Written by Tyler S. Fulcher | New Testament
To understand the New Testament, we need to familiarize ourselves with the historical and cultural context of the New Testament era.
Answering questions like these will help us appreciate the depth of the New Testament. We’ll find ourselves better prepared to understand historical references, presuppositions of the biblical authors, and antiquated customs described in the text.
Whereas the historical context of the Old Testament spans millennia, the New Testament era fits within roughly a century. However, we cannot fully understand the world of the New Testament without understanding key events that occurred in the centuries leading up to Jesus' Incarnation and the birth of Christianity.
Here are 5 key events we should keep in mind.
It’s nearly impossible to underestimate how significant the Babylonian exile was in the history of the Jewish people. We can and should read much of the Old Testament as an attempt to grapple with the meaning of this tragic event.
Decades after the Babylonians sacked Jerusalem, destroyed the temple, and exiled many of its inhabitants (ca. 587 BC), the Persians conquered the Babylonians. In the wake of his victory, King Cyrus of Persia allowed conquered people, including the Jews, to return to their own countries and rebuild their temples and ways of life.
As reported in the Books of Ezra and Nehemiah, not all of the Jews returned from the exile. Many had built nice lives for themselves and so remained outside of the land. Those who returned struggled but eventually rebuilt the temple.
While the scourge of exile lay in the past, its effects remained for the people. The Second Temple was inferior to the one Solomon built centuries earlier. Additionally, the land had become a province of the Persian empire called Yehud. Although the people were allowed back into their homeland, they did not govern themselves. Many longed for and expected a day when Yahweh would intervene on their behalf and restore them to their former glory and beyond.
The Jewish people continued to live as a province of the Persian Empire for about two hundred years (ca 538-333 BC). The status quo changed when Alexander the Great defeated the Persians along with much of the known world in 333 BC.
With Alexander the Great came the spread of Greek thought and culture, a process called Hellenization. Jewish people responded to the spread of Greek thought and culture in different ways. Some embraced it, others rejected it, and still others accommodated it to a degree. (For a fuller discussion of this issue, see this post.)
When Alexander the Great died, approximately ten years after conquering the world, he divided his kingdom among his generals. The land of Israel, as had happened throughout the centuries, became a point of dispute between the Ptolemaic and Seleucid kingdoms. (For an explanation of why this strip of land matters so much, see this post.)
Whether the Ptolemies or Seleucids controlled the land of Israel, the influence of Greek thought and culture continued to spread. This development made several impacts on the Jews in the New Testament era.
First, Jewish people spread outside of the land of Israel. As previously mentioned, many Jewish people remained in Babylon when they had the opportunity to return to the land. The people continued to spread around the Mediterranean. Demographic research of this era suggests that as many as three times the number of Jews lived outside the land of Israel as those living inside of it (Wright and Bird, 89).
Second, Greek became the common language of the world. Just as you need to speak English today to operate in international business, people needed to speak Greek to operate internationally in the first century. As a result of centuries of foreign influence under Babylonians, Persians, and Greeks, many Jews actually lost the ability to speak and read Hebrew. Aramaic and Greek became the more common languages. This linguistic transition necessitated the translation of the Jewish Bible (aka the Old Testament) from Hebrew to Greek. The Greek translation became known as the Septuagint (aka LXX).
Third, the influence of Greek thought and culture became a point of tension in the land of Israel. While the Seleucids controlled Israel, a ruler by the name of Antiochus Epiphanes IV tried to force all of the Jewish people to assimilate into Greek culture. He did so by seizing the temple, desecrating it, and transforming it into a place where the people could worship him.
Antiochus Epiphanes IV badly miscalculated how the Jews would respond to his treatment of the temple. Instead of submitting to his will, the Jews revolted. In their desire to remain faithful to God, many Jews living in Jerusalem refused to accept the situation.
Led by a man named Judas Maccabaeus, the Jews engaged in warfare against the Seleucid empire. Miraculously, they eventually defeated the Seleucids, who retreated from the region. In the wake of this unexpected victory, Judas Maccabaeus and his people cleansed the temple, and they established Hanukkah as a festival in remembrance of this great event.
When the Seleucid empire weakened, the Jews seized the opportunity and gained complete autonomy for the first time in nearly five hundred years. The family of Judas Maccabaeus ruled the land of Israel for almost a century. They became known as the Hasmonean dynasty.
Unfortunately, what began as a zealous movement was plagued by serious theological questions. The Hasmonean rulers combined the office of king and priest. Many Jews correctly objected that this development was inconsistent with the Mosaic law. The polarizing leadership of the Hasmoneans led to a fractured Jewish community in the first century. Some people felt the Hasmoneans were too compromised to lead God’s people faithfully.
The Hasmonean dynasty eventually sputtered out. While two of its members were engaged in a civil war, the Roman emperor Pompeii conquered the region and entered Jerusalem with little resistance. As previous conquerors had done, Pompeii desecrated the temple. Most shockingly, he entered the Holy of Holies and left unharmed.
