1.

New Testament background

In 587-6 B.C., the Jews in Jerusalem fell prey to the expanding Babylonian empire. Jerusalem was destroyed and
many Jews were taken captive to Babylon. However, by 539 B.C., the Babylonians were conquered by the
Persians. Cyrus, king of Persia, reversed the Babylonian practice of repression of nationalism by allowing those
nations who had been deported by the Babylonians to return back to their homelands and to worship their own
gods. Cyrus allowed returning captives to take with them the religious objects which the Babylonians claimed as
booty. He also provided them some funds to help rebuild local religious shrines. He hoped that this generosity
would create local governments who were loyal to him

The Return of the Jews to Jerusalem

Two important accomplishments were realized by the returning exiles. First the temple was rebuilt. Second, the
Law of Moses became the center of Jewish life. This happened in the following way.
Shortly after Cyrus’ edict, a group of Jews led by Sheshbazaar, of the Davidic line, returned to Jerusalem.
However, the situation in Jerusalem was difficult and the group failed to make much progress in securing
Jerusalem and rebuilding the temple. In 520 B.C., a second group of exiles returned to Jerusalem led by two men
named Zerubbabel, nephew to Sheshbazaar, and Joshua.
Under their leadership, and through the inspiration of the prophet’s Zachariah and Haggai, the temple was
rebuilt although its structure cannot be compared to the grandeur of Solomon’s temple. The building of the
temple began what is known as the second temple period. As we shall see, it was this temple that Herod the
Great greatly enlarged and remodeled. With the rebuilding of the temple came the reestablishment of the old
hierarchical social structure which had come to dominate Jewish (and Israelite) society before the exile. It has
already been shown that this kind of social structure is often oppressive, especially to the peasantry that makes
up the majority of the population. The oppressive nature of this stratified social structure was felt in the days of
Nehemiah (Neh. 5:1-5) who enacted various reforms in an attem pt to reduce the burden of dept created b y the
structure. But these reforms were only temporary.

Sometime after the temple was rebuilt (the date is very much disputed), a second group of exiles returned
to Jerusalem led by a priest named Ezra. Ezra was “a ready [skilled] scribe in the law of Moses” (Ezra 7:6).
Through the work of Ezra, idolatry was eradicated out of Jewish society. Further, the law of Moses became the
preeminent law of the Jews, something that had rarely happened since Moses. Because of this, Ezra is sometimes
referred to as the second Moses.
Ezra also established a new class of religious leaders who were studied in the law. Prior to this time the
religious leaders of the Jews were priests and prophets. But at this time, there were no prophets anymore and the
priests concerned themselves solely with temple rituals. These new religious leaders, called scribes, replaced the
priests as those who interpreted the law of Moses and taught the law to the Jews. Through their help, many in the
Jewish community became dedicated to the study of the law.

During the Persian Period (c. 515-332 B.C.), the Jewish community was localized in a twenty-mile radius
of Jerusalem. Essentially, Jerusalem was a small temple-state. Though the temple and priesthood were
reestablished as it was in the days before the exile, the monarchy was not. The political and religious leader of
the Jews was a high priest of Zadokite descent. (The Zadokites were descendants of Zadok, who was installed as
high priest by King David. From that time forth, all high priests were to be descendants of Zadok.) They were

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subject to the Persian governor of the area but were not appointed by him.1

2. The Roman Background

(a) Its organization by Augustus

‘Now it came to pass in those days there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that the entire world should be
enrolled.’ So Luke in his second chapter introduces us to the thought of the inhabited world of the Roman
Empire and to its ruler, Augustus.
It is one of the marvels of history that in the generation before the birth of Christ civil war and anarchy in
this world had given place to peace and ordered government. In the preceding century, a corrupt oligarchy and a
parasitical city-mob at home, rival war-lords in the provinces, and threats of invasion from without had brought
the Roman Republic to the verge of ruin. The survival of Rome for another four hundred years, during which
Christianity was to spread throughout her empire, was due chiefly to the genius for diplomacy, the cautious and
canny statesmanship, and the clear and steady vision of one man Augustus. The very enrolment of which Luke
speaks was part of his plan to distribute more fairly the burden of taxation throughout the lands controlled by
Rome.
It is true that the constitution of Rome, as re-modeled by Augustus, differed radically from that of the past.
Though the outward forms of the Republic remained, the army, and with it the reality of power, was in the hands
of one man. Freedom of speech was in some degree restricted and no longer did orators in the Forum or in the
Senate determine the destinies of nations. In prestige the prince, or first citizen, as Augustus chose to call
himself, towered above all others; however he might seek to disguise his authority. But Rome was prepared to
surrender some of her liberty for the boon of peace, and it was peace that Augustus gave to the Roman world.
The administrative system which he built up continued to function under his less worthy successors, and we see
it at work in the New Testament.
The Roman Empire encircled the Mediterranean Sea and all the countries bordering on that sea were
directly or indirectly subject to Rome. The Mediterranean gave cohesion to the Empire, and Augustus was the
first to see that there were natural limits within which Rome’s rule should be confined. ‘He left’, says Tacitus,2,3a
n empire bounded by the Ocean or distant rivers.’ To the west was the Atlantic; to the north, the Rhine and the
Danube; to the east, the Euphrates; while on the south the desert made a natural boundary.4

(b) Its Unification

Augustus and his successors were much concerned to draw the peoples of the empire together. Under the
Republic, there had been a great gulf between the rulers and the ruled; under the Empire this distinction
gradually disappeared. This was partly affected by the spread of Roman citizenship to the provinces. At first, the
imperial citizenship was confined to Italians and a few favored communities and individuals outside Italy, but
gradually it was extended more widely. Claudius particularly followed a liberal policy in this direction. Hence a
double citizenship became possible: Paul was proud to be a citizen of Tarsus, ‘no mean city’, but he also rejoiced
in and took advantage of the privileges of a citizen of Rome. With Roman citizenship went Roman customs,
Roman dress and the Latin language. In the time of Agricola (A.D. 77-84) the sons of British chieftains were
receiving a liberal education and were encouraged to rival the Gauls as orators in Latin.5 There was no racial or

1 The Historical Background to the New Testament Bruce Satterfield Brigham Young University - Idaho
2 The Annual Public Lecture of the College given in the Summer Term, 1962.
3 Tacitus, Annals, i. 9.
4 H. Carey Oakley, “The Greek and Roman Background of the New Testament,” Vox Evangelica 1

(1962): 7-23.
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color bar and a man of industry and ability might rise from a humble origin to a high position in the imperial
service. As early as A.D. 70 a Roman general, addressing Gauls, could say: ‘All is common between us; you
often command our legions, you govern these and other provinces. There is no privilege, no exclusion.’6 To
quote another late Roman poet: ‘She (Rome) alone has received the vanquished into her bosom.’7,8

(c) Imperial propaganda

There were, however, other and more subtle means by which the emperors sought to win the loyalty of their
subjects. Augustus was a master of propaganda and he set the pattern for his successors. In an age which lacked a
popular press, sound-broadcasting and television, the most effective means of propaganda was the coinage. The
emblems and inscriptions on the coins were carefully chosen and frequently changed. As they passed from hand
to hand they were closely scrutinized and carried their message far and wide.
Persian issued gold coins showing Judaea captive to mark the capture of Jerusalem. The blessings of imperial
rule were brought home by figures representing Peace, Valour, Good Fortune, Abundance, Providence and many
others. Scholars have only recently come to appreciate the far-reaching influence of the imperial coinage.9

