christianity Eastern Roots
Israel - Origin Of Christianity
Christianity is one of the major religions in the world today. It’s very interesting to learn the history of how Christianity began. It all started about 2,000 years ago in the country of Judea, which is the present-day Israel. Israel had become a melting pot of various cultures, with many cities and farms. The Romans had control over Israel at this time and the Jews resented them. The Jews refused to the pagan ways of the roman people. The one hope that the Jews had was that their Messiah would come and deliver them from Roman rule.
It was during this tempestuous time that Jesus of Nazareth was born. He was a well-taught Jew who observed the Jewish faith. He was also well versed in Jewish law. When Jesus was in his early thirties, he began going to various villages, teaching and healing people along the way. His teaching began to revolutionize the world. Jesus questioned the religious leaders of that day, telling them that they needed to repent for their self-righteous attitudes and become servants. The whole community was in an uproar and people began to question the religious leaders.
Soon after Jesus began his ministry, a group of men began to follow him and recognized him as a teacher of the law. These men became known as the twelve disciples. Jesus spoke of a 'new covenant' to his disciples, teaching that it was no longer necessary to obey all of the levitical laws of the Old Testament. Jesus spoke of a loving, faithful god who was going to extend grace to people who serve him.
The new covenant that Jesus spoke of was a result of Jesus himself dying on a Roman cross, judged unjustly, for the sins of all humanity. Three days later, he promised to rise again to become their promised Messiah. This was exciting to the disciples and they began to tell everyone about this new way of hope and forgiveness of sins.
To make things even more interesting, the life of Jesus fulfilled many of the prophecies of the Old Testament regarding the coming of their Messiah. Jesus himself spoke of the words of the prophets and his uncanny ability to quote and understand the law was most unsettling to the religious scholars and leaders of the day. They decided that the only way that Jesus could be silenced was for him to be put to death.
Jesus was betrayed by one of his own disciples, Judas Iscariot, and was taken to be judged by Pilate, the Roman ruler. The people demanded that he be killed, even though Pilate could not find any reason to judge him. In fact, they requested that a thief and murderer, Barabbas, be released instead. Pilate ultimately decided to allow Jesus to be crucified, consenting to the demands of the Jewish people.
Three days after Jesus was crucified, some of his friends came to place spices on his body. To their amazement, he was gone. Of course, when the disciples heard, they immediately remembered that Jesus had promised to rise from the dead. Although the religious leaders did their best to stop the gossip, word quickly spread that Jesus did indeed rise from the dead.
Shortly thereafter, Jesus appeared to his disciples and gave them instructions. Jesus told them that they would receive the gift of the Holy spirit in Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost. He also told them about the power they would have after this event. They left, excited and ready to build churches for the kingdom of God.
If you visit Israel on one of the many Holyland tours, you will be privileged to see where many of these events took place. You will have the privilege to see where Jesus was born, lived, taught in the temple and was crucified. An Israel trip will also take you to the Upper Room, where the Holy Spirit was poured out on the Day of Pentecost. Walking where Jesus walked and imagining all that happened there so many years ago is truly the dream of a lifetime.
Near Eastern Roots: Ancient Syrian ZUKRU Festival
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