USyd BBCL2609: Theology and Religious Studies - Jesus in Palestine

This essay delves into the portrayal of Jesus Christ in 1st-century Palestine, examining how He was viewed by both Jewish and Christian communities. It analyzes the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, highlighting the influence of Jesus' teachings and the concept of faith and trust among the Jews. The essay explores the concept of Divine Sonship, the role of archaeology in confirming historical events, and the conflicts between Jesus and some Jewish sects. It also discusses the significance of Bethlehem as the birthplace of Jesus, supported by archaeological findings. The essay further examines the political climate, Jesus' actions in the temple, and the interpretations of Jesus as a divine being and the son of God, drawing on the epistles of Paul and other historical sources. The conclusion emphasizes the atypical nature of Jesus in Palestine, considering both Christian and Jewish perspectives and the impact of His teachings on both communities. The essay references various scholarly works and provides a comprehensive overview of the historical and religious context surrounding Jesus' life and impact.

Running head: THEOLOGY AND RELIGIOUS STUDIES
Theology and Religious Studies
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1THEOLOGY AND RELIGIOUS STUDIES
The role and representation of Jesus Christ has been different in different times. Jesus
Christ is generally looked upon as an entity who was been worshipped throughout all the
countries among the Christian people. Many people have been influenced by Jesus Christ and
His messages from time to time. In the first century, the Jews of Palestine had been influenced
by the messages of Jesus in almost all the ways. Different Gospels like that of Matthew, Luke,
Mark and John have revealed this in many cases as well. Many parables have been written on the
background of Palestinian Jews and other people. In this essay, the ways Jesus was portrayed
among all the people in Palestine will be discussed. The Jews had been largely inspired by the
stories and Gospels regarding the birth, childhood and growing up of Jesus. The concept of faith
and trust had been portrayed within the minds of the common Jews in the country. Therefore, the
typical ways of Jesus being portrayed will be discussed in this paper. It is quite clear that Jesus
was different than all other people of the time. Therefore, He is not so much typical as the
common people in Palestine and hence He was the Son of God sent to this earth to cleanse the
sins.
As the stories of the Gospels had come into effect, it could be understood that the people
of all spheres of the society were eager to hear the words of the Jesus Christ.1 They believed
Jesus had all the powers in this world to cure them. The authors of the Gospel had discussed this
fact in a large manner as well. It has been rendered in different Gospels that people went to Jesus
and they were healed. In Luke 17:11-19, it has been said that a person had been cured and healed
by Jesus Christ.2 He went on to thank Jesus in every possible manner. The person who was
1 Hagner, Donald A. Matthew 14-28, Volume 33B. Zondervan, 2018.
2 Hurtado, Larry W. Lord Jesus Christ: Devotion to Jesus in Earliest Christianity. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing,
2005.

2THEOLOGY AND RELIGIOUS STUDIES
healed was a Samaritan and he thanked Jesus throwing himself at his feet. The religion of Jews
came to be known as Judaism in the first century AD. This religion was mainly based on the
ancient religion of Israel. Jesus had been portrayed as a unique character possessing all the
supreme powers in this world. This diversity had existed then because the Jews believed that
there was only one God.
On the other hand, the Jewish society was divided between many sects during that period.
The Jews of Qumran are important parts of the Jewish society at large. It is also worth
mentioning that a sect of the Jews called the Pharisees was very much against Jesus. Therefore, it
is very clear that Jesus was not liked in some sects of the Jewish societies as well. Apart from the
mentions of the city of Bethlehem in the Bible and the Gospels, the historical proof of this city
has been discovered as well. It was when an archaeologist in the year 2012, found an antiquity
that was known as Bulla.3 In the seal of the artifact, the name of Bethlehem was being written.
This is why it si the proof that the place of Jesus’ birth really exist in the earth. This is the first
time in history that the mention of this city had been found outside of the Gospels. This place
Bethlehem was situated in Palestine and this is very crucial to the history and growth of
Christianity.4 This is so because it shows that the birthplace of Christianity was at Bethlehem in
Palestine only. Due to this fact, the conflict between the Jews and Christians on the significance
of Palestine in Christian history has found a new turn indeed.5
3 Hurtado, Larry W. Lord Jesus Christ: Devotion to Jesus in Earliest Christianity. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing,
2005.
4 Hagner, Donald A. Matthew 14-28, Volume 33B. Zondervan, 2018.
5 Cane, Anthony. The place of Judas Iscariot in christology. Routledge, 2017.