(d) Emperor-worship

Emperor-worship was another means adopted by Augustus to link together the peoples of the empire in loyalty to
the ruling house. Since the days of Alexander the Great, who claimed divine honors in his lifetime, it had been
common in the East to accord such honors to monarchs and benefactors. Such deification was not unnatural in a
polytheistic society. There were legends of heroes, like Hercules, who had been deified after death as benefactors
of mankind, and Euhemerist, in the third century before Christ, had put forward the theory that all the gods of
Greek mythology were originally kings and conquerors to whom mankind had showed their gratitude by
worshipping them as gods. The distinction between divine and human was thus blurred for all except the Jews.
Augustus deprecated worship of himself in Rome but he allowed the worship of his ‘genius’ or guardian spirit. In
29 B.C. he permitted the city of Pergamum to erect a temple to Rome and Augustus. It is probably to this temple
that reference is made in the letter to the church at Pergamum: ‘I know where thou dwellest even where Satan’s
throne is.’10,11

(e) The cities of the Empire

The nodal points in the system of Roman roads were the great cities of the empire. Herself a city-state in origin,
Rome fostered city life wherever she found it and created it where it did not exist. She made the city the usual
unit of administration within the province, attaching to each city the country round it as its ‘territory’. In the East,
particularly in Asia Minor and Syria, Rome took over many cities which had been founded by Alexander or his
successors. The amount of local independence allowed to the cities varied. The most favored were the Roman
colonies, like Philippi and Corinth, which were communities of Roman citizens settled at key points in the
empire. The constitution of the cities conformed to a general pattern. Each had annually elected magistrates, a
senate drawn from the landed aristocracy, and a popular assembly. Rome consistently favoured the upper classes

5 Tacitus, Agricola, 21.

6 Tacitus, Histories, iv. 74.
7 Claudian, de consulatu Stilichonis, iii. 150.
8 H. Carey Oakley, ed,2.
9 H. Mattingly, Roman Imperial Civilization (1957), pp. 46-55, with plates. See also E. Stauffer, Christ and

the Caesars (ET 1955).

10 Rev. ii. 13.
11 H. Carey Oakley, ed, 3-4.

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as being more sympathetic to her rule, and the common people had little power. Occasionally, however, they
were roused to noisy demonstrations, like the uproar in the theatre at Ephesus. From the vivid account in Acts we
see that the authorities were much concerned at such riots, fearing the intervention of Rome.12

3. Hellenism/ Greek background

To determine with accuracy the influence on early Christianity of its Hellenistic background is impossible. Our
material does not enable us to define in detail all the stages through which early Christianity developed, and we
do not know the Hellenistic background nearly as well as we could wish. What is here attempted is a provisional
treatment of this great subject. That such a treatment is possible is due to the labors of many scholars; the writer's
debt to some of them, and in particular to the friends who have criticized earlier drafts of this paper or discussed
with him aspects of the question, is not adequately represented by the references given in the footnotes.13
In spreading from this well prepared ground the Christian movement encountered ne tasks. It faced a world
which did not know Judaism or which hated and despised it, a world which was unacquainted with the prophets
and familiar with cults not pretending to exclusiveness, with mysteries not always requiring a moral standard of
their devotees, with an unchangeable an unmoral order of destiny determined, or at least indicated by the stars,
with magic of various kinds.14

Greek culture as it developed in East after Alexander Influenced Judaism and (somewhat) influenced by it

1. Religion

Syncretism (mixing) of eastern & Greek polytheisms, some attempts to mix with Judaism

2. Philosophy

Various schools in Greece spread Eastward, most important: Epicurean, Stoic, Platonic many Jews adopted
various philosophical ideas

e.g., Philo of Alex (selection of platonic, stoic)

3. Politics

Independent city-states in Greece modified in East, as under imperial control of Ptolemies & Seleucids
citizenship - more restricted in numbers than modern citizenship

4. Influence on Jews

Growth of Hellenistic Jews, attracted to one or more features of Hellenism; some radical, some moderate
reaction against Hellenism by Hasidim, Jews determined to be faithful to God's covenant

12 Acts xix. 29 ff. especially verse 40: ‘For we are in danger to be called in question for this day’s uproar.’
13 I should here wish to express my thanks to Professor F. C. Burkitt, Prof. R. P. Casey, Dr. A. B. Cook, the Rev. Prof. J.
M. Creed, Mr. Η. T. Deas, the Rev. W. L. Knox, Dr. R. B. Onians, Prof. H. J. Rose, Mr. F. H. Sandbach, Mr. C T.
Seltman, Mr. W. Spens, the Rev. Dr. H. F. Stewart, the Rev. W. Telfer. The reader who desires a good general account of
the first century of our era would do well to turn to W. R. Halliday, The Pagan Background of Early Christianity
(University of Liverpool Press, 1925), to ch. iv. Of Deissmann, Licht vom Osten 4 (available in translation), to Cumont's
brilliant book, Les religions orientates dans le paganisme romain (available in translation), and to Wendland's admirable
Hellenistisch-romische Kultur1 (1912). Early Gentile Christianity for the purposes of this essay does not in general
embrace more than the period to about A.D. 80.
14 It is significant that Tatian, while ridiculing mythology, directs his serious attacks against astrology and magic (A.

Puech, Recherches sur le discours aux Grecs de Tatien, 43).

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 5. Influence of Judaism on Hellenism

Bible translated into Greek many Gentiles attracted to God of Bible via synagogues15.

(a) Social life and its problems for Christians

The social life of these cities contained features which presented difficult problems to the early Christians. ‘Even
the streets and the market-places,’ says Tertullian,16 ‘the baths and the taverns and our very dwelling-places are
not altogether free from idols. Satan and his angels have filled the whole world.’ The immorality of some of the
cities was notorious. In the park of Daphne, five miles from Antioch in Syria, the worship of Artemis and Apollo
was tainted with the immoral practices connected with the Syrian goddess Astarte and her consort. Corinth had
its temple of Aphrodite with its priestess-courtesans whose sacred prostitution was part of the worship of the
goddess.17 Many Christians before their conversion had followed such practices as part of their religion. Hence
the frequent and urgent warnings in the Epistles against fornication. Another difficulty was concerned with the
‘guilds’ (collegia) which flourished in these cities.18 These were not trade-unions, but voluntary associations of
people with common interests. Guilds of artisans and traders of every kind are mentioned in the many
inscriptions that have survived. No doubt it was to the guild of silversmiths at Ephesus that Demetrius applied to
take action in view of the danger to their trade from the preaching of Pau1.19

(b) Hellenistic Culture, the Cities and the worship

The Greek culture was influential in several ways in Palestine, perhaps most pervasively in religious worship.
Herod the Great built several Caesarea (shrines dedicated to Augustus) in Samaria, Panias and Caesarea, and
they contained statues, one of the Augustus modeled after Zeus and another of Rome modeled after Hera.20
Festival games were often connected with these cults. Theatres and amphitheatres were built, by Herod in
Caesarea and even in Jerusalem various kinds of games were celebrated: gymnastic and musical games, chariot
racing and animal baiting. Hellenism was most effective in the sphere of trade and industry. Political
organization was another of the most important way Hellenism affected Palestine.21
The culture of the nearer East had two faces, the life of the Greek cities, whether early settlements or
later foundations due to Alexander the Great, to his successors, and to their great heir, Rome, and the life of the
undeveloped countryside. The latter does not concern us much. In the first century city life flourished, and the
country is subordinate; it was, moreover, in the city populations that Christianity first spread. The contribution of
the non-Greek element in the population to religion was important: in Asia Minor it meant the Anatolian cult of a
mother goddess (Meter, Leto, Ma, or Artemis) and a son or youthful and subordinate consort (Attis, Tyrimnos,
etc.), sometimes of mother, consort, and son, together with beliefs coming from the Persians who had ruled the
land; in Syria it meant the local Baal and the local mother-goddess. Yet it was, though non-Greek, given a Greek
dress. The mother-goddess could be called Artemis; the young god Apollo.2 Baal could be called Zeus, with
some local epithet or other.22

