Christian Studies Jesus' Political Context Grade 8 Flashcards
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What was one of the largest empires in the worlds history?
The Roman Empire
Where did the Roman Empire extend to?
The Mediterranean Sea into Europe, Asia and Africa
What was the Roman Empire known for in Jesus’ time?
Massive public works like roads and aqueducts
What did the Roman Empire spread in Jesus’ time?
Greek Culture and Language
What did the Roman Emperor decide?
What happens on political, financial and legal matters
What were Roman Emperors considered as?
Gods
Who were the Emperors in Jesus’ time?
Augustus and Tiberius
What were Roman Governors?
They were judges who were responsible for law and punishment
What Roman Governor crucified Jesus?
Pontius Pilate
What were Roman Centurions in command of?
100s of soldiers
What did the Roman Centurions do?
Conquered new territories, took slaves and ensured Rome’s power.
What did Centurions do in Jesus’ story?
A Centurion had faith in Jesus, but their army executed him.
What did Roman Citizens have?
They gathered in assemblies, voted in elections and had special legal protection.
How did you get Roman Citizenship?
You could be born into it or buy it.
What was the percentage of citizens in the Roman Empire?
At the peak it was 10%
Was Jesus a Roman citizen?
No
What were Tax Collectors?
Private people who the Romans hired who collected money for building projects and the army.
Who looked down on the Tax Collectors?
The Jews but Jesus had dinner with them often
What was King Herod known as?
“The Puppet King”
Who was King Herod?
He was the king of the Jews but was under Roman control
What were the Herodians?
They were political party following King Herod
Why did the Herodians want Herod on the throne in Judea?
To restore the Jewish people
What did the Romans cal Israel?
Judea and later Judah
What was the name God gave Jacob?
Israel and decendants became the people of Israel.
By the time of the Roman Empire what were Israelites widely known as?
Jews, coming from the words of the Judaens.
Who looked down on the Galileans?
The Jews did, for them being uneducated and of questionable ancestry even though Jesus and most of his disciples were Galileans.
What were Galileans sometimes?
Many were Jews but some were Gentiles.
What did Galileans often take part in?
Protests against Rome
What is a very simple explanation for what a Gentile was?
Not Jewish
What did Jews use the term Gentile as?
They used it as a negative term, because some thought Gentiles couldn’t have the same relationship with god.
What were Zealots?
A group that strongly apposed the Roman Government and wanted to overthrow it to better follow God
What did the Zealots follow?
The Torah and believed the word of the priest should be the law
The Zealots believed they had power where?
In Palestine, but because of their actions the Romans destroyed Jerusalem and the temple
What was a Synagogue?
A place where Jewish people gather to pray, read scripture and worship
Jesus taught in the synagogues? Yes or no?
Yes
What were Pharisees?
The teachers of the torah
How did the Pharisees read the Torah?
They interpreted it
What did the Pharisees believe in?
Resurrection and that following the Torah is important
Did the Pharisees hate the Romans?
They did, because they didn’t follow the torah but still had significant influence.
Where did the Pharisees study?
The Synagogue
What were Sadducees?
They were high class and had a lot of influence over the Temple and Sanhedrin (High Priests)
Why could Sadducees be?
high priests, merchants or high class families
What did Sadducees believe?
They didn’t believe anything not in the Torah
What did Sadducees believe about the afterlife?
They believed there was no rewards in the afterlife or resurrection
What were samaritans?
A group of people from Samaria
Why did the Samaritans and Jews have conflict?
They disagreed where God’s holy temple was
Where did the Samaritans practice?
Not in the Temple
Why did the Jews look down on Samaritans?
Because the Romans eventually preferred the Samaritans giving them more powers than Jews
What is the opposite of Sinner?
Righteous
What is the definition of Sinner in Jesus’ time?
People who broke the Torah by being unclean because of illness, a degrading profession or non-Jewish people.
Who was excluded from Jewish society?
Sinners
