LECTURER

REV. CAN. ASSOC. PROF. ELLY. KANSIIME

0772621182
ekansiime@ucu.ac.ug
UNDERSTANDING NEW TESTAMENT

2019
NEW EDITION
 CHAPTER ONE:
THE INTERTESTAMENTAL PERIOD
 GENERAL AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

 To appreciate the New Testament books as

witnesses of Jesus Christ.
 To understand the history and message of Jesus
and the early Church.
 To relate the message of the New Testament’s to
one’s life, work life and the contemporary world.
 INTRODUCTION
•The New Testament is truly believed to be a
fulfillment of the Old Testament Prophesies.
•What the Old Testament was not able to
accomplish, is accomplished in the New
Testament.
•The New Testament makes creation complete
through the gift of God: Jesus Christ
•It opens new gates to new life by transforming
the Old Testament religious systems.
•Inter Testamental is a period between the two
Testaments, it seems to be silent, but was
crowded with a lot of social and religious
activities that impacted the Jewish people and
the nation of Israel.
•Many events took place which gave Judaism its
later distinctive religious ideology and also
prepared the way for the coming of Christ, and
the proclamation of His Gospel.
 OBJECTIVES TO CHAPTER ONE
1. To narrate the various power shifts from the
Babylonians to the Romans.
2. To describe the major activities during this period
that had direct influence on the religious life of the
Jewish people.
3. To outline the life and Ministry of Jesus in a way that
will serve as a reference point intended to look at Jesus
through the eyes of many different N.T authors.
4. To list five themes to look for throughout the New
Testament.
 THE SILENT PERIOD
•At the close of the Old Testament, we left Judah living
in Babylon as captives from 587 B.C
• In 539 B.C, after 48 years, the Persians over threw the
Babylonians and subjected all Babylonian captives to
their authority including the Jews.
•The Persians dominated in this region until 336 B.C for
203 years
• Under King Cyrus the Jews were permitted to return
to their homeland: Jerusalem.
•On their return from exile, the Jews rebuilt the
Temple (that was formerly destroyed by
Babylonians) and dedicated it during the reign of
King Darius the Great
•The work of rebuilding the Temple and
rededicating the Covenant community, and the
worship of God was encouraged and
championed by Ezra and Nehemiah (Read Ezra
1-6)
•The Persians gave the Jews liberty to settle any
where they liked in the Empire.
•They were given:
- freedom of worship.
- the right to choose their own Priests, though
they were ultimately answerable to the Persian
authorities.
 SOCIAL AND RELIGIOUS
DEVELOPMENTS
•Due to lack of the Temple, Jews began to worship in Synagogues
that were spread throughout the Persian empire.
•Originally Priests served in the Temple and performed the
required sacrifices.
•However, during exile worship in Synagogues centered more on
the study of the law than worship.
•This elevated the position of teachers of law to become the
more influential preservers and interpreters of the law.
•People with questions about God became more likely to turn to
a teacher of the law than a Priest
 CONFLICTS
•The returnees from exile (538 BC) came into social and
religious conflicts with the Samaritans (the descendants
of the Israelites who were left behind during exile and
had intermarried with other Canaanite or foreign
tribes)
•Their intermarriages led them to loose their social and
spiritual identity and led these Samaritans to have a
syncretistic worship that incorporated elements of
Pagan religion and the worship of Yahweh, the God of
Israel.
•The returnees therefore, denied Samaritans access to
the rebuilt Temple.
•While the Jews rebuilt the Temple in Jerusalem,
the Samaritans because of anger, built a rivaling
one on Mount Gerizim in the North.
•This led to religious and ethnic strife between
the returnees (Jews) and Samaritans, and that
proved to be even long lasting and made it all
the more amazing even during Jesus time (c.f.
Jesus and the Samaritan woman, and The Good
Samaritan)
 THE GREEK DOMINANCE
•In 336 B.C the Greeks over threw the Persians, after
203 years of Persian rule.
•Alexander of Macedonia, a heir of the Greek culture
brought the Persian rule to an end.
•The Greek rule lasted up to 165 years.
•Besides Alexander being a dictator/tyrant, he was also
a keen pupil of Aristotle, one of the great Greek
philosophers.
•He was convinced that the Greek culture was the only
force that could unify the world.
•He quickly and mercilessly conquered all the land of
the former Persian Empire, (from Med. Sea to W. India)
 GREEK CULTURE
•Alexander erected five public buildings: a
gymnasium for games, and open- air theatres in
every city he conquered, encouraging elements
of Greek life throughout the Empire.
•He Built Alexandria in Egypt and many Jews
were encouraged to live there.
•All individuals were encouraged to take Greek
names, adopt Greek dress, and speak the Greek
language
•This Greek culture was called Hellenism
 HELLENISM
•Hellenism attracted a large number of people including
Jews. For to be Hellenized meant to be civilized and this
resulted into;
1. Social and Economic Development
i. Trade and commerce that brought wealth.
ii. Building libraries and schools that brought literacy.
iii. Building better houses and introducing better foods
that raised the standard of living.
•However, as idolatry became the great stumbling block
to Israel in pre-exilic period, Hellenism became the
great post-exilic temptation.
 CHALLENGES