15 New Testament Backgrounds Notes for NT601 New Testament Backgrounds, Biblical Theological Seminary
200 N. Main Street, Hatfield, PA 19440
16 Tertullian, de spectaculis, 8.
17 E. M. Blaiklock, The Christian in Pagan Society (1951), pp. 15 ff.
18 S. Dill, Roman Society from Hero to Marcus Aurelius (1905), pp. 251-286.
19 Acts xix. 24-28.
20 John Stambaugh and David Blach, The social world of the first Christian (U.S.A: SPCK,1986),88.
21 Edwin. D. Freed,The New Testament,A critical introduction(U.S.A: Wadsworth,2001),12.
22 So earlier on coins of Side struck in the fourth century B . C . a Semitic inscription,' lord of Side/ is put beside the figure

of Apollo, who is both Greek and indigenous (C. T . Seltman, A Hoard from Side, 10 sq.; cf. Keil, op. cit. p. 262).
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These Hellenistic cities worshipped the Greek gods, Zeus, Apollo, Artemis, Dionysus, Asclepius and the
like. They worshipped also the Emperor (either by himself or in association with the goddess Roma, the divine
personification of the imperial city's power). Both types of worship could express sincere belief. But they need
not. Neither required more than the performance of certain observances; they were without a theology, though
susceptible of theological interpretation.
Civic cults, Caesar-worship, Mysteries, these make up the public religion of the Hellenistic world. In the
resulting picture there is much which was foreign to the Greeks of the classical age, and, if we turn from public
and official religion to the indications which we possess of more individual religious development, of currents of
belief growing in small groups or disseminated by literary propaganda, there is more.

(c) The transformation of Greek belief

The germs of most of this new development are to be found in the centuries succeeding the conquests of
Alexander. The closer contact now made possible between East and West, the extension of men's mental
horizon, and the growth of individualism are all factors of moment.
A traveler like Herodotus had been received by priests in Egypt, but as a tourist in whom they had little
interest, and the priests of whom he speaks were probably underlings.23 The new contact and the inevitable
realization of the Greek's superiority in worldly matters led to a corresponding desire on the part of the Oriental
to emphasize the greater antiquity of his religious traditions.24 Keen-sighted individuals like Manetho in Egypt
and Berossus in Babylon followed this course : the former wrote in Greek of Egyptian belief and history, the
latter of Babylonian astrology. Most of their colleagues in the native priesthoods were no doubt less learned, and
cannot be credited with similar activities, though their religious attitude may well have been more enlightened
and less seldom speculative than that of the masses of their country folk. Nevertheless, the rapid diffusion of the
Greek language (probably also of a modicum of Greek culture) in the Egyptian priesthood must have helped to
make the Greeks more at home in beliefs partly new to them.25

4. Jewish background
The Christian teacher who addressed himself to devout Jews had the way to some extent prepared for him. He
found in his hearers a strict monotheistic faith, commonly some kind of Messianic expectation, and always a
belief in God's law and in the moral requirements of religion. He told them that the cherished expectations of
their race had been gratified, though in an unexpected way, that God had not waited for the perfection of Israel
before sending the Messiah but had already sent Him, that this Messiah had died, had risen, and would come
again in glory, and that in the light of the rising of the Messiah and the expectation of His second coming they
were called to a new life. Such instruction would be suitable not merely to Jews in Judaea but also to the
numerous Jews of the Dispersion. It would reach also the many Gentiles who, without formally becoming
proselytes, felt drawn to Judaism; we find them called Sebomenoi, ' worshippers/ and the ' worshippers of the
Highest God1 (Theos Hypsistos) in the Hellenized East were probably in large part Judaising Gentiles and
Hellenizing Jews.26

23 W. Spiegelberg, Die Glaubwiirdigkeit von Herodots Bericht iiber Agypten im Lichte der agyptischen Denkmaler
(Orient und Antike, 3; 1926), 18 ; the monograph as a whole is most helpful.
24 This has been well set forth by Th. Hopfner, Orient und griechische Philosophie (Beih. z. Alien Orient, 4, 1925), 27

sqq.
25 Cf. Reitzenstein, Kyrk.Ars. 1922, pp. 98 sqq. ; W. Otto, Priester und Tempeln itn hellenistischen Agypten, ii. 235 sqq.
26 F. Cumont, P.W. ix. 444 sqq. ; A. B. Cook, Zeus, ii. 876 sqq. Lydia (Acts x v i . 14) is described as σφομίν-η rbv θ*6ν.

The representation of Noah and the ark on coins struck at Apameia in Phrygia in the third century A . D . under Septimius
Severus, Philip Senior and Macrinus, but probably copying some earlier painting which existed in the city (W. M.
Ramsay, Cities and Bishoprics of Asia Minor, i. 669 ; Usener, Sintflutsagen, 48 sqq.; a good specimen struck under
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The world that Jesus entered was intensely religious. The beliefs, practices, and institutions of the Jewish people
were solidly rooted in the biblical traditions--after all, the Jews were the people of God! But overthe years
Israelhad to adjust to persecution, invasion, exile, and foreign rule. And as they applied the Scriptures to the
various crises and situations that they faced, disagreements arose that led to serious divisions among the people.
Such divisions were not foreign to Israel--the Old Testament records numerous examples; but what was new was
that by the first century distinct and competing religious groups or schools of thought parties had been formed.
So when Jesus taught the people, he was often compelled to address the teachings and traditions of these
different factions. To understand the teachings of Jesus, then, we need to know more about His world--which the
religious leaders were, how the different groups arose, what they believed, and why they collided with Jesus as
they did. We shall begin with a survey of the major events that led to this religious diversity, and then survey the
different groups that are prominent in the Gospel narratives.

(a) Peasants

The peasants worked the land as their ancestors had always done; their lives were spent in small villages where
kingship and loyalty were primary values. The Hasmoneans seems to have distributed conquered lands to such
Jewish peasants, freeing them of taxation by the Seleucids, in exchange for the peasants’ serving in the army in
time of crisis.27 Pompey’s destruction of the Maccabean states had disastrous consequences that contributed to
the social disorder, leading to the First Jewish war against the Romans. He made a considerable Jewish peasants
landless. When Herod received some of these lands back from Augustus, he expropriated the lands of his
political opponents. These lands were cultivated by tenant farmers. This trend existed the savage hostility
between landlords and renters typified in Mathew 21:33-41.28 Small land owners and tenants often may force to
ask for loans. The taxes fell heavily upon these peasants. The peasants taxes, rent, then principal and interest on
loans, if they were fortunate enough to have land on which to eke out an existence.29 This struggle for scarce
land was one factor that stimulated the revolutionary cause of Hezekiah and John of Jischala in Upper Galilee, a
marginal zone where Jewish and non-Jewish population clashed.30

(b) Galilee

i. Regionalism

The readers of Matthew might set the impression that northern Galilee is geographically, socially, religiously
and politically remote from southern Judea. Some scholars claim that Galilee was relatively isolated, the people
living together in small villages detached from the scattered urbanized communities.

ii.Galileans on Pilgrimage

Three times in the year shall all your males appear before the Lord (Ex. 23:17; 34:23). Rabbis took this as an
action to be encouraged, not one to be binding for each pass over, Pentecost and tabernacle. Rabbinic source

Septimius is illustrated in Catal. Hirsch, xiii. (Rhousopolos) 250, no. 4098, pi. xlviii ; specimens from Philip are B.M.C.
Phrygia, 101, no. 182, cf. xxxix., and Inventaire Waddington, 5731, and from Macrinus, Jnv. Wadd. 5723), has often been
adduced as evidence of Jewish influence ; but it may be due to a combination of Jewish and Phrygian stories (cf. A. J.
Reinach, NoeSangariou, Paris, 1913, reprinted from Revue des otudes juives, lxv. and lxvi.).
27 Stambaugh,89.
28 Stambaugh,92
29 Stambaugh,92.
30 Gundry,24.

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stress the spiritual aspect of the visit but Josephus emphasizes its social and political role, especially for
Galileans.31 According to the Gospel of Luke such a journey was made once in a year. Mark narrates only one
journey to Jerusalem b Jesus (10:1, 32). John tells of many (2:13; 5:1; 7:2; 10:22; 12:1).

