like a chapel wherereligious services are conducted.

The Rabbi (teacher) was considered

the best-educated man in thecommunity. He conducted classes inthe synagogue school, during whichhe taught young boys how tomemorize the Torah.

Each Jewish village is governed by acouncil of elders elected in eachsynagogue. Aside from presiding overreligious services, the council of eldersalso serves as a local court.

A JEWISH RABBI

RUINS OF AN ANCIENT SYNAGOGUE

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Families were usually large. TheJews believed that those who were

childless were cursed. Generally,boys were preferred over girls sinceboys were the ones who carried-overtheir family traditions.

Women were considered inferior to men. This was a

characteristic of many ancient civilizations.Although compared to other countries, Jews hadmore respect for women.

A woman’s job is to do household chores. Women

were rarely taught to read or write, nor did theyhave a part in synagogue service except as mereaudience seated behind a screen or at the balcony.

Women were not expected to obey the Torah to theletter since in the opinion of men, women were toweak to follow the law.



THE PHARISEES

Their name literally means “separated

ones”. They were strict observers ofthe Torah, though they accepted oraltradition as well which they recordedeventually in the Talmud. They wereresented by some people because theyseemed to impose unreasonablestandards of holiness. Many of themwere laymen scribes (men trained in

the Torah). Though the Gospelpresents a negative image of thePharisees, many of them were deeplyspiritual people.



THE SADDUCEES

They got their name from Sadok, a highpriest during Solomon’s time. Many of

them were priests, and they were thedominant party of the high Jewish courtknown as the Sanhedrin. The Sadducees

believed that revelation was containedonly in the Torah, and consequentlyrejected oral tradition. They refused tobelieve in the resurrection of the dead,neither did they believe in angels.

Generally, they were much strict than thePharisees in observing the law. But unlikethe Pharisees who did not believe incompromise with the Romans, theSadducees taught that it was a good thingto cooperate with Rome.



THE ESSENES

The Essenes were a monasticcommunity whose way of preservingtheir Jewish identity was by withdrawalfrom mainstream Jewish society. Theypracticed asceticism. It is said that

they practiced celibacy and commonownership. They observed the Torah ina very strict manner, but theydistanced themselves from the Templeand from the official priesthood. They

refused to recognize the government-appointed priests.The Essenes expected two messiahs: aking and a priest.

QUMRAN



THE ZEALOTS

The Zealots were men who believedthat the only way to liberate Palestineof Roman oppression is through aviolent revolution. Some thought ofthem as freedom-fighters. Some

thought of them as terrorists.

The Zealots were more of a politicalgroup than a religious one. Perhaps,they were considered a religiousgroup for they also awaited thecoming of a messiah: a militaryleader who would lead a revolutionthat will over-throw the Romangovernment.

SIMON THE ZEALOT

DISCIPLE OF OUR LORD





THE WORLD OF JESUS’ TIME: Life in Galilee

http://dlibrary.acu.edu.au

James Finley and Michael PennockJESUS AND YOU: Discovering the Real Christ

Ind: Ave Maria Press, 1977

http://dlibrary.acu.edu.au/

http://dlibrary.acu.edu.au/

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2 the World of Jesus