Rather than install a new leader, the Roman Empire used the Hasmonean rulers as its proxies. The once heroic Hasmoneans became puppet kings for the Roman Empire. Instead of zealously contending for the Jewish faith, they compromised it for the opportunity to retain their power offered.
Eventually, the Hasmonean dynasty gave way to Herod the Great, who appealed to Rome after he found himself exiled to the city in the wake of internal struggles in Jerusalem. The Romans declared Herod the Great to be the King of the Jews, a decree that provides interesting background information for Jesus’s crucifixion.
Herod led a massive building campaign that renovated and expanded the Temple grounds. Many of the Jews were extremely proud and grateful for this aspect of Herod’s leadership. However, he also built new cities, fortresses, and temples to Roman deities that demonstrated his loyalty to Rome. Combined with his mixed ethnic heritage (i.e., he was only half Jewish), Herod had a tumultuous relationship with his people.
After his death, Herod divided his kingdom among his sons, but the Romans eventually deemed it necessary to establish a governor over the region. Pontius Pilate, one such governor, plays a prominent role in the Gospels.
After decades of struggle with the Jewish population, especially in Jerusalem, the Romans sacked the city and burned the temple in 70 AD. This tragic event brought the end of the Second Temple period, which started with the rebuilding of the Temple under Ezra and Nehemiah.
The events that led to the destruction of Jerusalem are complicated and involve Roman politics as well as internal conflict within the leadership of Jerusalem.
Roman leadership over the region for the previous century was marked by frequent brutality and violation of the Jews’ religious practices. For example, the Romans required conquered populations to offer sacrifices and erect statues in worship of the emperor. The Jews flatly refused to worship the Roman ruler.
In the wake of their staunch resistance, the Romans compromised with the Jews allowing them to offer sacrifices to God in honor of the emperor (essentially committing to pray for him).
During a period of volatile transitions in Rome, Jerusalem likewise faced internal conflict. Different factions within the city fought against Rome and each other. Eventually, Roman forces moved into the city and destroyed the opposition.
After Rome sacked Jerusalem and destroyed the temple, the Jewish community had to reimagine what it meant to serve the Lord without access to the temple.
Some opted to focus on the Torah and synagogue as the central emphases of Jewish religion. Others continued to believe that revolution was necessary. The revolutionaries made one last valiant attempt around 130 AD. They fought Emperor Hadrian’s army heroically before succumbing to the superior force. As a result, Hadrian enslaved those who survived and turned Jerusalem into a completely pagan city. The Jewish community never had power over the region again until the conclusion of World War II.
The Christian movement began as a sect of Judaism. Jesus was a Jew, the disciples were Jews, and the vast majority of the first Christians were all Jewish.
It should go without saying that we need to understand Judaism in the first century to understand the New Testament.
In the centuries following the Babylonian conquest of Judah in 586, the demographics of the land of Israel changed dramatically. Foreign empires, such as the Babylonians, Persians, and Greeks, often relocated conquered peoples within their territories. Dispersing the people limited the possibility of a unified revolt. As a result, the population living in the land of Israel became more diverse. The land of Israel had far more Gentiles living in it during the first century than there had been during much of the Old Testament era.
The region remained critical because of its geographical location. See this post for a deeper look at the geography of ancient Israel.
As a result of its demographic diversity, the population living in Israel during this time was multilingual. Following the exile, Aramaic became the dominant language of the Jewish people. While some still spoke Hebrew, it was often reserved for the Scriptures and religious services. In the wake of Alexander the Great’s conquest of the world, Greek became the common language. If you wanted to do business or trade, you needed to speak Greek.
Several sects of Judaism developed in response to the political pressures of the centuries leading up to the New Testament era.
Revolutionary movements developed out of economic hardship and theological commitments. Some resorted to violence and thievery because they could not provide for themselves or their families. Others viewed violence as a necessary means to overthrow the Roman occupation and reestablish the land for God’s people. Uprisings were often instigated by perceived violations of the temple and other Jewish practices.
In the years around Jesus’s birth, several revolutionary movements caused significant disturbances in the region, and they were violently dismantled by Herod the Great and his son Archelaus. On several occasions, revolutionary movements were led by would-be Messiah figures. In some sense, the revolutionary movement culminated around 70 AD when Rome sacked Jerusalem and destroyed the temple.
Pharisees are commonly depicted as Jesus’s archenemy in the Gospels. Many use the word Pharisee as an insult. Jesus’s relationship with the Pharisees, however, is more nuanced than many people realize. Often, Jesus agrees with much of what they say. Their arguments might better be characterized as disputes between brothers than battles between enemies.
Both Jesus and the Pharisees longed for the arrival of God’s kingdom. They differed dramatically over how that would happen. As N.T. Wright explains, the Pharisees “were a Jewish renewal movement, seeking to draw Israel towards the conditions that would hasten its restoration before God and its elevation over the surrounding nations” (Wright and Bird, 125). They were convinced that purity and faithfulness to the Torah were prerequisites for the arrival of God’s kingdom. These commitments explain some of their disputes with Jesus.
