1. The Historical and Cultural
Context of the Time of Jesus
Christianity

2. Jewish People
• Culture was religious
• Life centred around the covenant with G_d
• The Ten Commandments were the
conditions of the covenant
• Covenant was sealed by sacrificing an
animal
• Ten Commandments kept in an ark (box)
• The Ark of the Covenant was housed in a
tent while the Israelites travelled through
the desert

3. Jewish People
• The tent was called the Tent of Meeting
• The Ten Commandments with the first five
books became known as The Torah or The
Law
• The first five books are also known as the
Pentateuch
• The Torah is the Jewish people’s way of
life from the days in the desert on the way
to Canaan up to today
• Obeying the commandments showed the
Jewish people’s love for G_d

4. Jerusalem
• Made the capital city of Israel by King David
• Home of the Ark of the Covenant
• Solomon had the Temple of Jerusalem
constructed to house the ark
• The Temple was destroyed by the Babylonians in
586 BCE
• The people lost the centre of their faith with the
destruction of the Temple
• The Temple was rebuilt by King Herod, the
Roman ruler of Jerusalem in 20 BCE – it was still
being rebuilt during Jesus’ day

5. Temple
• Regarded as the house of G_d
• Priests were in charge – the High Priest
was the most important figure
• Men and boys would sit on benches in the
centre of the hall
• Women and girls would sit behind a screen
in a gallery on either side and at the rear
• No sacrifice was carried out in Temple
services

6. Synagogues
• Most families could only afford to journey to
Jerusalem once a year
• Synagogues were constructed in every Jewish
town
• Synagogues were meeting houses for prayer and
study of the Torah
• People went to the synagogue for Shabbat
• Laity were in charge of proceedings
• Same seating arrangements used as in the Temple
• Focal point was the Ark of Law – an opening
where the long scrolls of parchment were housed

7. Shabbat
• Commemorates seventh day of creation
• Begins at sunset on Friday until sunset on
Saturday
• A synagogue attendant blows the shofar
(ram’s horn) to signify the start of Shabbat
• In the synagogue, the Law was read and
explained, books of the prophets read,
prayers said, hymns and psalms sung
• Shabbat began with the lighting of the
menorah (seven branched candlestick)

8. Shabbat
• Two blessings
• Reading of the Tenach from scrolls taken
from the Ark in Hebrew – usually
translated into the local language for the
ordinary townsfolk (Aramaic was the local
language of Jesus’ town)
• Prayer, Eighteen Benedictions, read by one
of the older men
• Reading from the prophets
• Final blessing

9. Sacrifice
• Central act of worship in the Temple (but not
conducted during Temple service)
• Expressed feelings for G_d
Types of sacrifice
• Holocaust – animal completely burnt and offered
to G_d
• Communion – part of animal burnt and the rest
eaten by those who offered it
• Expiation – animal sacrificed to atone for
sinfulness and express regret for past sins

10. Sacrifice
• Cereal offerings – food burnt
• Incense offerings – sweet smelling substance
offered to G_d
• Daily routine – 2 lambs offered as holocausts (one
in the morning and one in the evening), cereal
offering, pouring of wine and incense offering
• Shabbat – 2 lambs in the morning and 2 lambs in
the evening
• First day of each month – 2 bulls, a ram, 7 lambs,
a goat offered for sins plus other offerings and
pouring of wine

11. Prayer
• Jewish people faced toward the Temple
(synagogues built facing the Temple) when
praying
• Pious adherents prayed three times a day
(dawn, noon and evening)
• Wore a tallit (prayer shawl)
• The Shema, a prayer, said everyday
(mentioned the commandments to love G_d
and love neighbour)

12. Feasts
• Shabbat – recall that G_d made a covenant with
His people
• Pesach – commemorate the Exodus
• Shavuoth – recall the covenant sworn with G_d at
Mt Sinai
• Feast of Weeks – originally celebrated the
harvest, but also celebrated the covenant with
G_d
• Feast of Tabernacles – commemorated the
journey through the desert during the Exodus
• Yom Kippur – Day of Atonement

