The approximately 400 years between the periods of the Old Testament and the New Testament is called the “Intertestamental Period.” Things are much different!

Imagine someone from 1616 (four hundred years ago) when most people didn’t have indoor plumbing, automobiles, airplanes, or telephones, transported to 2016 with  our surround sound in-home theater systems, smartphones, microwave ovens, and indoor plumbing. Talk about culture shock! Well, that’s the kind of jolt that we experienced when we ended our long period of studying Old Testament study and began the New Testament.

In the Old Testament, there is no “devil” nor demons; there was no “Rome” with its Caesars nor Greek culture and tax collectors; there were no synagogues, Rabbis, Pharisees, nor Sadducees. It seemed everything had changed politically and religiously. Yet Yehowah was still God and Judah (Israel) were still His people.

In the New Testament, His people longed for someone whom God would send to overthrow Rome and lead them back to pure worship. They called this person “the Messiah,” whose characteristics were established by Rabbis — the theologians or scriptural interpreters.

The Romans who ruled the region of “Judah” called it “Judea,” and the people of the region, Judeans — Jews for short. It is in this oppressive foreign culture that John the Baptist, a religious zealot, street preacher, and critic of the Jewish leadership, held public rallies to beg Jews to return to obedience to Yehowah by strictly following the Laws of God. Those who repented from disobeying the law, John would baptize — a sign of spiritual cleansing that was well known to the Jews.

Some believed John would become their anointed savior, their Messiah, because he preached about the Kingdom/reign/authority/rule of the heavens, also known as the kingdom of God, which was going take over. His reformation movement picked up steam when a young preacher from a neighboring community called Nazareth began to preach the same message, only he performed miracles too. His name was Yehoshua (Joshua), called Y’shua for short. The Hebrew name Y’shua was eventually translated to “Jesus.”

John the Baptist and Y’shua were kin. They were Jews, raised Jewish, in Jewish communities, who practiced strict Judaism with only Jews and taught only other Jews, who in turn were to teach only Jews.

‘I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.’ – Y’shua of Nazareth

“Do not go onto the road of the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans. Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel. – Y’shua of Nazareth

Y’shua made it clear that he did not intend to change the purity of the Law, nor the teachings of the Prophets; rather, he intended to show Jews how to follow them perfectly.

Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them, but to fulfill them. For I tell you truly, until heaven and earth pass away, not a single jot, not a stroke of a pen, will disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. – Y’shua of Nazareth

He also taught about the nature of the Kingdom of God, saying numerous times, “The kingdom of God is like…” and then providing a simile or telling a story/parable to explain how God’s rule would be different from any they’ve known. His message, called the “good news” or “gospel” of the Kingdom, was about the restored rule of Yehowah.

What caused him to lose his freedom and his life was the growth of his following and popularity, with prominent members of the leadership beginning to take him seriously. His rhetoric was increasingly condemning of the Jewish leadership and the status quo, warning his followers that they abused their offices and led people away from God.

You have disregarded the commandment of God to keep the tradition of men. […] You neatly set aside the commandment of God to maintain your own tradition. – Y’shua of Nazareth

He died living a life of obedience to God through the law and the writings of the prophets, teaching Jews that they should follow his “way” and to ignore the leadership when they taught otherwise. If they did so, then they would become part of the Kingdom of the Heavens — the Kingdom of God.

end part 11