Grace Institute: The Pauline Epistles: Overview: Part II

Overview Survey of the New Testament: The Pauline Epistles Winter 2006

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The Background: Judaism & the Roman Empire

The Roman Empire

The Rise of Rome

Persia (424-331 BC)

The Jewish people had been conquered and carried into exile by the Babylonians in 586 BC. Seventy years later, after the Persians conquered Babylon, the Persian king Cyrus allowed the Jews to return to their homeland. While very few of the Jews ever left Babylon to return, nonetheless under the Persians the Jews regained a limited amount of self-government and a significant amount of religious freedom. The temple was rebuilt and the daily sacrifices restarted.

Because most Jews remained scattered throughout the Babylonian and Persian empires, it was during this time that Judaism began to shift its focus away from temple worship to the synagogue and from the sacrifices to the practical application of the law. This practical application of the law developed from the Torah to a detailed expansion of the Torah to fit new times and places. [1]

Greece (331-167 BC)

In 334 BC, Alexander the Great defeated the Persian army by the River Granicus in 334 BC, and subsequently began occupying the whole of the Persian Empire. Alexander took control of Palestine in 331 BC. In a few short years, Alexander had conquered an empire which spanned from Greece in the west to India in the west, and from the Caucus Mountains in the north to Egypt in the south.

Alexander died unexpectedly at the age of 33. He left no obvious heir to his empire; so after a great struggle, his four greatest generals entered an agreement to divide the empire into four domains. Cassander would rule Macedonia; Lysimachus would rule Thrace and Bithnyia; Seleucus would rule Babylon and Syria; Ptolemy would rule Egypt and Palestine. These four kingdoms turned into long lasting dynasties.

Alexander's design for his empire was to unite all his conquered lands under Greek philosophy, culture and language. The result was a combining of the Greek culture with the local cultures. This combining took place in Judaism as well, as Greek philosophy began to intermix with classic Jewish beliefs. Likewise, it is from this period that the Greek language became the lingua franca or the common worldwide language for commerce and government.

Under the Greek rule, the Jews were given significant freedom and lived in relative peace. Furthermore, Greek philosophy and thought continued to grow in its influence over Judaism, for most Jews still lived outside of Palestine, mostly in Babylon or Alexandria, where Greek language and culture remained strong. Alexandria would become a very significant center for Jewish philosophy and religion, and was the location where the Greek translation of the Old Testament (known as the Septuagint) was created.

Rome (63BC through the entire NT era)

For the most part, the Greek rulers continued a policy of non interference with the Jews, allowing them to worship freely and maintain a local government, until 175 BC when Antiochus IV (also known as Antiochus Epiphanies) came to power. During his reign, the relationship between the Seleucids and the Jews changed dramatically and resulted in a Jewish rebellion, resulting in a short-lived independent Jewish state. However, the independence granted Israel at this time had as much to do with a growing threat the Greek rulers faced from the west- Rome.

In 64 BC the Roman general Pompey the Great defeated the Seleucids and annexed the territory into the Roman Empire. Pompey seized Jerusalem in 63 BC, putting an end to 80 years of Jewish independence. The Jews would not have political independence again until AD 1948.

Rome often ruled through vassal kings such as this, allowing Rome to control the territory without the expense of maintaining a full contingent of the army. In the case of Palestine, the Romans gave power to the Herodian dynasty, which lasted from 63 BC until AD 70.

The Jewish War

Beginning in AD 66, the Jews revolted against Rome. Herod Agrippa remained loyal to Rome and requested assistance in putting down the insurrection. In AD 70 the Roman general Titus laid siege to Jerusalem and destroyed the city and the temple and to this day the Jews have been without their temple.

Pax Romana

With the exception of skirmishes around the far borders of the empire (such as the Jewish war), by the first century AD, the Roman Empire was a stable and peaceful society. The Romans had created an empire stretching from Spain in the west, Palestine in the east, Britain to the north, and Egypt to the south. The entire shoreline of the Mediterranean Sea was under Roman control. Politically, the emperors brought freedom from civil war. Economically, the stability of the empire brought great prosperity. Technically, the empire brought about unprecedented engineering marvels, including a highly developed network of roads providing relatively easy travel. Socially, the prosperity and stability produced new philosophical and religious thoughts and ideas. As a result, this was a time known as the Pax Romana¸ the peace of Rome.

