LESSON FOUR
THE TIMES OF JESUS

A.	Herod The Great
•	Herod became king of the Jews in the year 37 BC
•	Herod was heartless towards those who opposed him
•	He always sided with the ruling faction at Rome 
•	He feared his wife Mariamne plotted against him so he had her and their sons murdered
•	He hated the Jews, but he paid respect to their religion and built a new temple.
•	He died a maniac after years of horrible suspicions and remorse

B.	The Successors of Herod
•	Archelaus – got Judea, Samaria, and Idumaea
•	Herod Antipas – got Galilee, and Peraea
•	Philip – got the northeast territory
•	Archelaus proved to be so bad that in 6 AD he was banished to Gaul and his territory procurator who was subject to the legate of Syria 
•	The procurators lived at Caesarea
•	The most famous of these procurators was Pontius Pilate (26 AD - 36 AD)

C.	Religious Parties
•	Sadducess -  members of the ancient aristocracy
•	They were primarily political and were interested in maintaining the prosperity of the State as secular, with religion but secondary
•	Their opposition to Jesus was based mainly upon political grounds
•	Pharisees  - resisted foreign influence and were zealous for their traditions
•	They were a religious party, whose fundamental principle was complete separation from everything non-Jewish
•	The Pharisees opposed Jesus on religious grounds

D.	Religious Parties
•	Herodians - supporters of the government of the Herods
•	They believed that a foreign governor was a better guarantee for protection of life and property
•	Zealots - were also like the Pharisees in belief but insisted on war against Rome
•	Various revolts promoted by them were unsuccessful and they were severely punished

E.	The Messianic Hope
•	The Jews were a people intensely national in spirit
•	They were accustomed to looking back upon their history with its evidences of divine intervention and guidance
•	The Messianic Hope mainly expressed their hope for the future
•	There were two main elements in this Hope which were 1) The Kingdom of God, and 2) The Messiah.
•	The Kingdom of God meant for them the Kingship of God, His reign rather than His realm, an era when God would re-establish the Jewish kingdom and destroy their foreign conquerors
•	With this hope co-existed the view that this kingdom would be established in most concrete form upon earth with a king who was to be a descendant of the Davidic line

F.	The Synagogue 
•	The word ''synagogue'' meant in the original ''assembly'' or “congregation”
•	The synagogue originated during the exile in Babylon
•	They prayed facing Jerusalem with arms outstretched

Lesson Four

The Time Of Jesus

Fill in the blanks with the correct word:

1.	The ________________ were supporters of the government of the Herods.

2.	The synagogue originated during the exile in ___________________.

3.	The _________________ believed in the resurrection of the body.

4.	______________ was the son of Herod the Great.

5.	The Roman procurators lived at _____________________________.

6.	The ___________________________expressed the hope of the Jews.

7.	_________________was the wife of Herod the Great.

8.	_________________built a new temple for the Jews. 

9.	The ___________________were mainly interested in politics.

10.	The Pharisees opposed Jesus on _______________________grounds.

Use the following words to fill in the above blanks:

Caesarea			Herod			Messianic Hope
Antipas			Sadducees		Pharisees
Babylon			Herodians		religious
Mariamne