(c) Judea and Jerusalem: Holy City and Temple

i. Herod’s Jerusalem

There are both literary and archaeological sources to help, clarify the nature of this ancient holy city (Josephus,
Jewish War; Tacitus, Histories).32 The upper city was built on the higher, western ridge; the lower city contained
the temple of the eastern crescent-shaped hill. Herod doubled the size of the temple mount, cutting away high
rock in the northwest and buttressing it with walls and vaults in the southeast.33 Coming west over the Mount of
Olives, one would descent through the Kidron Valley and come up through the golden gate in the wall
supporting the temple Mount. To the northwest was the fortress Antonio built by the Hasmoneans; Herod
strengthened it for Mark Antony. In the north corner of the Upper City, Herod built his palace. The lower city
was more popular and oriental, densely populated by the poor.

ii.Sadducees and the Priests

Despite the power and influence of the Pharisees not a single text of their survive. Josephus is the main source
of information, with some references occurring in the New Testament and in the later Rabbis. For Josephus,
Sadducees deny faith, the immorality of soul, and eternal reward after death and accept free will; socially they
behave like aliens to their peers. The Sadducees were aristocrats, some were priests, but not all; many belonged
to lay nobility. In the Herodian and the Roman periods, some of the high priestly families were Sadducean. The
priest’s power resulted from the fact that they had the exclusive right to sacrifice (Ex.28-29; Lev.8-10; Num. 16-
18). To clarify the social situation in Palestine during Jesus’ time it is crucial to discuss priestly dues that are
taxes.

iii. Scribes and Pharisees

The third element in the Sanhedrin was the teachers of the Torah, Scribes, a professional bureaucracy. Their
knowledge of the Torah gave them influence. Persons from all social classes became educated scribes. The
increasing power of the scribes aided the Pharisees, were sectarians concerned with strict legality, especially in
relation to dietary laws and purity regulations. They were the most accurate interpreters of the Law.
Pharisees maintained their identity on Hellenistic urban culture by strict adherence to these core symbols
centering on the table fellowship. Jacob Neusner stresses that the Pharisees reinterpreted the Torah to “lay stress
upon universal keeping of the law so that every Jew is obligated to do what only the elite-the priests-are normally
expected to accomplish.

31 Merril. C. Tenny,New Testament Survey(England:W.B.Eeredmans Pub.,1985),50.

32 Stambaugh,95.
33 Stambagh,96.

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(d) The Jesus Movement

Jesus formed the renewal movement in the society that was influenced by ecological, political and cultural
factors. Economic factors were responsible for the most striking phenomenon of the Jesus mo0vemnet: the social
footlessness of the wandering charismatic’s. The causes of these economic dislocations were over population.
The concentration of the possessions and competing tax systems. The country was so heavily populated that all
the land was cultivated. The pattern of repeated warfare meant that each new conquers took some land and
confiscated more. But most painful economic pressures come from taxes which both the Romans and the priests.
The priests’ claimed to this revenue was supported by the final priestly source in the Mosaic Torah and the by
the Sadducees and Pharisees (Matt. 23:23; Lk 18:12).

The first all follower of Jesus probably are Galileans. In Galilean society there were tenant farmers,
crafts men of the country side and villages, peasants, rootless day laborers. The next section is lesser officials,
local judges and civil administrators, tax collectors, stewards and land lords (Mark 12:2-8; Lk 16:1-8). There
were representatives from the above groups to Jesus’ movement.

(e) City life

The larger towns and the cities of the Roman Empire were situated on highways, at river crossings, and at natural
harbors. A traveler on the road leading to a city passed farms, orchards, and huts. As the road approached a gate
penetrating the city wall, there were shops shrines and wells.

i. Physical Environment

R. E. Brown states that outside and inside the gates people crowded closely together; traders, innkeepers,
peddlers, slaves, shopping and fetching water.34 The gate itself was large, broad enough to accommodate draft
animals and crafts. It was ordinarily opened at sun rise and shut tight at sunset.

Dominant Landmarks: Some cities, especially in the east, showed off their wealth and importance by
building colonnades along the main streets, which offered a covered side walk, with protection from sun or rain
as well as from passing animals, vehicles and letters. Edwin D. Freed says that in an oriental city, the major
monuments were the temple of the guardian deity and the palace of the ruler.35 In a Greek city, the central agora
functioned as market place and civic centre: shrines and temples stood all around, colonnades gave shelter to
merchants and money changers.

Public Spaces: In the hot, dry climate of the eastern Mediterranean, people naturally moved outdoors into
public places. David Balch says that in the eastern cities, the town elders gathered outside the main gate to
discuss events and make local decisions.36 Crowed gathered in public squares and at the entrance to temples; also
children (Lk. 7:32), beggars and cripples (Acts 3:1-2).

Houses: Lining the streets, of every town were the walls of private houses. Houses in the western part of
the Roman Empire were built of brick or concrete, at least in the cities. Gundry asserts that the poorer sections
and rural areas had frames houses or huts.37 In the eastern part of the Empire house usually consisted of stucco
and sun dried bricks. Roofs were titles or thatch.

34 Brown,64.
35 Freed, 13.
36 Gundry, 26.
37 Gundry, 26.

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ii. Class and Status

John Stambaugh says that in terms of power, influence, money and the perception of the time, we can divide the
population of the Roman world into two main categories, those with influence and those without it, the
“honorable” and the “humble”, those who governed and those who were governed, those who had property and
those who did not.38

Upper Classes: At the peak of the socio-economic pyramid was the single figure of the Emperor, supported
by other members of the imperial household and by the officials. Just below as the senatorial order, then
participate, a large group known as equites. The women of the upper classes- mother, wives and daughters- were
expected to be modest and unobtrusive and to live uneventful and unexciting lives in the Greek and Roman
traditions.39 The members of the upper classes were relatively few, but they were conspicuous because they
control the wealth and political power.

Lower Classes: Below this aristocracy, the great mass of population lived its lives. John Stambaugh asserts
that a large number of intermediate level consisted of the small landowners, craftsmen and shopkeepers and also
the middle and lower ranks of Roman citizens in the army, from centurions down to ordinary legionary soldiers
and veterans.40 Below this groups there were people really poor, who had no property and supported themselves
by peace work at the docks, in construction or on farms. The lowest legal status of all was the slaves. Greek
philosophers considered them as something less than human.41

Social Mobility: Upper Classes enjoyed great privilege and they guarded them vigilantly. The “honorable
ones” regarded the “humble” with disdain and without apology across the great gulf fixed between them (Lk.
16:19-31). The members of the senatorial aristocracy were forbidden to marry former slaves, separate courts
tried the upper classes and the lower classes, and separate punishments were decreed.42 Social standing and
privilege were carefully guarded, but the barriers between classes were not completely impermeable.
Opportunities for social upward mobility existed. The system worked to elevate and individual was in the
acquisition of Roman citizenship. The most common and also the most dramatic rise in status came about in the
manumission of slaves.43

iii. Work

Upper Class Attitudes: The aristocracies of the Greco-Roman cities despised manual labors. This was the
one more way in which the upper classes emphasized and reinforced a distinction between themselves and the
rest of the society. The upper classes took great pride in the public service, and on their tombstones they listed
offices held, commissions under taken, public building erected and public games sponsored.44

38 Stambaugh, 109.
39 Stambaugh, 110.
40 Stambaugh, 111.
41 Stambaugh, 113.
42 Tidball, 125.
43 Jeremiah, 95.
44 Stambagh, 118.

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 Small Business: Every main street in an ancient city was lined with shops, some run by slaves or freed for a
rich entrepreneur but many run by people who achieved some modest success through good sense and skill.
These were the bakers, butchers, greengrocers, barbers, fullers, cobblers, money lenders and inn keepers. In the
eyes of the upper class they were common and servile, but they took pride in their successes and
accomplishments. On their tombs they boasted of the professions and even their business addresses (Matt. 13:55-
“the carpenter’s son” or “Jesus the carpenter” Mark 6:3).

