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As a result of the Maccabean revolt, Judaism was by far the most prominent factor of the religious situation in Palestine. It was Greco-Roman culture that challenged Judaism. The problem of mixing cultures was an important factor due to the mixed reactions of the Jews and Gentiles when they found themselves living close. Jesus was a Jew and he chose to be himself, not because he was pressured by his environment. He came as a messenger to his own people and he did not discriminate against race, gender, and culture etc. he watched the people walking the streets of Palestine and he wrote about all of them in his parables. Israel was the people of God. It had a covenant with God. Jesus, as a member of Israel, lived his life as a member of God’s covenant people. He did not secede from Judaism and went to the synagogue. At the end of his life, he went to Jerusalem and the Temple to make his final appeal. He did everything as a Jew would. The covenant community was based on God’s acts in history. God has chosen, redeemed, judged, disciplined, forgiven, taught, and trained them. He had made them his covenant people and brought them into the Promised Land. Christians believed themselves to be the true people of God – The New Israel. The Old Testament meant so much to Jews in Jesus’ day, and to Christians now. The revelation is recorded and interpreted in the scripture, as are the stories of God’s acts with his people. In it, Israel and Jesus could find his revelation, his law, and his promise. The scripture is called the Torah – the five books of Moses, the ‘Law’.
Approximate Word count = 1128
Approximate Pages = 4.5
(250 words per page double spaced)
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