Unveiling Jesus & His Followers in the Roman Empire - Essay Sample

Introduction

This week's reading involved going through Ehrman's: The New Testament: A historical introduction to the early Christian writings which focuses on the trying to place Jesus and His followers in their own context given the fact that they were Jews living in the age of the Roman Empire. Therefore, it is crucial to understand the rough environment the Jews found themselves given the fact that they were unique as compared to other community of this particular age. They also had strong religious beliefs that helped them stand out. Unlike other communities, the Jews believed in the one true God, and they, therefore, worshipped Him based on the covenant they made years ago in the Old Testament - known initially as the law of Moses (Ehrman, 2016).

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Living under this law was a requirement for every Jew, but as expected, after years and years of interacting with other communities, there were different groups of Jews that had various commitments and believes. These individuals included the Sadducees, the Essenes, and the Pharisees. These individuals greatly affected the environment Jesus found himself in both culturally and historically. Nevertheless, Jesus and his followers were part of the first-century Jews and therefore, by studying the New Testament we get to have a sense of the circumstances surrounding first-century Judaism. This happens to be the theme behind this particular reading.

Jesus was a first-century Jew, and therefore, it is essential to follow up on how His deeds affected the Jews that followed to the twenty-first century Christians and Jews. One such event is His death and resurrection. Jews initially disagreed on the Messianic job description (Ehrman, 2016). Therefore, how did the actions of the First-Century Jews, affect Christianity as a whole?

Week Two: The Gospel of Mark

The gospels are often considered to be a summary of the life of Jesus Christ. However, as much as all these gospels have the same massage - that of Jesus Christ - each one is unique in its own way. Mark is one such individual whose recorded accounts about Jesus excluded some common aspects present in other gospels like the birth of Jesus, the Lord's Prayer, feeding five thousand men, as well as key encounters involving Jesus and characters like Zacchaeus. The fact that many and some of the best-known materials about Jesus are missing the Gospel of Mark raises several questions, and there is a need to dig deeper into why this was the case.

Why did Mark decide to leave out these essential aspects of Jesus' life? Why is the Gospel of Mark the shortest of all the Gospels? Mark's Gospel is characterized by ambiguity, failure, suffering, and frailty. Nevertheless, this does not make it any less of the other gospels as still features certainty, success, glory, and power (Powell, 2009). Many scholars over the years have considered Mark's gospel as one of the best given the fact that it's less complex and philosophical when compared to other gospels. It is straight to the point; told in a colorful manner that involves a plot whereby characters interact in both surprising and predictable ways.

The Gospel of Mark is generally no different from the rest with its central theme being that of Jesus Christ. It is also thought to be the first Gospel written. It is unique in its style and perspective. It gives the story of Jesus in an urgency that is not present in other gospels. One area that requires follow up involves understanding why the gospel was cut short.

Week Three: The Gospel of John

John's Gospel according to Carter (2006) is based on the statement made the second-last chapter which indicates that, "These are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name," (John:20:31). This statement forms the basis behind the main reason why the gospel was written. John's Gospel, like the other disciples, was unique in the manner in which the story of Jesus is presented. John's gospel is compared to the Synoptics by Kysar, who identifies their similarities and their differences. As indicated by Kysar (1993), one only needs to read the introductory chapters of Synoptics and the Fourth Gospel and see the unique differences between the two. Other differences continue to stand out as the story of Jesus Christ unfolds.

What does John refer to when he talks about "life"? What makes the Forth Gospel stand out as compared to the rest? In order to understand John's work and identifying the context on which this book is based upon, one needs to understand the genre of this piece of literature. It not only helps the reader understand the piece of literature better, but it also helps minimize the chances of misunderstanding the text. John's book is a gospel which refers to the beliefs and experiences that indicate the existence of God seen through Jesus. The gospel of John is not primarily historical as compared to other forms of literature. John indicates that this book provides a narrative that affirms the belief in the Risen Lord. Therefore, his book's main them is that of Jesus Christ from the perspective of a believer.

Week Four: The Epistles of Paul; 1 & 2 Corinthians

Letters in the New Testament were introduced by Paul, as he wrote various massages to various churches and vice versa in the Greco-Roman World. Letters during this period were considered one of the main ways through which early Christians communicated with each other. It is also important to note that letters existed even before the rise of Christianity. Therefore, Paul found it easier to use this form of an already established form of communication to pass across messages to the various and individual communities that had been established by Paul himself except for Romans.

