Download A. Reasons for the Persecutions_1. The Sanhedrin

Unit II—The Age of Martyrs (AD 100-313)
A martyr is someone who gives up his or her life for the Christian faith.
“Martyr” comes from the Greek word for “witness” i.e., those who died for the faith
were the ultimate witnesses to the mission Christ left.
o In the early Church, those who persecuted and killed Christians were the Sanhedrin and
the Roman Empire. Why?
A. Reasons for the Persecutions of the Early Christians
1. By the Sanhedrin
a) Law of Moses—the foundation of Jewish thought
 Christ and his Apostles claimed that Jesus fulfilled the Law of Moses (Mt. 5: 17).
 The Sanhedrin thought that Jesus blatantly broke the Law of Moses:
i) Healing on the Sabbath (Lk. 14: 1-6)
* Jews weren’t allowed to work on the Sabbath.
* Jesus cured on the Sabbath, so the Sanhedrin thought he was breaking Mosaic Law.
ii) Claiming to be God (Jn. 8: 58).
* “I am” is a title reserved for God alone.
* Jesus freely used this title when referring to himself.
iii) Emulation by the Apostles and disciples
* The Sanhedrin also thought that Jesus’ Apostles were doing the same thing.
* E.g., Stephen vs. the Sanhedrin (Acts 6: 13-15).
b) The Situation with the Romans
 The Jews did benefit from the privilege that Julius Caesar gave them in 48 BC.
 But there were still pockets of resistance and violent anti-Roman sentiment.
- The Zealots wanted to overthrow Rome.
- The Romans were getting irritated with this constant anti-Roman sentiment.
- The Sanhedrin were desperate to maintain the balance through Caesar’s privilege.
 The Sanhedrin felt that Jesus and his followers would upset this delicate political
situation.
 I.e., Jesus’ claims to be the prophesied Messiah would incite the Zealots to revolt
against Rome.
 So, the Sanhedrin thought that Jesus and later his Apostles had to be stopped…by force
if necessary.
 [It didn’t matter; in AD 66, the Zealots were in full revolt, and by AD 70, Jerusalem was
sacked and the Temple destroyed.]
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Assignment
1. Using biblical citations and quotations, explain why the Sanhedrin felt it necessary to
persecute the Christians.
2. Was the Sanhedrin motivated mostly by religious reasons, political reasons, or personal
reasons? Explain.