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During this time, some Jewish sect copied and
carefully stored the Dead Sea Scrolls during
this time. They would not be discovered until
1947 A.D.
Other non-biblical religious writings during
this time are collectively called the Apocrypha.
The history of the Maccabees are two of the
major books of the Apocrypha. Widely read,
the Apocrypha would have been familiar to
Jesus, perhaps like the Small Catechism and
the history of the Reformation are familiar to
Lutherans. Jews regarded them as good,
helpful literature, but did not put them on a
par with the Scriptures.
Within Judaism . . .
One segment within Judaism arising from the
pressure of hellenization were the Sadducees.
They rejected the traditions held by the more
conservative Pharisees, but they also rejected
what Greek culture rejected – resurrection,
angels, spirits. They held great sway over the
priesthood during Jesus’ time, generally
supplying the High Priest.
A conservative group within Judaism arose as
well – the Pharisees. Probably the most
prominent group; popular with the common
people and generally an alliance of pious
laymen. They strictly followed the law codes,
hoping to restore true religion to the Jewish
nation. Today’s rabbinic Judaism most likely
stems from the Pharisees.
Also mentioned in the NT are the Herodians,
evidently those who favored the house of
Herod. While this is a political name, they also
were definitely Jewish, some as cultural Jews,
some as convinced Jews.
The Zealots were another political party. One
disciple of Jesus, Simon, is identified as a
Zealot. They are a radical, perhaps
paramilitary group. The were Zealous for
Jewish independence and self-rule; as such
they hated and opposed all things Roman,
especially Roman taxes on Jewish property
and people.
The Essenes were an ascetic group
headquartered around the Dead Sea. Like the
hermits and monks who would arise in the
NT age, they shunned involvement in the
world. They have often been associated with
the Dead Sea Scrolls, but this connection is
not certain. The Essenes are not mentioned by
name in the NT.
The proselytes are not a defined group, but a
name for Gentiles who converted to Judaism.
Another development within Judaism was the
local ruling council. In Jerusalem, this was a
group of 70 called the Sanhedrin. Perhaps you
might think of them as the Chamber of
Commerce, but with police powers! They
worked to make sure Judaism was being
practiced properly. Within the Sanhedrin,
there were the strains of conservative / liberal
interpretations of Jewish life. How far their
political power extended is shown at the trial
of Jesus – they brought charges (“Jesus is
ruining Judaism”) but could not execute Him.
How did baptism just appear so readily at the
opening of Jesus’ ministry? While John the
Baptism and Jesus would both name Baptism
for a particular purpose (the forgiveness of
sins), a ritual washing was well established
among the Jews. Stemming from the clean /
unclean distinction found in Moses, the
practice of ritual washing was well defined in
the Rabbinic literature. While Jesus institutes
Baptism for a new and sacred purpose, the
practice itself was similar to something the
Jews already knew.
SPECIAL EDITION –
The Time Between the
Testaments
Malachi put down his stylus in 430 BC, and
the first recorded event of the New Testament
probably occurred about 4 BC. Four silent
centuries lead up to the advent of Jesus.
While there is no Scriptural record, society
was aboil: events as common as today’s
political parties, denominations within
Christianity, overarching cultural changes and
the sweep of technology and trade. By
learning of this time between the Testaments,
we gain insights into the life and work of Jesus
The Diaspora
Diaspora simply means dispersion, and this is
what happened to the Judean people. Part of
this Diaspora was forced upon them – the
Babylonian captivity. However, much of the
Diaspora was due to business and trade. By
the time the NT opens, Jews had communities
all over the Mediterranean world.
In some times, they were involved as
governmental or philosophical leaders.
Wherever they went, they were Jews. Distinct
by diet and dress as well as religion, they
generally were communities to themselves.
Far removed from the Temple, they
developed the synagogue as the center of
religious life wherever they went, even in areas
close to Jerusalem. A synagogue is more
similar to what you would consider a school,
especially a parochial school. The whole
Jewish community revolved around it, and the
OT was taught and preserved here. In
communities all over the world, Jews were
longing for the coming of Messiah.
After Alexander’s death in 323 BC, his empire
was divided between four of his generals. At
first, the land of the Bible was under control
of Ptolemy, who ruled from Egypt. Jewish life
was allowed according to its own laws and
customs, but a terrible change occurred
around 200 BC.
A class of society arose in connection with the
synagogue who had tremendous influence, the
rabbis. A rabbi is simply a teacher, and like
teachers today, they helped shape the attitudes
and ethics of both children and adults.
The new political leaders were the Seleucids
(named after another of Alexander’s generals)
and the practice of Judaism was ridiculed,
opposed, even outlawed. It was illegal to have
a copy of the Hebrew Scriptures or practice
circumcision, for instance.