Working Conditions: The small independent merchant, the freed person or slave working on behalf of a
wealthy patron or master, the apprentice under contract to an artisan – all worked long hours in small shops.45 In
these shops where people gathered to discuss philosophy and politics. We can also imagine that the leather shop
of Priscilla and Aquilla in Corinth, Paul found occasional work and used time to discuss the Christian Gospel.

iv. Family and Household

Husbands and Wives: Plutarch’s advice to bride and groom is more moderate, but he clearly insists that the
husband rule and the wife subordinate.

Fathers, Mothers and Children: Roman fathers had extraordinary power over their children, and texts
often are concerned with them, not with mothers. Dionysius of Halicarnassus says that Greeks regarded the
Romans as cruel and harsh.46 A Roman master could only sell a slave once, but if a Roman father sold his child
and then the child attained freedom, the father could sell him\her again.

Masters and Slaves: There were more slaves in Roman Empire than in any previous society. Normally,
household slaves were considered a part of the extended family and had a share in its religious practices. Roman
were offended when their slaves converted to Judaism or Christianity and refused the traditional rites.47

(f) Moral

In the New Testament exhortation, sexual sin usually heads the list of prohibition. Every conceivable kind of
immorality was attributed to the pagan gods. R.H. Gundry says that temple “virgins” were integral pagan
religious rites.48 Prostitution by both men and women was a well organized institution. Slave girls were often the
victims of this debauchery. Society accepted pederasty and homo-sexuality. Divorce was easy, frequent, and
acceptable. Murder was common; parents often “exposed” their infants.49

5. Diaspora (A Mission perspective)

(a) Meaning

The Jews taken captive by Babylon benefitted from Cyrus’ policy and were allowed to return to Jerusalem.
Cyrus’ edict allowing the Jews to return to Jerusalem is found in Ezra (1:2- 4; 6:3-5). Over the next century and a
half, numbers of Jews returned to rebuild Jerusalem and her temple. The books of Nehemiah and Ezra tell the
story. The return to the homeland was not forced. Those who wished to stay in Babylon could. These Jews were

45 Stambaugh, 118.
46 Stambaugh, 119.
47 Jesrmiah, 311.
48 Gundry, 26.
49 Brown, 67.

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the children and grandchildren of the Jews who had been exiled by Babylon. They had acquired property and
sunk roots in Babylon. As a consequence the majority of the Jews remained in Babylon where many had
established a strong Jewish community. In fact, during the succeeding centuries numbers of Jews began to
migrate to many areas of the Near East, Europe, and Africa so that by the time of Christ Jews were found in most
parts of that ancient world (for a listing of countries see Acts 2:9-11). The areas where Jews were living outside
of Jerusalem and Judea became known as the diaspora.
The Greek term Diaspora (refers to the Jewish dispersion (i.e., to the scattering of Jews outside
Palestine). It is also the technical name for all the nations outside of Palestine where Jewish people came to live.
50 The Jewish dispersion began in the deportations by the Assyrians (722 BC) and Babylonians (597 BC), and

later spread throughout the Roman Empire to Egypt, Asia Minor, Greece, and Italy. Thus, diaspora generally
refers to the Jewish people living outside of Palestine.51

(b) Diaspora Humor I: Historical Fiction

Jews of the Second Temple period did not perceive themselves as victims of a Diaspora. That fact alone arrests
attention. Jewish literature of the period refrains from expressions of melancholy on the current condition—
indeed avoids explicit rumination on the circumstances of dwelling in scattered communities of the
Mediterranean. The absence of express reflections, let alone lamentations, on the subject suggests that Diaspora
was not a “problem.” Nothing compelled the Jews to develop a theory of Diaspora, whether as consolation or
justification.
The prophet Jeremiah delivered a directive for the Diaspora. His letter, addressed to Jews exiled in Babylon,
offered sage counsel and consolation. It enjoined Jews in foreign parts to build homes, grow their own food,
settle into marriages, become fruitful and multiply. More significantly, they were encouraged to work for the
welfare of the city where now they dwell and promote its prosperity, for they prosper when it prospers. Jeremiah,
of course, conveying the commands of Yahweh, had the gift of prophecy and forecast a return from exile. But
the manifesto itself can serve as a blueprint for Diaspora existence, a guide for Jews who were developing
strategies for survival and success in lands governed by Gentiles.52

(c) Diaspora Humor II: Biblical Recreations

Hellenistic Jews took great pleasure in retelling biblical tales. They did so with frequency, with variety, and with
gusto. The practice took a multitude of forms: history, tragedy, epic, romance, exegesis, or indeed a combination
and transformation of genres. Inventiveness was highly prized. Canonical texts were excerpted or augmented,
streamlined or enhanced, supplemented or inverted. New and different means of conveying familiar legends or
reconceiving biblical heroes appealed widely. None of the reconceptions was designed to substitute for or to
subvert the Scriptures. Quite the contrary. They played to a readership fully conversant with the traditional tales,
for whom these alternative versions would supply different insights, provocative interpretations more lively
renditions, or merely fanciful fabrications.

Jews, to be sure, had no monopoly on playful rewriting of traditional tales or remolding of mythic figures. Greek
and Latin authors regularly took pleasure in the practice. One need think only of Callimachus’ whimsical Hymn
to Demeter, Ovid’s Metamorphoses, or Lucian’s Dialogues of the Gods. But their inventions did not amount to
tampering with holy books—however much they may have revered Homer. The Jews had little inhibition even
on this score. Numerous texts can serve as illustration;53 but three diverse and fascinating ones will suffice here.

50 D. J. Moo, The Letter of James (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2000), 50.

51 H.-G. Link, “Glossary of Technical Terms,” in New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology, vol. 1, ed. C.
Brown (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1967), 55.
52 Erich S. Gruen, Diaspora: Jews amidst Greeks and Romans (England: Harvard University Press, 2002)135.

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They represent a mixture of genres, or rather a free adaptation of them. And they make a liberal use of humor
that offers a window on the receptivity and taste of Diaspora readers.54

(d) Impact of the Jewish Diaspora on Christian Mission

In light of the preceding discussion on the use of the term diaspora in the New Testament and on the Diaspora
realities in the biblical period, further some thoughts on the impact of the Jewish Diaspora on Christian missions.
The first consideration comes out of the Diaspora realities of the New Testament period, while the second set of
insights are taken from the use and context of the term diaspora in the six New Testament passages.

i. Jewish Diaspora as Precursor to Christian Missions

It is now believed that Virgil’s conception of a “Better Age,” which was to be inaugurated by the birth of a child,
was derived from Isaiah’s prophecies.55 Not only did the Jewish diaspora prepare the way for Christ, but it also
furnished a valuable vehicle for the proclamation of the gospel. Wherever the apostles and the early preachers
traveled with the good news, they found Jewish communities to whom they offered first the gift of salvation. The
synagogues became convenient locations for the effective ministry of Paul and his colleagues. In the cities they
visited, they first went into the synagogues to look for an audience. The presence of proselytes and God-fearers
in these synagogues and cities showed the influence and impact of Judaism created by the Jewish dispersion.
Thus, the Jewish Diaspora served as a precursor for a strategic and viable venue for Christian mission to the
dispersed Jews.