This peace provides the apostle Paul with the ability to travel extensively without need of a passport and with the relative ease provided by the empire's transportation network.

Greek and Roman Religion

The first century was a time of great change in the Greek and Roman religious practices and understanding. Old religions were passing out of favor and people were increasingly willing to hear new religious ideas.

Traditional Pantheism

Classical Greek and Roman pantheism believed in numerous gods and goddesses who each exercised dominion over an aspect of life. The chief of these gods was known as Zeus (Greek) or Jupiter (Romans). Devotion to the gods was at its apex in the fourth and fifth centuries BC. But by the first century few people truly believed in the pantheon, and the ceremonial worship of the gods was mostly just tradition.

Greek Philosophy

The Greeks are well known for their great philosophers, such as Socrates, Plato and Aristotle. Stoicism was probably the most influential of philosophy of the first century. Stoicism taught that there is a distinction between matter and spirit. Matter, of which the body was a part, was passive and something to be subdued by the spirit. The spirit, which was called the logos (Greek for “word”) was conceived of divine logic or reason, and that one could find fulfillment through conformity to the logos . Stoicism has four cardinal virtues: wisdom, courage, justice and temperance [2].

Stoicism had such a wide spread influence that it even was incorporated in Judaic and Christian thought in the first and second century.

Mystery & Magic Religions

The mystery religions were secret societies where the few elite would be allowed to enter into secret knowledge and rituals. In combination with this was the belief in magic rites, incantations, spells, and rituals through which one could coerce the gods.

Gnosticism

Gnosticism was a belief that deeper knowledge was the key to personal fulfillment. It grew out of the Platonic dualistic philosophy which stated that the material world was evil while the spiritual world is good. This led to one of two extremes: either an ascetic lifestyle which tried to suppress the evils of the body, or hedonism which indulged the body since only the spirit survived.

Emperor Worship

As the Roman army systematically conquered other nations, belief in the national gods who were to protect them waned. If the Roman emperors could defeat those gods, then the emperor must be a god himself. The first emperor to be deified was Julius Caesar. Augustus was also declared a god, but only after his death. Nero was the first to try to enforce the worship of himself while he was alive. The emperor Domitian tried to enforce widespread worship of himself throughout the empire, leading to great persecution of Christians who refused to worship him.

The Rise of Christianity

This diversity in religious thought brought an openness in the people of the empire to new ideas. Judaism itself had grown in popularity throughout the empire, and Christianity would find great acceptance among the people. This unprecedented time of openness allowed the apostle Paul to enter a thoroughly pagan city, such as Athens, and discuss and debate philosophy and find a fertile ground for Christianity.

Social Structure

The Roman Empire was primarily driven by agriculture. There were some craftsmen and merchants, but this was by far the minority. The land was owned by a relatively small number of wealthy land owners.

There was very little technology involved in farming, and as such landowners required a great deal of human labor in order to work the fields and tend the flocks. In that day, labor came from two sources: slave labor, and free laborers. Slaves were usually the descendents of people conquered by the Romans. In cases of extreme poverty, people could also voluntarily become slaves as a means of economic support. These people could buy there way back out of slavery if they accumulated enough wealth.

Slavery, while a harsh way to live, did not carry the same social stigma as American slavery in the 19 th century. Many great Roman scholars, teachers, musicians and craftsmen were slaves to the Roman aristocracy. For those slaves who found themselves with a benevolent master, slavery was a secure way of life.

The Roman family household was the predominant social structure. The patriarch (father) of the household had absolute authority over all the members of that household, including the slaves, the wife and the children. Roman patriarchs could even order the execution of a member of his household. The absolute rule of the patriarch was seen as a microcosm of the absolute authority of the Roman emperor, and was the basis of all social and political power in the empire.

The apostle Paul, in his epistles, will challenge this absolute authority, telling the patriarch that he should lead his household like Christ leads the church— out of love and sacrifice rather than power.

First Century Judaism

Movement from Sacrificial Rituals to the Law

As a result of the Babylonian exile, a majority of the Jews lived outside of the Holy Land. Because of this, the worship of God through the temple sacrifices became less important. The focal point of worship moved to knowledge of and obedience to the law. The synagogue grew in importance as the center of Jewish communities and worship. This transition made prayer and good works as a replacement for the sacrifices.

