When the believers began to bring the message of the gospel to the world of the Gentiles, they quickly realized that their faith made them extremely countercultural. How would they explain the good news in places where they couldn't engage in the ... MORE
The apostle Paul was no stranger to the duties of a rabbi, having studied under one of the most famous rabbis in Israel before becoming one himself. He understood exactly what Jesus meant before His ascension, when He commanded the church to go ou... MORE
The Lord defied the gods of Egypt with mighty displays of power so that Israel, Egypt, Pharaoh, and ultimately the entire world would see the strength of the one and only God. Pharaoh hardened his heart, but the Israelites responded to the power o... MORE
The Bible compares those who trust in the word of the Lord to great trees planted by streams of water. What would this image mean to someone living in the desert, where water is scarce and trees are few and far between? Is it possible to live out ... MORE
Sheep and shepherds were so much a part of the Biblical world, it's no wonder Jesus uses the imagery as a metaphor in several of His teachings. The shepherds of His day knew every one of the animals in their flock by sight and spent their lives pr... MORE
The Colosseum in Rome is famous for many reasons, not least of which because it was built by the spoils of war from the destruction of Jerusalem, the military defeat of the Jews. In the Roman world, it was assumed that if Caesar was... MORE
Jesus came with a unique message, preaching to the Jewish people that “the kingdom of heaven has come near” (Matthew 4:17). But from the beginning, there was another king who hates the shalom that God creates and loves life’... MORE
When the time came for God to choose a people, He didn’t pick the strongest kingdom He could find. He chose the weak, the nobodies – a family that would become the nation of Israel. God rescued them from Egypt and brought them into the... MORE
When questioned about his message, Paul tells the Athenians that the one and only God "does not live in temples made with hands" (Acts 17:24). Naturally, anyone who was curious about Jesus in the Greco-Roman world would ask the early bel... MORE
Jesus told His disciples that anyone who wished to follow Him would have to take up his own cross. Many of the early believers did just that, willingly following in their rabbi's footsteps even when it meant certain death. Count their cost as you ... MORE
The Christian faith is built upon the reality of Christ's death and resurrection. Jesus' death removed the barrier of sin between humankind and God, and brought into being a new era of relationship.Prophecies given hundreds of years before Jesus w...
Soldiers of the Cross?
In November, 1095, Pope Urban II called upon all true Christians to free the Holy Land from so-called Muslim infidels. His speech sparked a period of violent conflict between Christian Europeans and the Muslims of the Middle...
Jesus used various word pictures and ideas that were familiar to the people of his time in order to communicate effectively with both religious Jews and pagans.The Bridegroom ImageFor example, Jesus described his deep love for his followers in ter...
Decapolis means "10 cities." Though the number of cities changed from time to time, the Decapolis was a group of independent city-states that were thoroughly pagan and Hellenistic. Veterans of Alexander the Great's army founded several o...
Believed to be the goddess of grain who provided food, Demeter was popular among common people because acquiring enough food was a dominant concern for them. The secretive cult worshiped in a temple (twenty-two by forty feet) and eight-hundred-sea...
By cutting through the layers of civilization and examining the artifacts, structures, and even human remains, archaeologists can reconstruct the lifestyle of a community. Pottery styles change over time, and since pottery is virtually imperishabl...
To nail or tie a person to a cross until that person died. A cross was made of rough beams of wood nailed together in a "t" shape. Jesus died by this method, which was usually used for criminals.
An inland lake in the Great Rift Valley known as the Salt Sea; 50 miles long and 10 miles wide, the salt content is five times more concentrated than the ocean and is uninhabitable by marine life. The Essene community lived in the wilderness along...
Commentaries or instruction manuals for the Essene community discovered in 1947 by the Dead Sea in caves near the ruins of Khirbet Qumran. They provide valuable insights into the beliefs of one religious community from the time of Jesus; and conta...
Ten Hellenistic cities established at the time of Alexander the Great east of the Sea of Galilee and north of Perea. Later, the Roman emperor Pompey organized the cities into a league named the Decapolis, largely populated by Roman army troops. In...
A powerful evil spirit that worked for Satan. Demons can sometimes control people. But Jesus has power over the demons and can make them come out of people (like he did at Susita).
A short sermon offered by the reader of the Torah or Haftarah in the synagogue. Any adult member of the community was eligible to speak the sermon, and it was frequently quite short (Jesus spoke only a few words, Luke 4:21).
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