His letters are occasional in nature (Gamble, 2002). This means that they were written to address specific issues that had developed after he had departed to spread the good news elsewhere. It is not indicated whether the letters managed to achieve their purpose, but their intention and purpose are evident in their message. What, therefore, was the main message in the letters written to the Corinthians?

It was likely that after leaving the Corinthians, the Christian community were faced by various problems, and therefore, these letters were mainly aimed at addressing some of these issues. In his letters, Paul shares his thoughts on the issues that were facing the early church in Corinth, Greece. The letters are also aimed at encouraging the early Christians by reminding them that they were the servant of Christ and the stewards of the mysteries of God. In the same letters, he addresses issues like marriage, celibacy, immorality, idol worship, and the conduct of women. Divisions and quarrels that had characterized the church were also addressed. He also motivates these Christians to seek God and His gifts if they were to stand out from the rest as well as encouraging them to spread the gospel and help the poor.

Week Five: The Pastoral Epistles

The Pastoral Epistles were a section of the epistles that include part of the larger epistles but exceptional because they addressed individuals in the church, specifically those with the pastoral title namely Timothy and Titus. Martin () looks at some of the key details that are highlighted in the Pastoral Epistles. One of the key topics discussed in these letters includes marriage and immorality. According to Paul, he that is called to walk in the pastoral line should not marry as he preferred that all Christians remain celibate. This would help them devote more time to God and His service. Therefore, in the Pastoral Epistles, Paul gives instructions on the organization of the church and its management and therefore, appealing to its leadership.

How was Paul's view of the church different from that of the early church? In the beginning, the church was viewed as a town assembly. However, in his letter, Paul sends a pro-family anti-ascetic message (). In his message, he indicates that men should hold offices, and women had no authority over them. This was very different from how the church is currently viewed.

The main purpose of these letters was instructing pastors on how to offer leadership to the church as well as appointing other men as pastors. At the same time, his message and the main theme behind these letters was that of "the household of God," which was higher than that of men. As such, he encouraged and advocated for purity and abstinence from sexual immorality within the church and its leadership. It is also important to note that his letters came at a time when Greek and Roman cultures advocated for sexual desires that would soon find themselves in the church. This might also be a reason behind Paul's emphasis on the need for purity within the church.

Week Six: The Book of Acts

Perkins (1988) provides one of the most insightful coverages of the Book of Acts and its composition. This book looks at a different perspective in terms of the events that followed after Jesus died and rose from the dead. The book suggests that Jesus appeared to his disciples and taught them during the forty days, just before he ascended to heaven. This was an integral section of the early church as Jesus made Himself present before His disciples to send them into the world to spread the good news. This would also form part of the disciples' preaching. Besides, Jesus also shed more light about the Kingdom of God and His second coming.

Why is the book of Acts so integral to the Christian faith? The book of Acts is an important book in the New Testament as it highlights the lives of the disciples after Jesus had gone back to heaven. This is where we see Him sending His disciples to spread the good news of forgiveness and love while healing and doing various miracles in the name of Jesus. It is in this book that we see various events such as the Pentecost and the first sermon delivered by the disciple Peter. Peter's prophesy would soon take shape as he started the early Christian church upon which other churches would be formed.

It is also important to note that this is the same book that introduces its readers to Saul who would later be converted to Paul and play an important part in the spread of the gospel and the establishment of the early churches. Finally, the book of Acts is also evidence of what believers can do in the name of Jesus. We see the disciples and other followers of Christ-like Paul do various miracles and later on use these events as testimonies.

Week Seven: After the New Testament?

After the New Testament, the church began to take shape which formed the foundation for the current church. According to Martin (2012), the development of the church as an institution is evident in the letters of Ignatius of Antioch. It is through these letters that we are introduced to some of the various church offices that would go on to govern the church. Some of them include bishops, deacons, and presbyters. There is also an emphasis on what form of authority these titles would have even as the church grew bigger. It was evident that the church was becoming big, and therefore, there needed a centralized form of order that would govern all Christians. The Didache, for example, also provided ritual and liturgical instructions for various rites like the Eucharist, the Lord's Prayer, and baptism.

This is an important follow-up section that looks at the transition of the early church into the current institutionalized structure. The New Testament was just the beginning. However, the transition from charismatic to official institutions only took place during the time of Paul and beyond. Some of the core factors that influenced the very early stages of Christian institutionalization can be found in...