At the synagogue, the Scriptures were read
and the commentaries of the Rabbinic
literature were developed. At times, this was in
conflict with the work Jesus came to do.
The most horrid of the rulers, Antiochus IV,
put a statue of Zeus in the Temple of the
LORD, sacrificed a pig on the altar and had
Jewish priests involved in pagan sacrifices.
The rise of Greek culture – hellenization
The Maccabees
The Persians (Cyrus, Xerxes, etc.) allowed the
Judeans to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the
Temple. They were tolerant of Jewish faith.
What would you do if Christianity were
outlawed? If churches became pagan altars? If
celebrating Holy Communion and Baptism
were punishable by death? That is the
question facing Jews in 167 BC.
About a century later, the ground moved
underneath the whole Mediterranean world.
From the heritage of
his Greek fathers,
Alexander the Great,
son of Philip of
Macedon, conquered
the world. From
Greece in the west all the way to India,
through conquest, alliance and diplomacy,
Alexander took much more than land. He
installed a culture, the Greek culture, upon his
empire. This is called hellenization.
The Western World conquered the Eastern
World, and the East has not regained
supremacy as of today. Western language,
thought and culture has dominated the world.
A singular priest, Mattathias, led a rebellion
against the Seleucids. Together with his sons,
they founded a Jewish ruling class, the
Hasmoneans, or as they are popularly called,
the Maccabees. Mattathias’ most famous son
was Judas “Maccabaeus” or Judas “the
Hammer.” He earned his nickname, forging a
viable Jewish government based upon a
reestablishment of Jewish piety and culture.
To understand Jesus’ time, and the feverish
search for a political Messiah, one must
understand that the Jews ruled their own land
from 1400 BC until 500 BC, and then again
after the Babylonian Captivity from 167 BC
until 63 BC. They hoped God would send a
“messiah” who would bring back the throne
of David as a political and religious entity. It
was hard to understand that their great King
would conquer the world, not with the sword,
but with His sacrificial death.
The Romans
In 63 BC, the Roman General Pompey
captured Jerusalem. Rome would rule the
world for the next four centuries. Julius Caesar
was assassinated in 44 BC. The Maccabean
dynasty ended altogether in 37 BC when
Herod, a half-Jew, became king.
Herod backed the wrong horse in the struggle
between Octavian and Mark Anthony; but
when Octavian defeated the forces of
Anthony and Cleopatra, Herod presented
himself as one now loyal to Octavian and was
rewarded with absolute rule in Judea. Octavian
was given the title Caesar Augustus.
Other developments
Perhaps nothing is more important during this
time than the change of language throughout
the biblical world. The Hebrews couldn’t or
didn’t speak Hebrew anymore after the
Babylonian captivity. They spoke a similar
language, Aramaic, and were losing their
ability to read the Bible.
The strain was so profound, that Jewish
scholars living in Egypt took it upon
themselves to write a Greek copy of the OT,
the Septuagint. At times, the NT writers seem
to be quoting this document, not the Hebrew
text. It should come as no surprise, any more
than your pastor preaching in English instead
of Greek or Latin! Greek was the universal
language, and the NT would not be written in
a language of the Jews, but the language of the
world.
Galatians 4:4-5
But when the fullness of time
had come, God sent forth His
Son, born of a woman, born
under the law, to redeem those
who were under the law, so that
we might receive adoption as
sons.
While we cannot know all that
was in the counsel of God in
choosing the exact moment when
Christ was born, it was the
“fullness of time.” Your Lord is
not a philosophy or a moral
system. He entered history. You
could touch Him. He could
breath; He could stop breathing.
In that solitary life, in the fullness
of time, God changed history. He
entered the world, and while the
world is in many ways not much
changed, He redeemed the world.
He destroyed death and brought
life and immortality to light. He
saved you from the problems of a
world besotted with sin. He is
your Savior, Christ the Lord.
Other commentators:
"The time between the close of Old Testament
history and the beginning of the New
Testament period has often been called "the
four hundred silent years." To the historian,
however, these centuries were anything but
silent, and they seem to become more vocal
with each passing decade.
To the student of ancient history, names like
Cyrus, Darius, and Alexander the Great make
this period one of paramount importance.
The Jew notes during these centuries the
development of synagogue worship, the
successful Maccabean revolt, and the
emergence of those parties within Judaism
which have set the pattern for Jewish life and
thought during the past two millennia.
The Christian looks upon the Old Testament as
preparatory, looking toward the fulfillment of
its hopes and promises in the Person of Jesus
Christ. He is interested in the history of the
centuries preceding the coming of Christ, for
he sees in them a preparation for the advent,
and a progress toward that period of history
termed "the fullness of time" (Gal. 4:4)."