3THEOLOGY AND RELIGIOUS STUDIES
Many other accounts had been found in this context. It is a very important account for the
Christians that a census had been organized during the time of the birth time of Jesus Christ by
Augustus Caesar. In the Gospel of Luke this account has also been found that another census had
been found by Quirinius. He was the Governor of Syria during that period. Many such instances
had been found during this time. These events of census could be found in 6 AD, 34 AD, 62 AD,
76 AD and 90 AD. It is also of supreme importance to note that these accounts had been
recorded in the forms of papyrus. This of course meant that Jesus Christ was born at the time of
King Herod in Palestine. Therefore, he was also counted in the census as well. This is how the
findings of archaeology could support the birth of Jesus Christ during that period only. The
record of archaeology suggests that Jesus Christ was born around 6 or 4 BC. This is why it could
be said that Jesus Christ’s birth was before the incidents that have been mentioned in the
Scriptures. In the various scholarships or Gospels, Jesus had been looked upon in various ways.
Jesus was perceived as the one of the most powerful persons in the world. Many people also
began to begin that He was not merely a human being. Rather He had been sent by the God
Himself.
The mention of the word ‘Christos’ could be found in the different epistles of Paul.
Therefore, it is quite clear that the word Christos or Christ could be attributed to Jesus. Jesus was
a divine being and this was one of the beliefs that had been there in the minds of the people in
the common people of Palestine. According to beliefs of Paul, it is apparent that Jesus was the
divine son of the Holy father. Therefore, there were some similarities in the beliefs of the
common people of Jewish society as well.6 On the other hand, this Divine Sonship had been the
6 Bultmann, Rudolf. The Gospel of John: a commentary. Vol. 1. Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2014.

4THEOLOGY AND RELIGIOUS STUDIES
most common thing which was a very common tradition both among the Jewish and Biblical
tradition. Thus this term Divine Sonship became regular in the first century AD. In the first
century, some scholars were of the opinion that this term Divine Sonship also became a part of
the royal messianic tradition of the pre-Christian Judaism. This has been said in the Qumran
section of the Jew people.
These similarities have also been referred in the various parts where the mention of the
Davidic kings could also be rendered in the Messianic texts as well. Therefore, in the messianic
texts of Judaism, the term Divine Sonship did not refer to any sort of divinity. This indicated a
kind of special and close relationship between Jesus Christ and the Holy God. Thus, it suggests
that there are many similarities between contemporary Judaism and Christianity. So, Jews indeed
looked upon Jesus Christ as a very influential and atypical person.7 It is because He did not only
represent Christianity but also had some characteristics in Jewish traditions as well.
Jesus Christ is also atypical in some senses as well because He represented the entire
world and He believed in humanity only. In the Gospel of Mark 11:15-18 it had been mentioned
that Jesus Christ went into the temple area of Jerusalem.8 Then He found many merchants buying
and selling their merchandise. This had enraged Him and He began to drive those people off. He
7 Schäfer, Peter. The Jewish Jesus: How Judaism and Christianity Shaped Each Other. Princeton University Press,
2014.
8 Horbury, William. Messianism among Jews and Christians: Biblical and historical studies. Bloomsbury
Publishing, 2016.

5THEOLOGY AND RELIGIOUS STUDIES
told them to move away since the temple was the place for prayer and worship.9 He also went to
them and asserted that the House of God will always be remembered as the abode where it will
be open for prayer for all the nations. He also accused them of transforming this temple court
into ‘a den of robbers’.10 The politics in this situation was quite embarrassing since chief priests
and teachers wanted to kill him by some means. However, they were not able to kill Him since
people were very much spellbound by the ways of His teaching.
There were many conflicts between the followers of Jesus and the Jewish community as
well. The Jewish leaders had been criticized very sharply. In the trial of Jesus Christ, Jewish
people looked like culpable for all the incidents that took place there. In the opening genealogy
of the Jewish-Christian authors, Jesus Christ had been looked upon as the ‘son of Abraham’, ‘son
of David’ and ‘son of Christ’. Thus it is made clear that Jesus Christ was completely atypical
since He did not represent any sort of particular religion or community in the world. The term
Divine Sonship thus can be attributed towards the interpretation of the Jewish matrix of early
Christian language. These are the sections where critics have found the influence of Jesus Christ
in terms of both Christianity and Judaism.11 These attributes are clearer than the pagan religiosity
within the environment. In this juncture, the references and analysis of Paul should be considered
9 Schürer, Emil, Geza Vermes, and Fergus Millar. The history of the Jewish people in the age of Jesus Christ. Vol. 2.
A&C Black, 2014.
10 Homolka, Rabbi Walter. Jesus Reclaimed: Jewish Perspectives on the Nazarene. Berghahn Books, 2015.
11 Horbury, William. Messianism among Jews and Christians: Biblical and historical studies. Bloomsbury
Publishing, 2016.

