Jesus and the Gospels: An Introduction and Survey

by Craig L. Blomberg

Scribes took on an increasingly more prominent role in society. Originally, they were mere copyists of Scripture, but their familiarity with its contents led them to become experts in and teachers of the Law.

The Sanhedrin played an increasingly prominent role in Jewish life, at least in Judea. This “supreme court” and legislative body wrapped into one, composed ideally of seventy-one

one members led by the high priest, included both Pharisees and Sadducees and perhaps other nonaligned elders of the

Judaism increasingly commended itself as a religious option for the Gentile world.

A good summary of the way in which first-century Judaism presented itself involves the three badges of national identity and the three symbols of that nationalism that permeated the corner of the world into which Christ was born.62

the dietary laws (keeping a “kosher” table), observing the Sabbath, and circumcision. Tellingly, Jesus challenged the first two of these head on (e.g., Mark 7:1-23 par. 2:23-3:6 par.), and Paul later spoke of the third as a matter of moral indifference (Gal 5:6)!

The three symbols that went along with these badges of national identity were temple, land, and Torah.

The vast majority of Jews in Israel were not aligned with any special group. They were ordinary farmers and fishermen, craftsmen and merchants, trying to eke out a living.

But they did not concern themselves with the numerous oral traditions and additional legislation that had grown up around the Bible.

They probably longed for the redemption of Israel, and it was from this group of fairly faithful, rather ordinary, and at times impoverished Jews that Jesus found almost all of his first followers.

'Am-ha-Aretz (“the people of ...

The special groups probably comprised no more than five percent of the population in Jesus' day.

Pharisees. According to Josephus, the Pharisees emerged at least as early as the reign of John Hyrcanus, opposing the combination of kingly and priestly power in the Hasmonean rulers. Their name probably means “separatists.”

Christians, of course, know the Pharisees best as one group of Jewish leaders whom Jesus frequently denounced for hypocrisy and legalistic excess (see esp. Matt 23).

Gospels. Luke presents the Pharisees in a more favorable light on at least a few occasions (Luke 7:36; 11:37; 13:31), while John labels Nicodemus a Pharisee (John 3:1).

Pharisees were the upstanding “conservative evangelical pastors” of their day, strongly convinced of the inerrancy of Scripture and its sufficiency for guidance in every area of life, if only it could be properly interpreted.

Sadducees. The Sadducees supported the Hasmoneans, as they reversed earlier policies of protesting the Hellenization of Israel. They were a small group composed almost entirely of the aristocracy and the well-to-do elite.

Essenes. Although Josephus describes this group alongside the Pharisees and Sadducees, they appear nowhere by name in the New Testament.

it is precarious to generalize from the Dead Sea sect's literature to all Essenes.

We know, for example, that elsewhere Essenes married and had children, whereas a vow of celibacy was required for Qumran initiates.

sect: (1) a communal lifestyle, involving daily prayers, work, study, and ritual (including daily baths or baptisms to wash away the previous day's sins);

(2) an extensive period of probation before being granted full-fledged membership (up to three years),

(3) a perception that they were fulfilling biblical prophecy, with (a) the Teacher of Righteousness as the prophet Moses predicted in Deut 18:18, (b) the entire sect as “a voice of one calling … in the wilderness” (Isa 40:3) and as inaugurating God's new covenant with his people (Jer 31:31-34), and (c)...

Zealots. Josephus refers to this group as the “fourth philosophy.”

“thieves” on the crosses next to Jesus were called lēstai (Mark 15:27 pars.), perhaps better translated “insurrectionists.”

The first-century religious world offered a potpourri of possibilities for Greeks, Romans, and Jews alike. The Hellenistic options could be mixed together in various combinations (what is known as syncretism).

By Judeo-Christian standards, the general level of morality was abysmal. Religious ritual was generally divorced from ethical living.

Far more prominent and accepted than even in our deteriorating Western world were the practices of homosexuality, heterosexual promiscuity, divorce, abortion, infanticide (especially of baby girls), slavery, and “sacred” prostitution.83

An overview of the social world of early first-century Palestine under Roman domination will help us read the Gospels better.

were grown,

With roughly one hundred miles separating the two, it is still possible to go from below-freezing, snow-covered terrain to hot, dry desert land with 90°-100° F (or 32°-38° C) temperatures in a short span of time.

It has been estimated that the entire Roman empire contained 50 million inhabitants,

of which 4 million were Jews.

Rome itself may have topped one million residents, with people constantly leaving the countryside and moving to the urban center of the empire in hopes of a better life. As many as one-third of the inhabitants were slaves, including numerous runaways.

Most of them probably stayed in tents on the hilly country surrounding the city.

We must, therefore, avoid stereotyping Jesus and his disciples as roaming through largely uninhabited regions with large farms.

Yet, interestingly, except for the annual festival pilgrimages to Jerusalem, we have no record of Jesus ministering in any of the larger or pro-Roman cities.

Main roads linked all major towns.

Many people traveled in simpler ox-drawn carts, by donkey, or on foot.

A wagon averaged seven to eight miles a day; on foot, people often traveled twenty.

Inns dotted the landscape, providing lodging for travelers, but many were notorious as hangouts for pirates and prostitutes.

Cargo boats measured up to 180 feet in length and could carry up to 1,200 tons of goods or 600 passengers and their provisions.10 (Paul's prison boat carried 276 people—Acts 27:37.)

The Roman baths were a cross between a modern country club and a community recreation center. They included “hot tubs,” exercise areas, libraries, and chapels.

Syrian Antioch, for example, had over two and one-half miles of oil-lit lamp poles.

A large dozen-room house with three courts has been excavated in Capernaum, which some think may have been Peter's.14

For the lucky few (i.e., the rich), Rome had constructed piping to provide hot and cold running water and sewage removal.

In Palestine roofs were flat, and people socialized there and slept on them to cool off a little during hot weather.

Windows were small, both for security and insulation purposes. The typical solitary aperture would have made searching for a lost coin (Luke 15:8-10) difficult with a small candle or oil lamp.

An invitation to a banquet thus gave ordinary folk a rare opportunity to eat food they might otherwise sample only at religious ceremonies (cf. Luke 14:12-14; 1 Cor 10:27-30).

Wine was the basic drink and generally healthier than water or milk, but as much as three times as diluted as it is today.