Charles F. Pfeiffer, "Old Testament History"
5th Printing (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book
House Company 1979) p. 497
Hellenistic Anti-Semitism
"As late as the fifth century B.C.E., Herodotus-that meticulous observer and perambulating
pioneer of history who visited many lands,
including "the Palestine of Syria"--ignored the
Jews in his comprehensive history of the time.
Obviously, their theological claims and their
ethnic exclusivism neither interested nor irked
the syncretic polytheists of antiquity as long as
they were worked out on Palestinian soil. Nor
did they attract much notice during the first
years of the Diaspora. At most, these
introverted communities scattered among the
nations were regarded as mere curiosities.
Herodotus also visited Elephantine, yet he
failed to note in his History that the garrison
there was Jewish. But the Diaspora, quietly
gaining its foothold in the ancient world, was
the stage being prepared for the inevitable
clash between the worshippers of Yahweh and
those of pagan deities.
...After the conquests of Alexander the Great
(356-323 B.C.E.), the Jews ceased to remain
unnoticed. The Macedonian conqueror pupil of
Aristotle and diligent propagator of the
Grecian mode of life, left behind him a world
rapidly becoming Hellenized. Against the first
unification of culture, Jewish communities-now grown in size and influence--emerged in
all their singularity. Unlike the rest of their
Greco-Oriental and, later, Roman neighbors,
Jews did not take their place as average
citizens of the cities and towns. They
continued to acknowledge Jerusalem as the
Holy City to which they sent a didrachma each
year as a personal tax and where stood the
temple of Yahweh, their one true God,
invisible and transcendent, who refused to
assume His place in the Pantheons of the
empire. Looking upon their host countries as
profane soil and their fellow citizens as
children of error and superstition, Jews
grouped themselves in a quarter of their own
city. The "ghetto" was a voluntary reality
hundreds of years before the term was coined
or legislation regarding it enacted. To the
proud heirs of Pericles, Aristotle and Homer,
this aloofness was an insufferable arrogance.
Convinced that all that was not Greek was
barbarian, they resented rival claims to
superiority or privilege on the part of the
people they considered politically and
culturally undistinguished. A collision between
these two proud and dissimilar mentalities
could only be a matter of time."
Edward H. Flannery "The Anguish of the
Jews" Revised and Updated (New Jersey:
Paulist Press., INC, 1985) pp. 8, 10-11
God's Placement of Palestine
"By how could such a people be better framed
than by selection out of that race of mankind
which have been most distinguished for their
religious temperament, and by settlement on a
land both near to, and aloof from, the main
streams of human life, where they could be at
once spectators of history and yet not its
victims, where they could enjoy personal
communion with God and yet have some idea
also of His providence of the whole world;
where they could gather up the experience of
the ancient world, and break with this into the
modern?
There is no land which is at once so much a
sanctuary and an observatory as Palestine: no
land which, till its office was fulfilled, was so
swept by the Great forces of history; and was
yet so capable of preserving one tribe in
national continuity and growth: one tribe
learning and suffering and rising superior to
the successive problems as these forces
presented to her, till upon the opportunity
afforded by the last of them she launched with
her results upon the world. It is the privilege of
the students of the historical geography of
Palestine to follow all this process of
development in detail."
Sir G. A. Smith, "The Historical Geography of
the Holy Land" 25th Ed. pp. 109, 110
The Synagogue
"Jewish writers claim for the synagogue a very
remote antiquity, but its origin probably dates
during the captivity. There were no fixed
proportions in the building, as there were in the
tabernacle and in the temple. When a
synagogue was to be built the highest ground
that could be found in the vicinity was selected
for the site, and, if possible, the top was
erected above the roofs of surrounding
buildings. Where this could not be done a tall
pole was placed on the summit in order to
make the building conspicuous.
synagogues were often built without roofs.
They were also so constructed that the
worshipers, as they entered and prayed, faced
Jerusalem. At the Jerusalem was the chest or
ark which contained the book of the law.
Toward the middle of the building was a raised
platform, and in the center of the platform was
a pulpit. A low partition five or six feet high
divided the men from the women.
The leading object of the synagogue was not
worship, but instruction. The temple was "the
house of prayer," the synagogue was never
called by that name. Reading and expounding
the law was the great business of the
synagogue: and, though a liturgical service was
connected with these, it was subordinate to
them.
The priests had no official standing or
privileges in the synagogue, though they were
always honored when present. They were the
hereditary officials of the temple, but the
officers of the synagogue were elected either
by the congregation or by the council.
The leader of the congregation might ask any
suitable person to address the assembly.
Persons who were known as learned men, or as
the expounders of religious faith, were allowed
to speak. Hence in the text and in the parallel
passages we find Christ publicly speaking in
the synagogue, also the apostles on their
missionary journey addressed the people in
these places of public gathering."
James M. Freeman, "Manners and Customs of
the Bible" Reprint (Plainfield, NJ: Logos
International, 1972) pp. 334-335.