2. Social and Religious challenges

•Nude nature of competing in sports made some
Jews to stop circumcision to avoid public
embarrassment.
•To have more time for Greek sports and leisure,
many Jews started to abandon Temple and
Synagogue services.
•Some Jews adopted Greek names.
•Others began to pay homage to Greek gods and
goddesses such as Poseidon, Zeus, Jupiter,
Artemis and Aphrodite
•Alexander’s reign ended shortly at the age of 33
years due to:
- a lot of worries,
- over drinking and
- ill- health.
•After his death there was;
- power struggle, causing the great empire to fall
into the hands of greedy generals, of whom two
became prominent for our study
 JUDEA
•Judea fell under the hands of Antigone, who was
eventually defeated by Ptolemy who was surnamed
Soter or deliverer.
•Under his reign, Centered in Egypt, Jews fared well.
•Many Jews continued to settle in Alexandria where
they eventually translated their Scriptures into Greek.
•Jews became;
-prosperous
-had their high Priests appointed as their religious and
political leaders.
•The office of the high priest became prestigious
and attracted competition with struggle.
•Later the Ptolemies were defeated by Seleucids
under Selucus 1 whose Headquarters were at
Antioch.
•Where as the Ptolemies were tolerant of Jewish
institutions, the Seleucids determined to enforce
Hellenism on the Jews.
•Antiochus surnamed Epiphanes, defiled the Temple by;
- forbidding sacrifices to Yahweh
- outlawed circumcision
- forced Jews to eat pork
- cancelled Sabbath and other feast days.
- Copies of Scriptures were ordered to be burned.
- A statue of Jupiter was erected in the Temple.
•Some Jews resisted this tyranny, while others submitted.
•The office of the high priest was corrupted by Antiochus.
 JEWISH REVOLT

•The Jews became more discontented when at one

point Antiochus sent emissaries to force the Jews to
offer a pig (an unclean animal to Jews) as a sacrifice on
the Holy altar.
•Mattathias an old priest from Median, killed the official
and the Jew who attempted to offer the sacrifice.
(Think of what you would do when forced to go against
your religious or professional beliefs)
•He together with his five sons organized a guerrilla war
known as the “Maccabean Revolt” after Judas son of
Mattathias who was nick named Maccabeus meaning
“the hammer”.
•John Maccabees the 3rd son of Mattathias
followed his brother’s fight for Jewish liberation
and led a successful war that helped them to
recapture Jerusalem and rededicate the worship
of Yahweh
•John was succeeded by his brother Jonathan
after his death in the battle
•He was not a military genius, but used
diplomacy to gain power.
•He was able to become a high priest and
political leader of the Jews.
•When Jonathan died, his brother Simon took
over power
•However Simon and his two sons were
assassinated by his son in law.
 THE EMERGENCE OF THE JEWISH
SECTS DUE TO DISAGREEMENTS
•Sadducees
 These supported the off shoots of the Maccabees
who were known as the Hasmoneans. They ruled as
both Kings and Priests.
Pharisees
Supported that a true king could only be a
descendant of David, and a true priest a descendant of
Aaron.
The Essenes
Preservers of the “Dead sea scrolls”
•The Essenes are believed to have founded the
Qumran community around this time in reaction
against the Hasmoneans.
•Successive rulers became more and more
unpopular. Alexander Jannes forced people into
attacking him with stone as he attempted to
perform a priestly duty.
•In reaction, he killed 6000 Jews.
•The country became increasingly unstable.
 THE ROMAN RULE