First Century Jewish Religious Groups

Sadducees

The Sadducees were heavily influenced by Greek culture. They believed that only the Torah could be used to determine proper doctrine and they rejected all oral traditions on the Law.

The Sadducees were a small group comprised mostly of the wealthy aristocracy. By the time of Jesus they controlled the Jewish Sanhedrin, the local governing body. They didn't protest the Roman occupation as they benefited from the status quo. The Sadducees controlled the priesthood and therefore were more concerned with temple rituals and the animal sacrifices. Because of this the Sadducees died off after the destruction of the temple in AD 70.

In modern terms, the Sadducees would be the liberal Christians whose morality and doctrine are largely determined by secular culture.

Pharisees

The word Pharisee means “separatist.” This group opposed the Greek cultural influences, and they were strongly opposed to the combing of the priesthood with political power. There were frequent conflicts between the Sadducees and the Pharisees.

The Pharisees were not part of the priesthood, but were laymen who had great influence in the synagogues. Most of the prominent rabbis came from the Pharisees, and they were very popular with the common folk.

The Pharisees believed in the inerrancy of all the Old Testament scriptures and in the direct application of the scriptures to every day life. These applications of the law developed into a rich oral tradition on how to keep the law. In the centuries following Jesus these oral traditions would be written into what is known today as the Mishnah and the Talmud. Because their domain was the synagogues and the oral law, they Pharisees not only survived the destruction of Jerusalem at the hands of the Romans, but this branch of Judaism defines much of what is Judaism today.

Doctrinally the Pharisees believed in the resurrection, heaven and hell, angels and demons and a combination of predestination and free will. While Jesus opposed the legalism of the Pharisees, his doctrine aligned more with the Pharisees than the Sadducees. The apostle Paul was a devout Pharisee prior to his conversion to Christianity.

In modern terms, the Pharisees are the conservative evangelical Christians who hold to an inerrant scripture and a devotion to biblical morality.

First Century Church

The Expansion of Christianity

After the resurrection and ascension of Jesus, the church grew rapidly among the Jews. There were thousands of converts amongst the Jews in Jerusalem and throughout Judea. But Christianity at this point was merely a sect of Judaism, and the first Christians would have still considered themselves Jews.

However, as the ruling Jewish leadership began persecuting this sect for their blasphemous beliefs in a divine messiah, the Christians began to flee from Jerusalem and spread their message throughout Judea, Samaria, and Syria. There, the Christians spread the gospel message to the Jewish communities throughout the region. But the message also began to spread amongst the Gentiles.

In the city of Antioch, the Gentiles began converting to Christianity in great numbers. But the question came up- do these Gentiles need to convert to Judaism before becoming Christians? Most specifically, does a Gentile need to be circumcised before he can enter the church?

As Paul travels throughout Asia Minor , more and more Gentiles join with the Christians. The response of the Gentiles, however, brings new questions as to the role of Jewish law in Christianity. The early church is struggling for its identity; namely, is Christianity a sect of Judaism or is it something entirely new.

Paul had been teaching that Christ brings freedom which the Law can not bring. But many in the church in Jerusalem believed that upon conversion Gentiles needed to be circumcised and begin following the practice of the Jewish law.

The Jerusalem Council

The debate was settled in the only recorded church council in scripture. James summed up the argument by showing from the Old Testament that the witness to the Gentiles had been part of the plan all along ( 15:16 -18), and that the earthly kingdom would not take place until the “uttermost parts” knew the gospel. The Gentile believers did not have to be circumcised, nor did they need to keep the Law ( 15:28 ). All they were to do was to avoid idolatrous practices and sexual sin ( 15:29 ).

The official position of the church was that Gentiles did not have to follow the Law. But the debate and the tensions within the church regarding this matter remained throughout the first century. This discussion is the major overriding theme of the Pauline epistles.

Footnotes

1. Craig L. Blomberg. Jesus and the Gospels. (Nashville TN: Broadman & Holman. 1997), 9.
2. " Stoicism," Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia 2004. http://encarta.msn.com. 1997-2004. Microsoft Corporation.

Next: Part III - The Author: The Life of the Apostle Paul