christianity Worksheets
Where Christianity Was Born
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 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.
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. The world was literally revolutionized by his teachings. Jesus questioned the religious leaders of that day, telling them that they needed to repent for their self-righteous attitudes and become servants. People began to question their leaders and the whole community was in an uproar.
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 taught his disciples about the will of god and a “new covenant” in which man could be saved without obeying the 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. The disciples became excited and began to teach Jesus' ways to everyone they met.
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' ability to understand and quote the law upset the religious leaders and scholars of the day, along with his knowledge of the prophets. 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. Pilate could not find any fault in Jesus, but the people demanded that he be killed. 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. 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 tour will also take you to the Upper Room, where the Holy Spirit was poured out on the Day of Pentecost. There is no end to the excitement of walking where Jesus walked and imagining all that happened there so many years ago.
EARLY CHRISTIAN CHURCH HISTORY #1: WHO'S WHO IN EARLY PRE-NICENE CHRISTIAN WRITERS
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