ii. God’s Sovereignty in the Expansion of Christian Mission

Aside from the Jewish Diaspora serving as precursor to Christian mission to the Jews, it also shows God’s
providential hand in extending the scope and spread of Christian mission. A quick contextual check of the
diaspora occurrences in the New Testament shows God’s sovereignty in the Jewish Diaspora. In fact, God’s
sovereignty establishes the framework for the missionary expansion of Christianity. To establish the relationship
between the concept of diaspora and Christian mission, I will examine the presence of missions in the three
diaspeirō passages in Acts and the three diaspora passages in the New Testament. I will also examine the
context of these diaspeirō passages and the presence of Christian mission-related factors.56
The earlier context of Acts 8:1b and 8:4 deals with persecution and martyrdom. Acts 7:54-60 describes the
stoning of Stephen. After his martyrdom, a “great persecution” broke out (Acts 8:1a). Saul executed this
persecution, by trying to destroy the Jerusalem church. He went from house to house, heartlessly and
systematically dragging men and women to placed them in prison (Acts 8:3). Apart from the persecution, the
later context reveals an emphasis on mission. The Hellenized Jewish Christians,57 who were scattered in the
53 Many other texts along these lines are discussed, with somewhat different purposes, in E. S. Gruen, Heritage and
Hellenism: The Reinvention of Jewish Tradition (Berkeley, 1998), 110–188. And Cf. D. J. Harrington, in R. A. Kraft and
G. W. E. Nickelsburg, eds., Early Judaism and Its Modern Interpreters (Atlanta, 1986), 239–247; P. Alexander, in D. A.
Carson and H. G. N. Williamson, eds., It Is Written: Scripture Citing Scripture (Cambridge, 1988), 99– 121; B. Halpern-
Amaru, Rewriting the Bible (Valley Forge, 1994), 4.
54 Erich S. Gruen, ed., 182.
55 For comments on Virgil’s conception of a “Better Age” and Isaiah’s prophecies, see E. Bourne, “The Messianic

Prophecy in Virgil’s Fourth Eclogue,” The Classical Journal 11, no. 7 (April 1916): 390-400; N. W. de Witt, “The
Influence of the Saviour Sentiment upon Virgil,” Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association
54 (1923): 39-50.
56 Narry F. Santos, “Diaspora in the New Testament and Its Impact on Christian Mission” Torch Trinity journal,

Greenhills 13, Christian Fellowship, Canada (2010)

57 The Jerusalem church appeared to have been a predominantly “Hebrew” body (Bruce, Acts, 162). After the

destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70 and Emperor Hadrian’s re-founding of Jerusalem in AD 135 as a Roman colony

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Diaspora, “preached the word wherever they went.” Particularly, Philip (a Grecian Jew, who was chosen as a
deacon in Acts 6:5) preached about Christ in Samaria (Act 8:5). As a result of his preaching and miraculous
signs, people listened. Many were healed and were rejoicing (Acts 8:6-7). Many people also believed Philip’s
message and were baptized (Acts 8:12).58

iii. Encompassing Scope of the Jewish Diaspora and Christian Mission

In the Great Commission, the extent of going and making disciples is to “all nations” (πα’ντα τα εθνη). As we
have seen in the previous sections, the Jewish Diaspora reached many nations. There were only a few major
cities or regions that were without a community of resident Jews in the biblical world. Thus, both the
Diaspora and mission are far reaching and global in scope. In addition, the context of hostility and hatred in
John 7:35 is similar to the context of suffering and persecution in Acts 8:1. From this similarity, we glean that
mission is usually triggered by hostility, hatred, suffering, and persecution. God’s global work greatly
expands in the context of pain and persecution.
The word diaspora refers to the twelve tribes in the NIV translation of James 1:1, “the twelve tribes
scattered among the nations.” In 1 Peter 1:1, the enumeration of the locations in the diaspora (i.e., Pontus;
Galatia; Cappadocia; Asia; and Bithynia) shows how widespread the Jewish dispersion was. This text also
explains the far-reaching spread of mission through and in the diaspora. Therefore, the current brief survey of the
diaspeirō and diaspora passages in the New Testament shows how God used suffering, persecution, and
dispersion as the context for expanding His kingdom and for enabling his people to fulfill their mission to
become witnesses to all the nations, even to the remotest part of the earth. God used the Jewish Diaspora to
expand the missionary work to the Jews, Samaritans, and Gentiles.

6. (Mission) Witness In Early Fathers

 The Apostolic Era (30 A.D.–100 A.D.)
The Era of Transition (30 A.D.–48 A.D.) (18 Years)
The Era of Expansion (48 A.D.–64 A.D.) (16 Years)
The Era of Persecution (64–100 A.D.)
 The Era Of Transition: 100–313 A.D. 213 Years
 Through the first three centuries, the Church grew at a fairly steady rate of 40 percent per decade.59 It
spread most rapidly in the cities, and it grew in spite of intermittent persecution, epidemics of disease
and natural disasters. By the early years of the fourth century, Christians probably held at least a
slight majority of the population in urban areas — even though the Church was then suffering its most
ruthless persecution ever.
 We can only marvel at the achievement of our ancestors in the faith. Yet their accomplishments are
all the more remarkable when we consider the culture they were trying to evangelize.
 The Church Fathers observed that impurity and cruelty arise as sibling vices in the soul. The elder is
impurity, which reduces other people first to mere means of sensual satisfaction and then to mere
objects of sport.60

of Aelia Capitolina, the Jerusalem church became a completely Gentile-Christian community, without any
continuity with the first-century Jewish-Christian church in Jerusalem.
58 Narry F. Santos, ed., 15.
59 For the demographic data in this chapter and some details in the next, I am indebted to Rodney Stark, The Rise of

Christianity (HarperCollins, 1997).

60 Mike Aquilina, The Early Church, (U.S.A: Knights of Columbus Supreme Council, 2008) 16.

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Missions History of the Early Fathers (before AD-200)

After the last Apostle John died the Church was left with the final inspired written record of the revealed will
of God. There was no other infallible recourse for the Church and many views and different doctrines were
introduced. The lack of careful exegesis and agreed upon method of biblical interpretation resulted in a
freedom to interpret the revelation in a way that made sense to the interpreter, instead of coming to the
conviction of what the original author and Holy Spirit meant at the time of writing the inspired text.
By the early 2nd century doctrines [The Apostolic or Post-Apostolic Fathers (AD 95-150)] such as
baptismal regeneration,… were already essential to the faith. The major differences concerned the deity of
Christ, a doctrine deemed essential to salvation, had already split the Church into opposing views. In order to
secure the unity of the Christian Church a central authority had to be established. At first it was the councils
then later it would become the Pope. The divergent views grew during between 100 AD and 313 AD since the
Church had no central figure or authority structure.61

i. The Apostolic Church Fulfilled the Purposes of Jesus’ mission

Having seen the thrust and focus of Jesus’ ministry, and main focus on to fulfilling the Jesus’ mission, by God
to Jesus and Jesus to Apostles. As recorded in the book of Acts. The apostolic church exactly followed the
purposes of Jesus.

· Brought Salvation
· Revealed God
· Polarized Mankind
· Fulfilled Destiny

The Church Brought Salvation: The early church proclaimed a message that brought salvation to those
who accepted it. Peter replied,
"Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.
And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are
far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call." With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded
with them, "Save your selves from this corrupt generation."
“Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number
that day” (Acts 2:38-41).
“And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved” (Acts 2:47).
For this is what the Lord has commanded us: "'I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring
salvation to the ends of the earth.'" When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and honored the word of the
Lord; and all who were appointed for eternal life believed (Acts 13:47-48).62

The Church Revealed God: Through the preaching of the early church, God was revealed. To Jews
and God-fearing Gentiles,63 this was done was by preaching Jesus as the Christ (Messiah), the Son of God and
the one who fulfilled the prophecies: This put a definite, real-life historical identity into the long awaited yet

61Fanning, Don, "Missions History of the Early Church" (2009). History of Global Missions. Paper 2, 1&2pp
62John Engler, keeping the faith: The Early Church and the Apostolic Pattern (United States of America: Fourth
Printing, 1999) 39-40.
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variously-conceived Hope of Israel. The gospel was rooted in the message of the Old Testament and apostolic
preaching used the Old Testament to teach about Jesus.
“Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and
Christ” (Acts 2:36).
God was revealed to Gentile audiences two different ways: in preaching about the nature of God; and in
preaching about how God works in the lives of men through ways which were understandable to them.
“Men, why are you doing this? We too are only men, human like you. We are bringing you good news,
telling you to turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made heaven and earth and sea and
everything in them. In the past, he let all nations go their own way. Yet he has not left himself without
testimony: He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you
with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy” (Acts 14:15-17).
The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in
temples built by hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if h needed anything, because he himself
gives all men life and breath and everything else. From one man he made every nation of men, which they
should inhabit, the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they
should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he
is not far from each one of us.64

The Church Polarized Mankind: One of the striking things about the early church is how it polarized
the world. On one hand, the church was gathered together and was a strong, unified group of people, despite
its racial, cultural, political, economic and geographic diversity.
“Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand men were added to their
number that day” (Acts 2:41).
They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to
prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. All
the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to
anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in
their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts (Acts 2:42-46).
Then Peter began to speak: "I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts
men from every nation who fear him and do what is right" (Acts 10:35).65

The Church Fulfilled its Destiny: The members of the apostolic church saw their work of spreading the
gospel in clear fulfillment of Scripture. The prophecies about the church from the Old Testament were taken
as the future destiny of the church.
On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: "Do not leave Jerusalem,
but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with
water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit." So when they met together, they asked
him, "Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?" He said to them: "It is not for you to
know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy
Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends
of the earth" (Acts 1:4-8).

