“But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son" (Gal. 4:4).
The Historical Perspective of the New
Testament
The authors of the New Testament presented accounts of events set
within an historical context, based on reliable evidence. Luke, for example, in
both of his two volumes (Gospel of Luke and Acts), states that he sought to
provide an accurate and orderly account of the origins of Christianity. His
stated aim in the prologue of his gospel was to provide an accurate account, supported
by eyewitness testimony and careful research (Luke 1:1–4). Luke’s approach to
his work illustrates the concern for historical accuracy evident throughout the
New Testament.
The textual
evidence for the New Testament gives us assurance that it has been faithfully
and accurately preserved and handed down to us. For example, the number of
extant manuscripts of all or part of the Greek New Testament runs to more than five
thousand, far more than other historical works of antiquity. The earliest New
Testament manuscripts date as early as a few decades after the events they
record. This means we can be assured of the integrity and accuracy of the New
Testament documents, and of the story they record. As the notable scholar Sir
Frederik Kenyon concluded, “It is reassuring at the end to find that the
general result of all these discoveries and all this study is to strengthen the
proof of the authenticity of the Scriptures, and our conviction that we have in
our hands, in substantial integrity, the veritable Word of God.”[1]
So, the most
direct and important source for the knowledge of New Testament times and the
history of the early church is the New Testament itself. In addition, however,
there are other historical references to Jesus, his life, his crucifixion, and
the movement he started. Jewish rabbinic tradition dating within the century or
so following the destruction of Jerusalem in a.d.
70 occasionally referred to Jesus of Nazareth. As we would expect, those
references portray him as one who was put to death on Passover Eve for heresy
and for misleading the people. The Jewish historian and Roman citizen, Josephus,
mentioned Jesus in a similar way in his Antiquities, which he wrote in
about a.d. 93. In two different
passages, he referred to Jesus as the “so-called Christ” who was condemned to
the cross by Pilate, and the founder of the movement of Christians who bear his
name.[2]
Other historical references include one made
by Pliny the Younger, proconsul of Bithynia. In about a.d. 112, Pliny wrote to the emperor Trajan to report on the
growth of Christianity in his province. He described how Christians, when they
worshipped on the first day of the week, recited hymns “to Christ as God.” At
about the same time, the Roman historian Tacitus wrote in his Annals
between a.d. 115 and 117 about the
great fire of Rome in a.d. 64. He
described how Nero tried to blame it on the Christians, whose name was derived
from “Chrestus,” a man who was sentenced to be executed by Pontius Pilate when
Tiberius was emperor. Tacitus’ contemporary, Suetonius, in about a.d. 120 wrote about rioting that
occurred among the Jewish community in Rome during the reign of Claudius around
a.d. 49. He ascribed the riots to
the instigation of “Chrestus.”
While these and other historical references
do not add much detail to our knowledge of Jesus Christ and the early
Christians, they do provide indirect and independent evidence that Jesus of
Nazareth and the movement he started were known by Roman historians of the
ancient era.
In the Fullness of Time
Luke’s gospel connects the birth of Jesus with a decree issued by
Caesar Augustus “that a census be taken of all the earth” (Luke 2:1–2). While
the year cannot be determined precisely, the information provided by Luke,
combined with historical information about the census, leads us to conclude
that Jesus’ birth occurred around 5/4 b.c.
Luke also includes the following time stamp for the beginning of the
ministries of John the Baptist and Jesus Christ around a.d. 26/27: “Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of
Tiberius Caesar, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was
tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip was tetrarch of the region of
Iturea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias was Tetrarch of Abilene, in the high
priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John, the son of
Zacharias, in the wilderness” (Luke 3:1–2).
Such references
remind us that Jesus’ life—and in fact all the New Testament writings—are set within
the historical context of the Roman Empire. Rome provided the physical and
political environment for the growth of Christianity. The Pax Romana was an unprecedented time of peace and security
throughout the world. The open seas, along with the system of roadways and
highways, made for safe and easy travel throughout the world. The Lord’s
apostles and preachers used all these means to make their missionary journeys
to spread the good news.
The world of the
New Testament was not only Roman. While the world that Rome conquered was
diverse, there was a rich Greek culture that continued to characterize the age,
and constituted much of the intellectual soil for the establishment of
Christianity. Perhaps the best example is the Greek language, which offered a
universal medium of communication for the spread of the message.
The religious
roots for the birth of Christianity were found in Judaism. The Law of Moses
served as a “guardian” to bring God’s people to Christ (Gal. 3:24). God’s
choosing of Israel, the seed of Abraham; his giving of a Law with its high
ethical teachings; the various religious feasts and sacrifices; and the
prophetic message of redemption for all—all these things prefigured Jesus
Christ and his redemption in types and shadows.
Paul and the early Christians understood that the church was foreseen and planned in God's “eternal purpose” and carried out in Jesus Christ (Eph. 3:11). Prophets spoke of a Messiah, the redemption he would bring, and the kingdom he would establish. They spoke of an eternal kingdom that would “never be destroyed” that would come in days of the Roman Empire (Dan. 2:44). Isaiah prophesied that in the “latter days the mountain of the house of the Lord will be established as the highest of the mountains…For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem” (Isa. 2:2–3).
Christianity can
only be properly understood by seeing it as the fulfillment of the Old
Covenant. As Augustine said, “In the Old Testament the New Testament is
concealed; in the New Testament the Old Testament is revealed.”
The gospels and Acts cover a wide range of
scenes and circumstances, and demonstrate accuracy in a variety of matters, topographical
and historical. The authors were at home in the Jewish setting—the Sanhedrin,
the priests, the Pharisees, the temple guards. They knew about Roman
administrative procedures—that Cyprus, Achaia, and Asia were governed by
proconsuls (Acts 13:7; 18:12; 19:38); that Philippi was a Roman colony (Acts
16:20ff); that the magistrates of Thessalonica were called politarchs (Acts 17:8); that there were officials in Asia called asiarchs (Acts 19:31). They were
familiar with local religious traditions of the Greeks—that the people of
Lystra held to legend about Jupiter and Mercury (the Latin counterparts of Zeus
and Hermes) having visited men in that region (Acts 14:11–12); that Ephesus
took pride in the title of “temple keeper of the great Artemis” (Acts 19:35).
All these
political, cultural, and religious currents converged to make the first century
the right time for the beginning of Christianity. As Paul wrote, “in the
fullness of time, God sent forth His Son” (Gal. 4:4). Paul himself was
religiously a Jew, who spoke in Greek, and who was a Roman citizen.
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