Whereas the Pharisees were a popular movement with the average person, the elite members of Jewish society, the Chief Priests, and religious leaders were often associated with the Sadducees. As a movement, the Sadducees were particularly known for their disinterest in anything other than the Torah and their denial of the resurrection.
Since the Sadducees were the aristocrats of Judean society and closely associated with the Temple, their movement quickly disappeared in the wake of the Temple’s destruction in 70 AD. Instead, the Pharisees and the Christians were the only Jewish movements to survive this cataclysmic event.
A fourth group, known as the Essenes, is not mentioned in the New Testament, but they play a vital role in our understanding of that era. While it is uncertain, some scholars speculate that John the Baptist was an Essene. The Essenes were an ascetic movement. N.T. Wright characterizes them as follows: “They appear to have been known for their ascetic way of life, concern for ritual purity, corporate reading of scripture, refusal to own slaves, sharing of property, and communal meals” (Wright and Bird, 131).
While it is easy to imagine that you could slot every Jewish person in the first century into one of these four categories, we know this isn’t true. Just as you cannot neatly divide every American into different political camps, many ordinary Jews living in the land during this time did not fit into a particular category. They likely had sympathies with various movements or were too preoccupied with their daily lives to give much thought to a particular ideology.
While the first Christians were mostly Jews, Christianity developed within the Roman Empire, and it quickly spread to non-Jews living in Roman cities around the empire. To understand the historical background of the New Testament, we need to have some sense of its Roman context.
While the first Christians were mostly Jews, Christianity developed within the Roman empire, and it quickly spread to non-Jews living in Roman cities around the empire. To understand the historical background of the New Testament, we need to have some sense of its Roman context.
As previously discussed, Greek culture spread throughout the world in a process historians call Hellenism. While Roman culture differed in some ways from Greek culture, the two really blended together. So, many people describe the context of the New Testament world as Greco-Roman.
The Romans capitalized on the spread of Greek culture as they expanded their influence. In addition to the widespread use of Greek as the common language of business and trade, the spread of city-states played a key role in the political and social structure of the New Testament world. These cities were modeled after Greek architecture and became hubs of transit and culture where Greek philosophy and traditions played a crucial role. Along with the spread of Greek thought came the merger of Greek deities with local deities. The Greeks and Romans encouraged conquered people groups to identify their deities with members of the Greek pantheon. This approach would cause problems among the Jews, who mostly rejected this idea.
While one could move up the social ladder in Roman society, there was a clear hierarchy. One’s status was usually based on your family of origin and gender. Wright lists six levels of Roman society: senatorial, equestrian, decurion, plebeian, freedman, and slave (Wright and Bird, 148).
While the Christian movement boasted a surprising diversity of members, many of the early Christians came from the slave class, and few, if any, were from the senatorial class. As Paul’s letters reveal, the diversity of social statuses present in the Church frequently created conflict, which he attempted to correct.
Modern Western Christians often think of religion as something distinct from the other parts of our lives. It must be emphasized that this concept is completely foreign to ancient societies. Religion and life were intertwined and enmeshed. You could not separate one from the other.
Ancient Romans worshipped many deities, and their cities were filled with temples dedicated to these deities. Ancient Romans worshipped the gods in order to curry their favor for specific needs in their lives. While they had concepts about the afterlife, their primary motivation for interacting with the gods related to their current situation.
Philosophy is another critical aspect of the New Testament’s Greco-Roman context. While we think of philosophy as an area of study reserved for people who love books and abstract thinking, philosophy in the ancient world was keenly focused on the pursuit of the best life. Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, the Stoics, and the Cynics all represent schools of thought that played a major role in Roman society. Scholars have shown numerous ways the New Testament engages with either accepting, adapting, or rejecting philosophical ideas.
A final key piece of information about the historical context of the New Testament is the spread of Judaism. Following the Assyrian and Babylonian conquests, Jews had been forcibly exiled from the land and spread across those empires. While some people returned at the end of the exile, many chose to stay where they were because they had built lives there. In the subsequent centuries, conflict, famine, and economic opportunity forced or encouraged many Jews to relocate to other cities. As Wright notes, some scholars estimate that up to 80% of Jews lived outside the land of Israel in the first century (Wright and Bird, 164).
There were significant Jewish populations in many of the major cities of the Roman Empire. In each city, they would build synagogues and gather frequently for worship and to study the Torah. Their religion and way of life often attracted Gentiles who wanted to convert to Judaism. Those who did convert were called proselytes, and those who were interested or in the process were called God-fearers. As we see from the Book of Acts and Paul’s letters, the spread of Judaism provided a starting point for the Christian movement in different cities across the empire. Paul claims to have always started his missionary work by teaching in the Synagogues before going to the Gentiles.
Obviously, much more could and should be said about the historical context of the New Testament. This brief introduction, however, provides a starting point that can help us have a 30,000-foot view of the historical background of the early Christian movement.
Tyler S. Fulcher writes about the Bible, Theology, and Church History. He is a biblical scholar based in Springfield, MO. Click here to contact.