Monday, June 30, 2008
"Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison. They were stoned, they were sawed in two, they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated – the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground" (Hebrews 11:36-38 NIV).
IDEA: We understand the New Testament by having a grasp of the Old Testament and also an understanding of the history between the Old and New Testaments.
PURPOSE: To help listeners catch a glimpse of how the history of the intertestamental period helps us with understanding the New Testament.
Have you been in another country to see the sights but you didn't understand what you saw? Without knowing the history, places you visited didn't make sense.
That's true with understanding the Bible: a knowledge of history helps you understand what you're reading.
I. Luke 2 begins with a very familiar passage about the birth of Jesus.
To fully understand that passage, what do you need to know?
Who or what is Caesar Augustus?
What is this census he was taking?
Who is Quirinius and what does it mean that he was governor of Syria?
Joseph and Mary went from Nazareth in Galilee to Bethlehem in Judea. Where did these names come from? What were they doing?
II. During the 400 year period between the Old and New Testaments the world changed.
At the end of the Old Testament, Persia was in charge of the world. In the opening of the New Testament, Rome was in charge of the world.
What happened during that 400 years? The Persians were conquered by the Greeks in 330 and the Greeks, in turn, were conquered by the Romans (c. 63 BC).
The leader of the Romans was called Caesar. One particular Caesar was Caesar Augustus. The reference in Luke 2 assumes that everyone would know about the Roman Empire and its leader.
One of the impositions that the Roman empire made on its citizens was to tax them.
The census was made so that the Roman Caesar could keep track of the people who would have to pay taxes. So the "whole world" (the whole Roman empire) participated in this census, including the Jews.
Luke says that the census took place while Quirinius was the governor of Syria.
In 63 BC the Roman general Pompey conquered the biblical territory for Rome. He renamed the Old Testament territory of Judah "Judea," making it a province along with New Testament territories like Samaria, Galilee, and the Decapolis. These were like counties within a state within the empire.
These provinces were under the governor of Syria who answered to Rome. Eventually one of those governors in Syria was Quirinius (Luke 2:2).
Why does Luke go into this detail? It meant more to the original reader than it might mean to us.
Conclusion: Knowing what happened between the Old and New Testaments helps us understand the New Testament itself.