Christian Life Education 8

Unit 2: The World of Jesus

Before we get to who Jesus is and what he did in the Gospels, it is important to note that Jesus was a
historical gure. Therefore, he was a!ected and inuenced with the events, people, situation during his
time.

Jesus, who "worked with human hands, thought with a human mind, acted by human choice, and loved
with a human heart" (cf. GS 22), entered into human history and embraced everything about humanity. He
embraced the world and culture of his time. He was subject to the politics, religion and economics during
those days in Palestine. Therefore, his words and deeds `were inuenced highly by the world that he was
in. However, this reality does not diminish the universality of the truths he proclaimed.

GEOGRAPHY DURING JESUS' TIME
# Israel/Palestine is a small land but its location serves gives itself a strategic importance.
# The Holy Land is divided into three sections: (1) the northern area - GALILEE, where Jesus called home
for most of his life, (2) the central portion - SAMARIA, and (2) the southern area - JUDEA, where
Jerusalem, the center of Jewish religious practice was located.
# Galilee was the main arena for Jesus' public ministry. Nazareth, located in Galilee, was said to be his
home. However, no distinguished history can be discovered from this town. Galilee was said to have
inuenced his message because many of his imagery refer to the lush beauty of Galilee: the sower,
lilies of teh eld, etc. The Sea of Galilee also serves as an important area for his ministry (Call of the
Apostles, Walking on Water, etc).
# Jerusalem found in Judea is where Jesus faced his last days. This includes his passion, death and
resurrection. The importance of the city of Jerusalem is that it is the place where the temple is located.

POLITICAL CLIMATE
# During Jesus' entire life, the Romans had control over Judea, which spread towards the entire
Palestine. They included the entire state into their own empire and taken direct political control of it.
# When Jesus was born, Herod the Great was in power. He had the fear of becoming overthrown. He
was responsible for the killing of the innocent children in order to kill the possible king of kings who will
overthrow him. Galilee was split between Herod Antipas and Philip, sons of Herod the Great. Herod
Antipas was known for the king who ordered the execution of John the Baptist. Judea was overseen
directly by the Roman prefect/governor, Pontius Pilate.

BASIC RELIGIOUS BELIEFS AND PRACTICES
# Jesus was said to have basic Jewish upbringing. Jews practice circumcision for their male children,
which Jesus underwent. He was presented in the temple, which was also a religious practice. Temple
worship was central to Jewish faith. In the temple, animal sacrices are often o!ered. Thus, the image
of Lamb of God. Pilgrimages were essential practices of their religion. When Jesus was found in the
temple, the family just undergone a Passover pilgrimage.
# Jesus participated in worship which was done in the synagogue in Nazareth. The Gospels portray
Jesus as reading Scriptures and teaching there.
# The basic feasts are: (1) PASSOVER (2) PENTECOST and (3) TABERNACLES. Sabbath is the Lord's
Day during the week. It's a day of rest and no work.

SOCIAL/POLITICAL GROUPS
# Their Jewish tradition paved the way for di!erent social groups, which exercised several di!erent ways
of being Jew. These groups were governed by three great institutions: the Jerusalem Temple, the land
of Israel and the Law of Moses. The groups are:
# Pharisees - lay movement that sought to extend the temple purity rules to all Jews and emphasized
common meals featuring religious discussion; Scribes were scholars within this group
# Sadducees - more conservative group that by Jesus' time had gained inuence over the temple and its
priesthood; they worked closely with Rome
# Essenes - stressed community life and asceticism; many of their practices included withdrawal to the
desert, doing penance and patiently waiting for the messiah
# Zealots - activist group that engaged in armed resistance against the Roman occupiers and Jewish
collaborators
# Gentiles - label for the non-Jews (Samaritan, etc.)
# Sanhedrin - supreme council made up of 71 Jewish men; led by a high priest. Jesus was tried by the
Sanhedrin led by Caiaphas.
# Other people were grouped/labeled as: end-time visionaries, scribes, chief priests, tax collectors and
"sinners" (Jews who by choice or occupation, such as pig-keeping, did not observe of all of the Jewish
Law)
# It is important to note that Jesus did not fall into a specic group, although at times he is labeled as a
"marginal Jew". The Gospels will tell us that Jesus is a very observant Jew. His contentions were
always associated with traditions attached to the following of the law. It was said that Jesus was
closest to the Pharisees for they were always engaged in discussions and debates about shared
interests like the resurrection, Sabbath observance and the relative importance of ritual purity.
# Another important note is that women did not occupy a signicant role in the lives of the people then.
They were expected to do house work but not expected to be educated. It was a male-dominated
society. So, for Jesus to have dealt with women and to have considered them disciples were unusual
for their society.

ECONOMIC SITUATION
# Jesus worked as a tekton usually translated as "carpenter" but probably meaning something broader
like a construction worker, whose skills included carpentry. Joseph and Jesus may have worked
together in building structures.
# It was seen that the rst disciples of Jesus were shermen - Simon Peter, Andrew, John and James.
Farming was also a source of livelihood, as seen in the Parable of the Sower.
# Great inequality was also present during that time. The people in the upper bracket of society possess
more than 2/3 of the nation's wealth, while the rest are divided among the majority (middle/lower
bracket) of the population.
# Daily language was Aramaic and Hebrew (Scripture). Then, Greek language was also used by the
Romans.

The truths that Jesus proclaimed about God and about the human person are universal. They transcend
time and space. They can be applied anytime and anywhere. Jesus embraced his own culture. He did not
condemn it. He did not propose a new culture. He loved his own society and background. In fact, he
embraced what's good and transformed the limitations.

Some issues then and now do not change. As long as we misuse our God-given freedom, sinful situations
will go on and on regardless of time in history. Characters and technology may change but the issues do
not. As Christians, maybe it is important to stand by and proclaim the truths that Jesus shared, particularly
that of His unwavering love, to be able to transform the issues surrounding our modern-day society and
culture.

By entering into a particular culture at a particular time, Jesus tells us that our own context is very
important in shaping who we are as a person. This world, however, is not a hindrance to following Jesus. In
fact, by putting on Jesus Christ, we will be able to love God and follow His will in our own context. We may
transform our own backgrounds the way Jesus Christ did to his own.

REFERENCES:
# New American Bible
# Harrington, D. (2007). Jesus: A Historical Portrait. Mumbai: St. Paul's.
# Senior, D. (1997). Jesus: A Gospel Portrait. Makati: St. Paul's.
# Versoza-Frago, E. & Dango, J. (2005). Called to meet Christ in Scripture, Church, and Sacraments.
Quezon City: Sibs Publishing House, Inc.