The Rise Christianity

• Roman power spread to Judea, the home of the Jews, around 63 B.C.
• At first the Jewish kingdom remained independent, at least in name. Rome then took control of the Jewish kingdom in A.D. 6 and made it a province of the empire.
• According to biblical tradition, God had promised that a savior known as the Messiah would arrive and restore the kingdom of the Jews.
• historians believe that sometime around 6 to 4 B.C., a Jew named Jesus was born in the town of Bethlehem in Judea.
• raised in the village of Nazareth in northern Palestine
• baptized by a prophet known as John the Baptist
• preached, taught, did good works, and reportedly performed miracles
• teachings contained many ideas from Jewish tradition, such as monotheism, or belief in only one god, and the principles of the Ten Commandments.
• emphasized God’s personal relationship to each human being. 
•  stressed the importance of people’s love for God, their neighbors, their enemies, and even themselves
• God would end wickedness in the world and would establish an eternal kingdom after death for people who sincerely repented their sins.
• The main source of information about his teachings are the Gospels, the first four books of the New Testament of the Bible.
•  Gospels are thought to have been written by one or more of Jesus’ disciples, or pupils.
•  These 12 men later came to be called apostles.
• He attracted large crowds, and many people were touched by his message.
• ignored wealth and status, his message had special appeal to the poor

Jesus' Death

• Jesus’ growing popularity concerned both Roman and Jewish leaders.
• When Jesus visited Jerusalem about A.D. 29, enthusiastic crowds greeted him as the Messiah
• or king—the one whom the Bible had said would come to rescue the Jews
•  chief priests of the Jews denied that Jesus was the Messiah
•  said his teachings were blasphemy, or contempt for God
• Pontius Pilate accused Jesus of defying the authority of Rome
•  Pilate arrested Jesus and sentenced him to be crucified, or nailed to a large wooden cross to die
•  Jesus’ body was placed in a tomb.
• According to the Gospels, three days later his body was gone, and a living Jesus began appearing to his followers.
• he ascended into heaven
•  apostles were more convinced than ever that Jesus was the Messiah
• Jesus came to be referred to as Jesus Christ.
•  Christos is a Greek word meaning “messiah” or “savior.” 
• The name Christianity was derived from “Christ.”