63 God- fearers were Gentiles who were almost proselytes to Judaism, except that they had not been circumcised
(F.F. Bruce, New Testament History, New York, New York: Doubleday & Company, 1980, 266. Luke refers to
God-fearers numerous times in Acts (2:5, 10:2, 10:22, 13:26, 13:50, 17:4, 17:17).
64 John Engler, ed., 40-41.
65 Ibid, 42.

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In those days Peter stood up among the believers (a group numbering about a hundred and twenty) and
said,
"Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled which the Holy Spirit spoke long ago through the mouth of
David concerning Judas, who served as guide for those who arrested Jesus—he was one of our number and
shared in this ministry. (With the reward he got for his wickedness, Judas bought a field; there he fell
headlong, his body burst open and all his intestines spilled out. Everyone in Jerusalem heard about this, so
they called that field in their language Akeldama, that is, Field of Blood.)"66

ii. Persecution cause rapid growth of Evangelization (before late A.D 200)

Much of the known history of this period is framed by the following highlights of the various persecutions
against Christians. Many evidences describe the initial Jewish persecutions referred to in Acts, and then:
First Roman persecution began with Nero in A.D. 64 who blamed the Christians as conspirators for the
burning of Rome. Though it probably had little to do with Christian doctrine yet Paul and Peter got caught in
the dragnet. Forms of killing included being fed to wild animals, crucified, beheaded, or set on fire to provide
nocturnal lights.

The second persecution came from Domitian in A.D. 95, which was primarily directed against the Jews
for refusing to pay taxes for building an exorbitant Temple for Jupiter as well as the imposed emperor
worship.

The third persecution originated with Pliny, governor of N. Asia Minor, Bythinia, who sought to stop the
massive defections to Christianity from A.D. 109-111. "Pliny wrote to the emperor Trajan (r. 98-117) for
advice. Trajan replied that Christians were not to be sought out; but if reported and convicted they were to be
punished, unless they repented and worshiped the gods. Anonymous information was not to be received
against them. Thus an official policy was established".

The fourth persecution came from Marcos Arelius (121-180) who changed the policy to directly seek out
evidence against the Christians and to blame them for all natural disasters. He was unusually cruel and
barbarous.

The fifth persecution was regional rather than empire wide. Septimius Severus, who ruled from A.D.
193-211, enacted a law prohibiting the spread of Christianity, thus forbidding the conversion to Christianity.
Violent persecution erupted in Carthage, Alexandria, Rome and Corinth. The father of Origin, a Christian
apologist, was beheaded, along with many of his students.

The sixth persecution was under Maximinus from A.D. 235-238, which targeted his persecution against
the leaders of the Christian movement.67

iii. The efforts for the mission of the Holy fathers

 When Christians discuss the great teachers of the ancient Church, we do so with a certain reverence.
We acknowledge that they have a special authority for the contribution in evangelism. We treat them
as true fathers, and indeed we traditionally call them the “Fathers of the Church.”

66 Ibid, 44-45.
67 Idbid, 4.
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  The fathers are a select group from the earliest Christian centuries. Not every Christian who wrote in
those years is considered a Church Father. Theologians have settled on four criteria that must be
fulfilled for “Fatherhood”: 1. sound doctrine; 2. holiness of life; 3. Church approval and 4. Antiquity.
 This recognition of spiritual fatherhood has very deep roots. The Church learned to honor the fathers
from Jesus, who was himself following Jewish custom (see John 6:31, 49). Saint Peter described the
first generation of Christians as “the Fathers” (see 2 Peter 3:4). Saint Paul reminded the Corinthians
that he was their “father in Christ Jesus” (1 Corinthians 4:15). Those who later inherited the office of
the apostles — the bishops — would also inherit the fatherly role in God’s earthly family, the Church.
 One of the marks of the fathers was their reverence for the doctrine and task they received from the
apostles. The fathers preserved, preached, and passed on the rule of faith — the Gospel of Jesus
Christ, the moral counsel of the apostles, and the sacred rites of the Church. They viewed that body of
doctrine as an inheritance, a sacred trust. Thus, they were not given to experimentation, and they
looked askance at innovation. They had a holy pride in the pedigree of their doctrine of mission.68

Local ministers: Not only itinerant ministers evangelized. The local clergy also helped to spread the
faith. In his letter to Polycarp, bishop of Smyrna, lgnatius (c. 115 A.D.) exhorts: "Press on in your race and
exhort all men that they might be saved" (ign. Poly. 1:2). Forty years later (c. 157 A.D.) when
Polycarp was being brought to his martyrdom the pagan populace testified to Polycarp's missionary zeal:
“This is he, the teacher of Asia, the father of the Christians. The detroyer of our gods, he who teaches many
not to sacrifice or worship the gods" (Mart. Polv. 12:2). It is known that Irenaeus (c. 180 A. D.), bishop of
Lyons (southern France), was active in evangelizing the Celts who lived in his district. At the beginning of his
great work, Against the Heresies, lrenaeus apologies that he has been so accustomed to using the "barbarous
dialect" of the Celts that he has forgotten how to write correct Greek (udv. Haw. 1. pref.).

Philosopher-theologians: A not uncommon phenomenon of the ancient world was that of the wandering
philosopher who would present his views in open-air lectures, and should enough interest be elicited, he
might establish a "school" at his place of sojourn. The early Church also had its peripatetic philosopher
theologians. From the Martyrdom of' Justin (2) we learn that during his sojourn in Rome Justin Martyr
"imparted the words of Truth" to any who would come to his dwelling. The Syrian, Tatian, was a student of
.Justin's and after .Justin's death formed his own "school" (Iren. adv. Huer. 1.28).69 Perhaps the best example
of a wandering missionary-theologian is Pantaenus. Pantaenus (c. 180 A.D.), converted from Stoicism, is said
to have travelled as far as India preaching the Gospel (Eus. H.E. 5.10).11 Later he was to return to Alexandria
and establish the famous Catechetical School there.