13. Sickness and Death
Sickness
• Illness was seen as punishment for a
person’s sins or their father’s sins
• People with serious illnesses were regarded
as possessed and were considered as
outcasts
Death
• When a person died, they went to Sheol
• Changed to acknowledge that the just
Israelite would be resurrected to a new life
by G_d

14. Messiah
• Means the anointed one
• Hebrews were waiting for a messiah to save them
and set up G_d’ Kingdom on Earth
Different images of messiahs
• Messiah King
• Suffering Messiah
• Messiah Priest
• ‘More than ordinary’ King
• Warrior King
• Wonder worker

15. Messiah
• Many ‘messiahs’ appeared after the return
from Babylon in 537 BCE as the Israelites
longed for the re-establishment of the
Kingdom of David
• An increase in ‘messiahs’ after Pompey
conquered Palestine in 63 BCE
• There were at least 25 individuals claiming
to be the messiah at the time of Jesus
• Some people claimed that Bar Kokbha was
the messiah as he led a revolt against the
Romans (he was executed in 135 CE)

16. Cultural
• Diet – olives, wheat, barley, sycamore figs and
dates
• Population – approximately 100 000 in Jerusalem
• Irrigation – water supplied by aqueducts
• Language – Greek and Aramaic were popular;
some Jews still used Hebrew; Latin was
introduced by the Romans
• Clothes – tunics, usually white, and cloaks;
women wore veils; leather sandals
• Money – Greek drachma, leption and talent;
Roman denarius; Jewish perutah

17. Roman Rule
• Pax Augusta – enforced peace administered by
the Romans over the Empire
• Provinces administered by governors representing
the Roman Emperor and Senate
• Procurator lived in Caesarea on the coast, but
stayed in Jerusalem for major events
• Jews exempted from court summons on Shabbat
• Two levels of taxation – local taxes collected by
local officials and public taxes for the Romans
• Emperor Augustus Caesar ordered a census about
8 or 6 BCE

18. Roman Rule
• Jews did not generally cause trouble
although some groups organised attacks
• Romans were fairly lenient – allowed the
Jews to worship G_d, stayed clear of the
Temple, allowed most Jewish religious
laws
• Crucifixion was used to administer the
death penalty
• A person could be declared divine
anywhere in the Roman Empire except
Israel

19. Society
Sadducees (Priestly class)
• Concerned with politics
• Outspoken supporters of the Roman
administration
• Had power in Roman court
• Regarded themselves above other Jews
• Political enemies of Pharisees
• Did not believe in the idea of resurrection

20. Society
Scribes
• Scholars and intellectuals whose specialty was the
Torah
• Second in prestige, but first in influence
• Teachers and interpreters
• Preserved the traditions in writing before the
Babylonian Captivity (587 BCE)
• Added the 613 commandments
• Transcribed, interpreted and edited the traditions
• Recite passages from memory

21. Society
Pharisees
• Opposed Roman presence in Israel
• Insisted the Torah be interpreted literally
• Allied with the scribes (many scribes were
Pharisees)
• Imposed more laws, rituals and
observances as a protection against
breaking the Torah
• Believed in resurrection

22. Society
Sanhedrin
• Council of 71 members
• Elders, Priests and Scribes
• High Priest was the President
• Sadducees very influential
Zealots
• Wanted Israel for Jewish people
• Began in 6 CE when a group led by Judas,
a Galilean, revolted against the Roman
legate, Quirinius

23. Society
Essenes
• Helped Jews overcome Greek rule
• Lived in the desert
Samaritans
• Mutual hatred between Jews and Samaritans
• Built a temple on Mt Gerizim to rival Jerusalem
(Jews destroyed it in 128 BCE)
• Desecrated the Jerusalem Temple before Pesach
in 6 BCE
• Ambushed Jews who travelled to Jerusalem for
special feasts