6THEOLOGY AND RELIGIOUS STUDIES
as a very crucial factor. Jesus Christ is regarded as the son of the Almighty God in both the
Christian and Jewish communities in the first century AD.
In fact, this Divine Sonship is rendered in a way that Jesus Christ has a very close and
intimate relationship with the God. The divinity of Jesus Christ is not expressed in these
situations at all. In the epistles of Paul, the word Kyrios has been used almost 180 times that
defines the lord.12 Here Jesus Christ Himself is referred as the God. As per the Greek meaning,
this word Kyrios signifies a position i.e. superior to others. Therefore, Jesus Christ has been
rendered to possess that superior position in both the Christian and Jewish lives. This word
kyrios became a part of the religious vocabulary during that time.13
In the first century AD, Jesus Christ could be interpreted in both the Christian and Jewish
traditions indeed. This term was interpreted and attributed to the deities like Lord Serapis.
Among the early Christians, the use of this word could be seen in numerous ways.14 Thus the
pagans were able to understand that Jesus had been revered as a divine being. The research
experts have found the connotation of this word in the semantic background of the Jewish
background. This proves that Jesus Christ was not all typical to any of the religious traditions in
12 Pawlikowski, John T. "Fifty Years of Christian-Jewish Dialogue-What Has It Changed?." Journal of Ecumenical
Studies 49, no. 1 (2014): 99.
13 Williamson, Clark M. Has God Rejected His People?: Anti-Judaism in the Christian Church. Wipf and Stock
Publishers, 2017.
14 Boin, Douglas. "Hellenistic" Judaism" and the Social Origins of the" Pagan-Christian" Debate." Journal of Early
Christian Studies 22, no. 2 (2014): 167-196.

7THEOLOGY AND RELIGIOUS STUDIES
a single manner- be it Jewish or Christian. In the early period, Jewish people avoided uttering the
Hebrew name of God (Yahweh).15 They used some other substitute names in this discourse. Thus
the word kyrios came up in both the religious vocabularies of the Jewish and Christian
communities.
On a concluding note, it is very clear that in the irst century AD in Palestine, Jesus Christ
was not at all typical to a certain group or community of people. Rather Jesus Christ was atypical
in most cases. His view about the world and interpretations in the contemporary literature had
revealed His presence and existence in the best ways. The interpretation of those texts of
scholarship and Gospel stories prove that Jesus Christ had a strong place among the people in
both these communities. Even archaeological evidences have been found in this scenario when
the antiquity named Bulla contained the name of Bethlehem. This suggests that the city of
Bethlehem was very much there in history. So, the Jewish people have understood the
importance of Jesus Christ in their lives. There might have been some conflicts but it has very
little implications over the acceptability of Jesus Christ within the Jewish community.
References and Bibliography
Boin, Douglas. "Hellenistic" Judaism" and the Social Origins of the" Pagan-Christian"
Debate." Journal of Early Christian Studies 22, no. 2 (2014): 167-196.
Bultmann, Rudolf. The Gospel of John: a commentary. Vol. 1. Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2014.
Cane, Anthony. The place of Judas Iscariot in christology. Routledge, 2017.
15 Peters, Francis E. The Children of Abraham: Judaism, Christianity, Islam. Vol. 34. Princeton University Press,
2018.

8THEOLOGY AND RELIGIOUS STUDIES
Hagner, Donald A. Matthew 14-28, Volume 33B. Zondervan, 2018.
Homolka, Rabbi Walter. Jesus Reclaimed: Jewish Perspectives on the Nazarene. Berghahn
Books, 2015.
Horbury, William. Messianism among Jews and Christians: Biblical and historical studies.
Bloomsbury Publishing, 2016.
Hurtado, Larry W. Lord Jesus Christ: Devotion to Jesus in Earliest Christianity. Wm. B.
Eerdmans Publishing, 2005.
Kasemann, Ernst. The Testament of Jesus: a study of the gospel of John in the light of Chapter
17. Vol. 7. Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2017.
Keener, Craig S. The IVP bible background commentary: New Testament. InterVarsity Press,
2014.
Levine, Amy-Jill. The Misunderstood Jew. HarperCollins e-books, 2014.
Moxnes, Halvor, Ward Blanton, and James G. Crossley. Jesus beyond nationalism: Constructing
the historical Jesus in a period of cultural complexity. Routledge, 2016.
Pawlikowski, John T. "Fifty Years of Christian-Jewish Dialogue-What Has It
Changed?." Journal of Ecumenical Studies 49, no. 1 (2014): 99.
Peters, Francis E. The Children of Abraham: Judaism, Christianity, Islam. Vol. 34. Princeton
University Press, 2018.
Schäfer, Peter. The Jewish Jesus: How Judaism and Christianity Shaped Each Other. Princeton
University Press, 2014.

9THEOLOGY AND RELIGIOUS STUDIES
Schürer, Emil, Geza Vermes, and Fergus Millar. The history of the Jewish people in the age of
Jesus Christ. Vol. 2. A&C Black, 2014.
Williamson, Clark M. Has God Rejected His People?: Anti-Judaism in the Christian Church.
Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2017.