"Common" Christians: Adolf von Harnack was, no doubt, correct when he wrote: "The most numerous
and successful missionaries of the Christian religion were not the professional teachers but Christians
themselves, in virtue of their loyalty and courage."70 The paucity of historical materials concerning daily,
informal evangelism is, therefore, all the more regrettable. That such evangelism, however, went on is clear
from the testimony of the second century pagan Celsus (c. 180 A.D.; Orig. contra Celsurn 3.55):
We see, indeed, in private houses workers in wool and leather, and fullers, and persons of the most
uninstructed and rustic character, not venturing to utter a word in the presence v of their elders and wiser

68 Mike Aquilina, ed., 33-34

69 Eusebius reports that in India Pantaenus found the Gospel of Matthew in the Hebrew language. It was said that the
apostle Bartholomew had preached there and left the Gospel account, It is uncertain what is meant by "lndia";
virtually anything east of Ethiopia could be so designated,
70 A. von Harnack, Mission, pp.266-67: "die zahlreichsten und erfolgreichsten Missionare der christlichen Religion

waren nicht die berufsmassigen Lehrer, sondern die Christen selbst, sofern sie treu und stark waren."
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masters; but when they get hold of the children privately, and certain women as ignorant as themselves, the
pour forth wonderful statements, to the effect that they ought not to give heed to their father and to their
teachers, but should obey them.
The cynical opposition of Celsus cannot hide the fact that simple Christians were actively evangelizing
their fellows wherever they might be - in the synagogues, in the streets, in the marketplaces, in the homes,
during business contacts, in the courts, in the army. As an illustrative example an incident recounted by
Tertullian may be mentioned. A Christian soldier refused to wear the victory garland, feeling it improper for a
Christian to wear a crown which bore many pagan associations. Summoned before the tribune the soldier
declared himself a Christian and was punished by dishonorable discharge from the army and, at the writing of
Tertullian, awaited in prison his martyrdom (de corona 1).
Von Harnack devotes a special section to the activity of women in the missionary endeavor of the early
Church,71and without question women played an important role in the Church's expansion. Acts tells us that
Christians assembled in the house of Mary, the mother of John Mark (Acts 12:12); apparently Christians in
Laodicea met in the house of a certain Nympha (Col. 4: 15); Dorcas was known for her charity (Acts 9:36-
39); Priscilla was an important aid to Paul (Acts 18:2; Rom. 16:3: "fellow worker"); Philip had four daughters
who prophesied; Paul mentions one Phoebe, a deaconess at Cenchreae (Rom. 16: 1). The second century
apocryphal' Acts of Paul and Thecla has as its heroine a woman, Thecla, who supposedly was converted by
Paul at Iconium. She is said to have baptized herself and to have undertaken the work of evangelism, and she
is even called an apostole.

Bibliography
- Aquilina, Mike. The Early Church. U.S.A: Knights of Columbus Supreme Council, 2008.

- Blaiklock, E. M. The Christian in Pagan Society 1951.

- Bosch, David J. Transforming mission paradigm shifts in theology of mission. Bangalore: Siga Arles Centre
for contemporary Christianity, 2006.

- Cumont, F. P.W. ix ; A. B. Cook, Zeus, ii. Lydia (Acts x v i . 14) is described as σφομίν-η rbv θ*6ν. The
representation of Noah and the ark on coins struck at Apameia in Phrygia in the third century A . D . under
Septimius Severus, Philip Senior and Macrinus, but probably copying some earlier painting which existed in
the city (W. M. Ramsay, Cities and Bishoprics of Asia Minor, i. 669 ; Usener, Sintflutsagen, 48 sqq.; a good
specimen struck under Septimius is illustrated in Catal. Hirsch, xiii. (Rhousopolos) 250, no. 4098, pi. xlviii ;
specimens from Philip are B.M.C. Phrygia, 101, no. 182, cf. xxxix., and Inventaire Waddington, 5731, and
from Macrinus, Jnv. Wadd. 5723), has often been adduced as evidence of Jewish influence ; but it may be due
to a combination of Jewish and Phrygian stories (cf. A. J. Reinach, NoeSangariou, Paris, 1913, reprinted from
Revue des otudes juives, lxv. and lxvi.).

- C. Merril. Tenny, New Testament Survey. England: W.B. Eeredmans Pub.,1985.

- So earlier on coins of Side struck in the fourth century B . C . a Semitic inscription,' lord of Side/ is put
beside the figure of Apollo, who is both Greek and indigenous C. T . Seltman, A Hoard from Side, 10 sq.; cf.
Keil, op. cit.

- Dill, S. Roman Society from Hero to Marcus Aurelius 1905, pp.

71 A. von Harnack, Mission, pp. 395-407.

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- Engler, John. keeping the faith: The Early Church and the Apostolic Pattern. United States of America:
Fourth Printing, 1999.

- Fanning, Don. "Missions History of the Early Church". History of Global Missions. 2009.

- Freed, Edwin. D. The New Testament, A critical Introduction. U.S.A: Wadsworth, 2001.

- Gruen, Erich S. Diaspora: Jews amidst Greeks and Romans. England: Harvard University Press, 2002.

- Many other texts along these lines are discussed, with somewhat different purposes, in Gruen, E. S. Heritage
and Hellenism: The Reinvention of Jewish Tradition. Berkeley, 1998. And Cf. D. J. Harrington, in Kraft, R.
A. and G. W. E. Nickelsburg, eds., Early Judaism and Its Modern Interpreters. Atlanta, 1986. Alexander, in
D. A. Carson and Williamson, H. G. N. eds., It Is Written: Scripture Citing Scripture. Cambridge, 1988;
Halpern-Amaru, B. Rewriting the Bible. Valley Forge, 1994.

- Harnack, A. von Mission. "die zahlreichsten und erfolgreichsten Missionare der christlichen Religion waren
nicht die berufsmassigen Lehrer, sondern die Christen selbst, sofern sie treu und stark waren."

- Link, H.-G. “Glossary of Technical Terms,” in New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology,
vol. 1, ed. C. Brown. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1967.

- Mattingly, H. Roman Imperial Civilization 1957, pp. With plates. See also E. Stauffer, Christ and the
Caesars ET 1955.

- Moo, D. J. The Letter of James. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2000.

- Reitzenstein, Kyrk.Ars. 1922, pp. 98 sqq. ; W. Otto, Priester und Tempeln itn hellenistischen Agypten, ii.

- Santos, Narry F. “Diaspora in the New Testament and Its Impact on Christian Mission” Torch Trinity
journal, Greenhills 13, Christian Fellowship, Canada, 2010.

- Stambaugh, John.and David Blach, The social world of the first Christian. U.S.A: SPCK, 1986.

- For the demographic data in this chapter and some details in the next, I am indebted to Stark, Rodney. The
Rise of Christianity. Harper Collins, 1997.

- Spiegelberg, W. Die Glaubwiirdigkeit von Herodots Bericht iiber Agypten im Lichte der agyptischen
Denkmaler. Orient und Antike, 3; 1926; the monograph as a whole is most helpful.

- This has been well set forth by Th. Hopfner, Orient und griechische Philosophie. Beih. z. Alien Orient, 4,
1925.

- The Historical Background to the New Testament Bruce Satterfield Brigham Young University – Idaho

- The Annual Public Lecture of the College given in the Summer Term, 1962.

- I should here wish to express my thanks to Professor F. C. Burkitt, Prof. R. P. Casey, Dr. A. B. Cook, the
Rev. Prof. J. M. Creed, Mr. Η. T. Deas, the Rev. W. L. Knox, Dr. R. B. Onians, Prof. H. J. Rose, Mr. F. H.
Sandbach, Mr. C T. Seltman, Mr. W. Spens, the Rev. Dr. H. F. Stewart, the Rev. W. Telfer. The reader who
desires a good general account of the first century of our era would do well to turn to W. R. Halliday, The
Pagan Background of Early Christianity (University of Liverpool Press, 1925), to ch. iv. Of Deissmann, Licht

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vom Osten 4 (available in translation), to Cumont's brilliant book, Les religions orientates dans le paganisme
romain (available in translation), and to Wendland's admirable Hellenistisch-romische Kultur1 (1912). Early
Gentile Christianity for the purposes of this essay does not in general embrace more than the period to about
A.D. 80.

- It is significant that Tatian, while ridiculing mythology, directs his serious attacks against astrology and
magic (A. Puech, Recherches sur le discours aux Grecs de Tatien, 43).

- New Testament Backgrounds Notes for NT601 New Testament Backgrounds, Biblical Theological
Seminary 200 N. Main Street, Hatfield, PA 19440

- For comments on Virgil’s conception of a “Better Age” and Isaiah’s prophecies, see E. Bourne, “The
Messianic Prophecy in Virgil’s Fourth Eclogue,” The Classical Journal 11, no. 7 (April 1916): N. W. de Witt,
“The Influence of the Saviour Sentiment upon Virgil,” Transactions and Proceedings of the American
Philological Association 54.1923.

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