For a first century Jew, to follow a rabbi meant to "be covered with the dust of his feet." When Jesus called His disciples, it was implied that they would begin this process of becoming like Him by following closely in His footsteps. Tr... MORE
The exodus from Egypt was a metaphor for God's greater redemption story, the restoration of shalom from the chaos of the evil one. His purpose was to invite Israel into a greater story than the one of their bondage, eventually unveiling a plan of ... MORE
When the Lord brought the Israelites out of Egypt, the Promised Land awaited them, but first God led them into the desert. The time they spent there would not only get them out of Egypt geographically, but would also remove its influence from thei... MORE
When the tabernacle was established among the Israelites, God came and lived among His people. Its design, construction, and function revealed much of His character, which proved to be completely unlike that of any gods the people had ever known. ... MORE
At times, God chose to use the harsh reality of life in the desert near the Promised Land as a practical teaching tool to mold and shape His people. The Essenes went willingly into this wasteland to allow Him to do just that: to teach them His wor... MORE
In the Bible, the desert is an image of great hardship and suffering, signifying the impossibility of survival without access to basic resources. God often led His people through desert places, using the barrenness of the land as opportunities to ... MORE
When the Israelites left Egypt and began their journey with God to the Promised Land, how much did they know of their past history? Some, like Moses' parents, seemed to have retained a knowledge and faith in the God of their fathers, but the Bible... MORE
Jesus left heaven to be born in a filthy shepherd’s stable, as if to say, “I’ll leave heaven to enter the brokenness of your world.” Much of His teaching ministry, though, took place in a very different sort ... MORE
The people of the Bible lived in temple-building cultures. Temples provided pagan gods with a place to live, keeping them close to the people who worshiped them. Even Israel did the same – first Solomon, then Nehemiah and Zerubbabel, and eve... MORE
Most of Jesus' ministry was spent in Jewish communities, proclaiming the good news of God's kingdom to the people of Israel. His greater intention, though, was for His Jewish followers to bring this message to the Gentile world around them, a worl... MORE
After meeting Jesus on the Damascus Road, Paul dedicated the rest of his life to sharing the gospel with anyone and everyone. He soon became one of the major leaders in the early church, focusing much of his effort on reaching out to the Gentiles.... MORE
This gate was built in the sixteenth century, long after New Testament times. Several years ago, the Herodion remains were accidentally uncovered below this gate, indicating that it was probably built over the one used when Jesus visited the templ...
Jerusalem: The Midway Point in Hezekiah's Tunnel Where the Workers Met
The photograph shows the spot where the tunnelers met nearly at midpoint. The ability of these people to cut this small tunnel without modern instruments or tools is astonishing. The fact that they were only 10 feet off horizontally and none at al...
This photograph shows the southern stairs as viewed from the west, looking onto the stairs and Herod's massive Temple.On the right side of the photo is a straight joint in the wall. This is the beginning of Herod's extension of the Mount to the so...
This view is of the Temple, looking west. The Temple was one of the greatest buildings commissioned by Herod. The front was 170 feet high and 170 feet wide. The back portion was 170 feet high and 115 feet wide.The building was made of white marble...
The enormous Temple Mount of Herod had a 45-foot-wide colonnade around it. The eastern colonnade was called Solomon's Colonnade and was used by Jesus and the early Christians as a place of meeting and teaching. More than 40 feet high, the roof of ...
This section of the Temple Mount Wall dates from the time of Herod. The Temple stood on the floor above the wall shown here. This particular wall would have been more than 40 feet above the street in Jesus day. The Roman destruction of the Temple ...
Located below the Old City of modern-day Jerusalem, Wilson's arch extended high above the street in Jesus' time. The arch supported a bridge across the Tyropean Valley from the Upper City on the Western Hill.Like Robinson's Arch (both of these we...
The term rabbi in the time of Jesus did not necessarily refer to a specific office or occupation. That would be true only after the Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed (70 AD). Rather, it was a word meaning great one or my master which was applied t...
God's plan for the birth of the Savior unfolds through the people he chooses to be in Jesus' ancestral line.For example, Rahab, a prostitute in Jericho, hid two Israelite spies and believed in Yahweh. Because of this, she and her entire family wer...
Jewish Feasts
In the Old Testament, God instituted a religious calendar for the Israelites to follow. Within each year, there were seven specified feasts (Lev. 23), four in the spring and three each fall. Through these feasts, the Jewish people ce...
The Revolt Begins
In AD 66, a Gentile in Caesarea offered a pagan sacrifice next to the synagogue's entrance on the Sabbath. Jewish citizens protested, so Jerusalem authorities ended all foreign sacrifices in the temple, including those to Caesar....
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