The Beginnings of Christianity

Judaism The Jewish religion teaches that a leader or a savior will one day come to set God’s people free The call this savior “Messiah” They expect this savior to save them from earthly problems such as being a part of a foreign Empire (such as Babylonia)

Judaism Around the change from BC to AD there was a baby born in Bethlehem, a town in the province of Judea. This baby was named Jesus He was born to a woman named Mary Mary’s husband was named Joseph and he was a carpenter The family was a Jewish family

Jesus As far as we know, Jesus grew up learning to be a carpenter also. At some point during his life, he learned that the old prophecies about a coming Messiah, were talking about him. When he was about 30 years old, he began moving around from place to place and teaching people along the way

Ministry of Jesus As he taught them, he called 12 of them to follow him. These 12 are called apostles or disciples Jesus taught about prayer, repentance, and the coming of God’s kingdom (How do you think the Roman Caesar might have felt about a man teaching about a kingdom that was coming that would overthrow the kingdoms on earth?)

Ministry of Jesus Jesus sometimes taught in parables. A parable is a comparison story. That means that he would tell stories that would teach his followers truths about God. Jesus attracted many followers during his time teaching (ministry) and sometimes preached to several thousand people at once.

Ministry of Jesus Many people liked Jesus and wanted to hear him more and more. Some people did not though. (Usually it was the religious leaders that did not like Jesus). Some people even talked about killing him. Eventually, some Jewish religious leaders arrested Jesus and brought him before their leader and he handed him over to a Roman governor named Pilate.

Death of Jesus Pilate was not sure what to do. He didn’t really think Jesus was guilty of a crime but there were a lot of people that had gathered to pressure him to find him guilty. Eventually he does find him guilty and decides to punish him. The Romans execute Jesus by crucifixion.

Death of Jesus Jesus died on the cross that Friday evening, and was taken off the cross and placed in a tomb. A giant rock was rolled over the opening of the tomb and guards were stationed there so no one could steal his body. On Sunday, something happened that no one expected. When some of his disciples went to the tomb, they found the stone rolled away and Jesus body was gone.

Death of Jesus They thought at first that Jesus’s body had been stolen but soon discovered that Jesus was no longer dead. He had resurrected. Jesus eventually ascended into heaven and told his followers to spread his message. The followers began meeting together and they called themselves the church.

Christianity Spreads Saul of Tarsus was a Jewish leader and he began to persecute the church He killed many Christians He had an experience on the road to Damascus He heard a voice that claimed to be Jesus and this voice told him to stop killing Christians The voice called him to be a Christ follower and he obeyed He changed his name to Paul

Christianity Spreads Paul traveled all over the Roman Empire and helped to start new churches in many cities Paul was both a Jew and a Roman Citizen Paul wrote many epistles or letters to churches 13 of these letters are contained in the New Testament

Christianity Spreads Paul was put in prison many times for preaching about Jesus because it was against the law in Rome Paul was eventually arrested and (probably) executed for preaching about Jesus After Paul’s death Christianity continue to spread throughout the Roman Empire

Christianity Spreads What characteristics of the Roman Empire do you think helped Christianity spread?

Basic Beliefs of Christianity God gave mankind laws Man broke these laws and sinned against God People can never keep these laws because their nature is corrupted by sinfulness God the Father sent Jesus into the world as a human Jesus obeyed God’s law perfectly He died on the cross but didn’t deserve to die because he had no sin

Basic Beliefs of Christianity He rose from the grave and in doing so conquered death Because Jesus died and then rose, people can be forgiven of their sins and “made righteous” This means they will not pay for their sins for ever and ever in a place called hell or the lake of fire People that are forgiven of their sins, trust Jesus and the work he did

Basic Beliefs of Christianity These followers are usually called Christians Jesus will some day “come again” and this will be the end of the world and the beginning of the “new heavens and the new earth” Christians will live forever with God on the new earth and will never have suffering or pain In the meantime, Christians gather together and worship God. This is called the church.