christianity facts and figures
Israel - Origin Of Christianity
One of the major religions of the world today is Christianity. The history of Christianity, however, and how it all began is most interesting. Present day Israel was once called Judea and Christianity began there about 2,000 years ago. 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 Romans were a pagan people and the Jews refused to conform. The one hope that the Jews had was that their Messiah would come and deliver them from roman rule.
Jesus of Nazareth was born during this tempestuous time of Jewish history. He was a Jew and observed all areas of 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.
Not long after Jesus began teaching, there were some men who believed and followed him everywhere he went. 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. He taught them about a loving, faithful god who wanted to have a relationship of grace with his people.
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. He promised to rise again three days after being crucified, proving that he ws 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.
Judas Iscariot, one of Jesus' own disciples, betrayed him and Jesus was then taken before the Roman ruler, Pilate. The people demanded that he be killed, even though Pilate could not find any reason to judge him. They were so angry that they demanded that Barabbas, a thief and murderer, be released instead. Pilate finally gave in to the request of the people and allowed Jesus to be crucified.
On the third day after Jesus’ crucifixion, some ladies came to place spices on the body of Jesus. To their amazement, he was gone. When Jesus' disciples heard that his body was missing, they remembered his promise to rise from the dead on the third day. Word of Jesus coming back to life again spread quickly through the community, much to the frustration of the religious leaders.
Soon after this, Jesus visited his disciples and told them what they needed to do. Jesus told them that they would receive the gift of the Holy spirit in Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost. He taught them about the supernatural power that 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 Holy Land 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 tour 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.
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