by Tim Goodfellow

Moving from the Old Testament to the New Testament brings about some interesting changes. The underlying language changes from Hebrew to Greek; the worldview of the writers is different as well. The tangible, concrete imagery of the Old gives way to the loftier, abstract imagery that characterizes much of the New Testament. Yet, for as many differences as we see, much stays the same. The New Testament picks up the story of Israel's history and traces it through the life of a man named Jesus and then into the wonder and perplexity of figuring out what his life meant. Still driving the whole story is the continued message of God's stubborn love for humanity.

New Testament background

As Israel emerged from exile she found the world around her rapidly changing. The major empires of Egypt and Babylon faded as a man named Alexander the Great pushed the boundaries of his growing Greek empire farther into Asia and Africa. Alexander brought with him a new culture rich in philosophy, religion, and politics. This new culture presented challenges to Israel as she sought to remain faithful to the covenant to which God had called her, and also separate from the strange new society around her. After the death of Alexander, civil wars within the conquered lands led to the rise of yet another new empire—Rome. Rome brought a semblance of stability at the cost of heavy taxation and oppressive leadership.

As Israel sought to respond to the social and political climate of the Greco-Roman culture, she became increasingly diverse. Some groups, such as the Pharisees, sought clear separation from Rome by adhering to strict codes of laws—both the Torah and a new set of oral laws that had grown through tradition. Others, such as the Sadducees, sought peace by cooperating with Rome. They held positions of power within the new governing system and kept in good graces with the Roman leadership. Groups such as the Essenes sought greater isolation from society and formed communities distant from the cultural pressures found in the cities. Yet, for most of the people of Israel—those whose primary focus was sustenance—little changed from one empire to the next, other than whose city their taxes funded.

The life of Jesus

And then it happened. Most people missed it, save a few shepherds, a few astronomers from Persia, and a Roman governor named Herod. But in a sleepy suburb of Jerusalem a baby was born in a strangely unremarkable fashion—in a stable behind an inn. His parents gave him the name Jesus, derived from a Hebrew word meaning “he saves.” As time passed, any fanfare that the shepherds and astronomers brought with them quickly subsided and for most of Israel business went on as usual.

For roughly 30 years, few things changed in Israel. Rome continued to dominate and the people of Israel continued to try to adapt. The first signs that something unusual was afoot appeared on the banks of the Jordan River. A man known as John the Baptist proclaimed the coming of a messiah. Soon afterwards rumors circulated of a man, Jesus, healing people in the region of Galilee, north of Jerusalem. He healed unclean people, and he seemed to have little respect for traditions; he even healed on the Sabbath. Jesus suggested that he was a prophet of God, and he spent his time healing the sick and proclaiming good news to the poor. Massive crowds developed around him and his compassionate ministry.

Tension builds

Now if Israel had been anticipating a messiah, likely they were looking for one who would remove the heavy hand of Rome and restore them as an independent nation. The evils of Rome have been well documented through history, and Israel's desire to be freed of those evils would have been quite understandable. Thus it is equally understandable that a messiah who wanted little to do with Rome would have disappointed Israel. So when Jesus appeared and spoke more about finding blessing in the midst of persecution, many in Israel were offended. To add to Israel's frustration, he extended power to the powerless and threatened the power of many of Israel's leaders. Thus, just as quickly as people flocked to Jesus to hear him teach—or to receive healing—others began to dream of ways they could put an end to his ministry efforts.

Jesus' notoriety continued to grow as he continued to minister. His healings and miracles focused on restoring wholeness and respect to those who had been ostracized by society. He taught people in the same manner as the other leaders of Israel, but a credence and humility not found elsewhere marked his teachings. Despite their best efforts to challenge the things Jesus taught, Israel's leaders found themselves fumbling over their own words more often than not. This proved particularly embarrassing given Jesus' growing reputation for keeping shady company with tax collectors and sinners.

The tension inherent in Jesus' message and actions grew when he took his ministry to Jerusalem. Arriving at the time of Passover, Jesus was greeted with a pilgrim's welcome. The crowds sang Psalm 118 as they welcomed a fellow traveler to the Holy City. It is unclear to what degree the crowds understood that this man to whom they sang was the embodiment of the song they were singing. Any honor they bestowed upon him was short-lived, however. A week after Jesus arrived in Jerusalem, the leaders of Israel took action against this man who had threatened their authority. In a series of political maneuvers they conspired to bring about a death sentence for Jesus and rid themselves once and for all of the thorn in their side.

In the end, the life of Jesus left Israel a bit shell-shocked. Where they had looked for relief from Rome they found a call to remember what it means to live in covenant with God. Jesus' message to the people of Israel told them that they were to be a light to the world, an active participant in God's efforts to redeem humanity. Rome was not to be conquered by the sword but won over by love. And God made sure the people of Israel understood what that love looked like—unfailing obedience, even if that obedience led to the cross. For much of Israel, Jesus' death was good riddance—after all, grace and forgiveness are hard; and maybe another messiah would come who would free them from the Romans once and for all. Yet for a small group of disciples, and for countless others who had been given the gift of dignity for the first time in their lives, Jesus' death left a hole that would be impossible to fill.

