In the time of Jesus the social, religious and political conditions of Israel were vastly different from those of Old Testament times. Many of the changes came about during the period between the close of the Old Testament era and the beginning of the New. The origins of the changes, however, go back into the national life of Israel during the time of the Old Testament monarchy. A brief survey of events and developments in Israel will help towards a better understanding of the life and ministry of Jesus.
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| The Return of Israelites to Jerusalem |
In the time of Jesus the social, religious and political conditions of Israel were about a thousand years before the time of Christ, David established in Jerusalem a dynasty through which God promised to bring the universal king, the Messiah (2 Samuel 7:12-16; Psalm 2:6-9; Isaiah 9:6-7; 11:1-9). David was followed by Solomon, but after Solomon the kingdom divided into two. The northern section broke away from the dynasty of David, but it still called itself Israel. The city that eventually became its capital was Samaria. The southern kingdom became known as Judah, after its leading tribe. It remained loyal to the dynasty of David, whose kings continued to reign in Jerusalem. These tow Kingdoms always fought against each other.
Assyria and Babylon Exile
When the people of the northern kingdom were conquered by Assyria and taken into foreign captivity (722 BC), they became absorbed into the countries of their exile and largely lost their national identity. But when the people of the southern kingdom were conquered and taken captive to Babylon (605-587 BC), they largely remained in one region and retained their national identity. The people of Judah were called Judeans, and this was later shortened to ‘Jew’ (Jeremiah 34:9).
Persia -The Return of Israelites
After Persia’s conquest of Babylon (539 BC), captives from Babylon returned to their Israelite homeland. This meant that those who rebuilt Israel were largely Judeans, or Jews. But they were also Israelites according to the name’s original meaning (for they were descended from the man whose name was Israel, Jacob). There was no longer a division in the nation between north and south, and the names ‘Israelite’ and ‘Jew’, along with the ancient name ‘Hebrew’, were used interchangeably (John 1:19,47; 2 Corinthians 11:22; Galatians 2:14).
Jews and Samaritans
The Samaritans were a race of people that emerged after the Assyrians’ conquest of the northern kingdom in 722 BC. The Assyrians’ policy was to move conquered peoples into other countries. Therefore, after they had taken the Israelites into foreign captivity, they resettled people from other parts of their empire into the cities of the former northern kingdom, mainly in the region around Samaria (2 Kings 17:6,24).
When the Jews began to rebuild Jerusalem and its temple, the Samaritans offered to help, but the Jewish leaders rejected them. They saw the Samaritans as a people of mixed blood and mixed religion, and feared they would introduce corrupt ideas into Israel’s religion. The Samaritans reacted bitterly and opposed the Jews throughout their building program (Ezra 4:1-5; Nehemiah 4:1-9). Although the Jews eventually completed the building program, some of the leading Samaritans, through cunning and deceit, gained influence in Jerusalem. They introduced corrupt religious and social practices, but within a few years were driven from the city in disgrace (Nehemiah 13:1-9,23-28).
Source: Bridgeway Bible Commentary (Don Fleming)
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