•In 64 B.C, the Roman empire turned its attention

towards Israel, a nation that offered little resistance.
•Pompey, the Roman General, sacked Jerusalem, and
soon the Jews were once again under the command of
a foreigner, an Idumean named Antipater who was
installed by the Romans.
•Later he was followed by his son, Herod the Great who
became the King of the Jews.
•It was under his rule that Jesus was born, and ordered
all male children in Bethlehem to be killed.
•Intending that Jesus would die among them.
 JESUS LIFE AND MINISTRY IN OUTLINE
•What we know about the historical Jesus
comes from the four Gospel accounts.
•There are two Gospels that offer a description
of the events surrounding Jesus’ birth; Matthew
and Luke offer some account of Jesus’
childhood, preparation for ministry which was
proclaimed by John the Baptist.
•Jesus preparation ends with the death of John
the Baptist who was imprisoned and later
beheaded by Herod.
 JESUS’ TRAVELS AND MINISTRY
•Jesus spent a good time travelling by foot around the
region of Galilee, calling Disciples, training, teaching,
and healing.
•Towards the end of his three years, Jesus moved with
his Disciples and a band of his followers towards
Jerusalem.
•During the religious festival of the Passover, despite
the thrilling welcome he received at the beginning of
the week, he was betrayed and handed over for
crucifixion.
• This was not the end of his ministry, rather the
beginning.
•The New Testament authors reflect on the
significance of Jesus’ actions and promises as
they describe the situation of Jesus’ followers
after his death, resurrection, and ascension into
heaven.
•Jesus’ death became the crucial message of the
disciples and succeeding generations of
disciples, to this day.
 JESUS IN THREE TYPES OF LITERATURE

•There are three types of literature through

which Jesus is expressed: The Gospels, the
Epistles, and the Apocalypse. Each literature has
a different way of portraying Jesus and his
works.
•However, there is another type of literature
known as “Historical Narrative” which is very
important to note, because it gives the
highlights of the birth and expansion of the
church by the work of the Holy Spirit.
 THE GOSPELS
The Gospel
•Gospels are stories of a special kind, revealing Jesus
story in which heaven and earth intersect in real time.
•Christians believe that events described in the Gospels
really happened. They convey God’s message. They are
more than stories.
•In the Gospels Jesus demonstrates his power and
authority to heal and forgive sins.
•Jesus shows his concern about peoples’ physical and
Spiritual needs (Mk.2:1-12; Matt. 9:1; Luk.5:17-26)
 EPISTLES
•These are mainly letters written to different
churches and Christian communities of the 1st
century A.D.
•There are 21 Epistles and all of them aim at
explaining the work of Jesus among believers as
reconciling us to God, where the death of Christ
has paid for our sins (see the New table next)
 APOCALYPSE
This third type of literature appeals more to
our imaginative minds than the gospel stories
do. It presents the vivid vision narratives
which are called “Apocalyptic writings and are
Prophetic in nature with divine revelations.
Two New Testament books represent this
kind of literature:
-Hebrews
-Revelation of John.
New Testament Writers and Writings
NT BOOKS WRITERS WRITINGS

Matthew Matthew Gospel

Mark John Mark? Gospel
Luke Luke Gospel
John John Gospel
Acts Luke Historical Narrative
Romans Paul Epistle
1&2 Corinthians Paul Epistle
Galatians Paul Epistle
Ephesians Paul Epistle
Philippians Paul Epistle
Colossians Paul Epistle
1&2 Thessalinians Paul Epistle
1&2 Timothy Paul Epistle
Titus Paul Epistle
Philemon Paul Epistle
Hebrews Unkniwn Epistle
James James Epistle
1&2 Peter Peter Epistle
1,2&3 John John Epistle
Jude Jude Epistle
Revelation John Apocalypse
 NEW TESTAMENT THEMES TO LOOK FOR

1. The Good News about who Jesus is. A man who died
and resurrected about 2000 years ago, on whom the New
Testament is hinged
2. The Fulfillment of the Old Testament Prophecies and
patterns. All New Testament writers take us back to O.T
to justify the coming of Jesus Christ
3. The Old and the New in Tension. Controversies created
by traditions and religious beliefs
4. The Kingdom of God. Living under God’s rule (in the
Kingdom; eternal life)
5. Strengthening the believers. Focus to the church under
persecution, to encourage, strengthen the growing
Christian communities
 ASSIGNMENT QUESTIONS

1. a. Outline examples of foreign cultures being adopted by African

Christians today. Are there any disadvantages of such foreign
cultures to moral stability in your country?
b. Explain any five lessons that African Christians can learn from
foreign cultures.

2. Explain the three kinds of literature we find in our study of the

New Testament and explain the unique contribution of each to our
picture of Jesus and His ministry.

3. List and explain the five themes from your reading of the New
Testament.
 TERMS TO NOTE

TERMS TO NOTE
Study these terms from The Lions Handbook to the Bible or
Zondervan Handbook to the Bible, and find out their meaning and
significance in your study of New Testament.
a) Greeks
b) Hellenism
c) Herod’s Temple
d) Maccabees
e) Persians
f) Pharisees
g) Procurators
h) Ptolemies
i) Romans
j) Sadducees
k) Seleucids
l) Synagogue
m) Zealots
n) Persons:
 cont.

i. Alexander
ii.Antiochus Epiphanes
iii.Cyrus
iv.Darius
v. Herod Antipater
vi.Herod the Great
vii.Judas Maccabeus