A strange thing happened…

On the third day after Jesus died something peculiar happened. Several women went to attend to his body only to find it gone. And over the next six weeks Jesus, resurrected from the dead, quietly appeared to his disciples and a small number of others. No trumpets, no victory marches, no feasts marked this time, only Jesus with his disciples in the quite reality of everyday life. Then Jesus left as quietly as he came! He ascended into heaven and left his disciples staring at the sky, scratching their heads, wondering where to go from there. Just then, a man walked by and asked, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand here staring at the sky?” And the world hasn't been the same since…

Birth of a church

The disciples quickly understood that it would do them no good to keep staring at the sky. The work to which Jesus had called them was there on earth—and their work was cut out for them. Jesus' life had been a call to Israel to return to covenant with God and to bring all those outsiders (the Gentiles) with them. Uneasy with this call, Israel had bid a happy farewell to Jesus. Soon, however, Jesus' disciples returned to Jerusalem bringing the memory and mission of Jesus with them.

The early ministry of the disciples picked up where Jesus had left off. In Jerusalem they continued the work of healing and proclaiming the good news that all of humanity was invited to join in the redemptive work of God. The disciples quickly grew in number. Furthermore, this growing assembly of Jesus' followers held on to the humility and concern for those in need that had been characteristic of Jesus' ministry. They healed outcasts, pooled resources for the use of the whole community, and sought to extend the story of God's love to those who had never been deemed worthy of hearing it.

For some reason, a message of love and grace is hard to hear. Perhaps because it requires sacrifice—or relinquishing power on the part of the one who loves. The message of love often ends in the death of the messenger. In the life of Jesus, that message ultimately meant his death on a cross. And any questions as to whether the disciples would follow in the way of Jesus quickly found an answer. A follower named Stephen earned the bittersweet honor of being Christianity's first martyr, unnerving many of Jesus' followers. All but a few of the disciples left Jerusalem, dispersing into the surrounding area and taking Jesus' message with them, first to Samaria in the north and then to Ethiopia in the south. As is typical with love and grace, often the very act of trying to destroy a movement only makes it spread farther.

While the disciples dispersed from Jerusalem, one of Israel's leaders, Saul, sought to squelch the growing movement, working hard to threaten and imprison those who followed Jesus. Then he too encountered Jesus as he traveled to the city of Damascus. Jesus bid Saul to cease his efforts against Christians and to participate in taking Jesus' message into the world. For Saul, who by all means had earned the right to be condemned for his persecution of Jesus, the encounter on the road to Damascus was an indelible experience of God's grace. No longer could Saul—whose name changed to Paul after his conversion—deny the reality and depth of the message the disciples had been proclaiming. Soon, in spite of hesitation on the part of the disciples, Paul became one of the most prominent members of Jesus' followers. He was instrumental in taking the good news from Jerusalem north into Syria and eventually to the heart of the Roman Empire.

The church grows up

Almost without fail, growing pains accompany growth. To expand or enlarge requires stretching boundaries and commonly understood limits. Branching into new areas or acting on new ideas frequently means breaking a boundary altogether to provide an avenue through which to grow. The early church suffered its share of growing pains as it sought to understand the implications of Jesus' life for the people of Israel and for the Gentiles. For roughly the first forty years of its existence the early church was a Jewish entity. Though many of Israel's leaders wanted nothing to do with the growing number of Jesus' followers, those followers did not see themselves as separate from their Jewish heritage. They saw the message of Jesus as a message for Israel to take to the Gentiles. The church found its growing pains at the crossroads of Israel's traditions and the Gentile culture.

As Paul carried the message of Jesus out of Jerusalem and into the regions of modern Europe, he quickly learned that while Gentiles eagerly accepted Jesus' message, some Jewish customs didn't excite them—particularly circumcision. Thus, within the first generation of the early church, a major theological issue began to emerge: To what degree did non-Jewish followers of Jesus need to adopt the tenets and customs of Judaism to be welcomed into this new “Christian” community? The issue was resolved through a major “meeting of the minds” in Jerusalem in which the leadership of the church decided that Gentiles did not need to adopt all of the traditions of Judaism in order to follow Jesus. Paul took this news north with him as he continued his ministry into Europe. In Jerusalem, the decision marked one of the first of several events suggesting that the followers of Jesus were members of a movement that would become increasingly distinct from its Jewish roots. By A.D. 70, when Rome overthrew Jerusalem, Jesus' followers had clearly become a different movement from the people of Israel.

While Christianity was slowly separating from Judaism, Paul encountered yet another cultural clash in the north—what to do when the teachings of Jesus met the rule and traditions of Rome. Even simple practices such as communion presented a challenge for the early church as they exaggerated the class and social differences among those who were joining the church. Though the message of Jesus was quickly accepted, the implications of that message have not always been clearly understood. Even in the early church, those struggles were at times divisive. Yet, the early church left in its wake a small library of writings that illustrate and highlight the problems encountered and the means by which they sought solutions. In the book of Acts and the letters of the New Testament, one finds a picture of a church that is stretching and growing, a church that is asking questions that it had never known existed, a church that took hold of the love of Jesus and sought to understand the actuality of living it out.

In the end, the irony of the New Testament should not be lost. It begins with the people of God hoping that a messiah will soon arrive to release them from the heavy hand of Rome. As is often the case, God responded to that hope. But God responded by coming as a man who was scourged and humiliated by the Romans and who ultimately suggested that the only way to get the Romans off one's back was to love them to death. And that is precisely what he did. Then he demonstrated once and for all that even death had no hold over love. His followers took him seriously and went to Rome and beyond with the message of God's love. Sometimes they were welcomed with open arms and other times they met with death. Ultimately they knew that the love of God would overcome; they left the book of Revelation for the church of succeeding generations. While much ado has been made about Revelation, we should clearly understand it for what it is—a rich and complicated version of Paul's words from the book of Romans:

For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:38-39 NRSV)

In the end, the love of God prevails; meanwhile the calling of the church is to carry that love to the ends of the earth.