1st century Christianity in the 21st century
Luke is the third of the four gospel accounts. The author is the only gospel writer (in fact, the only New Testament writer) who is not Jewish. A statement by Paul in Colossians 4:10-14 identifies Luke as a Gentile (presumed to be Greek) and a physician.
Continue reading “Luke: Displaying The Love Of God For Humanity – Bible Overview”Mark is the second and shortest of the four gospel accounts. The author’s given name is John, though we typically refer to him by his surname, Mark. He lived with his mother, Mary, in Jerusalem (Acts 12:12), but left to join Paul on his first missionary journey (Acts 12:25; 13:13). Paul was upset that John Mark turned back before the first journey was ended, and thus refused to take him on his second journey (Acts 15:37). Instead, John Mark went on a second journey with his cousin Barnabas (Acts 15:39; Colossians 4:10). About 10 years later, we find that Paul considered John Mark to be a fellow worker (Philemon 1:24) and eventually sought to have him by his side at Rome (2 Timothy 4:11).
Continue reading “Mark: Revealing The Active And Powerful Messiah – Bible Overview”Matthew is the first and longest of the four gospel accounts. The author was Jewish by birth and called to be an apostle of Christ (Matthew 10:1-4). His Greek name is Matthew, his Hebrew name is Levi. Matthew worked as a tax collector for the Roman government among his own people until Jesus called him to be a disciple (Matthew 9:9).
Continue reading “Matthew: Revealing The True King Of The Jews – Bible Overview”The book of Malachi closes out the Old Testament. The prophet’s name is mentioned in 1:1, but nowhere else in the Bible. His name is descriptive and quite appropriate for his message. Malachi means “my messenger.” He focused on the duties and failings of the Levitical priests of his day, whom he described as “the messenger of the LORD of hosts” (2:7). In 3:1, Malachi foretold the coming of John the Baptist, identified as “My messenger” who “will prepare the way before Me” (cf. Mark 1:1-4). And then in the latter portion of 3:1, Malachi spoke of Jesus as “…the Lord, whom you seek … even the Messenger of the covenant…”
Continue reading “Malachi: The Revelation Of The Lord’s Messenger – Bible Overview”Zechariah was the son of Berechiah and grandson of Iddo, who himself was a prophet (Zechariah 1:1). He was a priest who went to Jerusalem with Zerubbabel (Nehemiah 12:1, 4, 16) at the end of the Babylonian captivity. He and Haggai were contemporaries and worked together to urge the people to rebuild the temple of God in Jerusalem (Ezra 5:1; 6:14). The message he bore to the people from God was, “Return to Me, says the LORD of hosts, and I will return to you” (Zechariah 1:3). Evidence of their return would be the rebuilt temple (4:6-10) and their ongoing obedience to the Lord (7:4-7).
Continue reading “Zechariah: Anticipating The Messiah And God’s Kingdom – Bible Overview”When the Jews were carried away captive to Babylon it occurred in three phases. Likewise, they left their place of bondage in three stages. In 538 B.C., Darius, the Persian king, issued a decree for the Jews to go back to their homeland—to Judah. The first returnees were led by Zerubbabel (536 BC), the second by Ezra (458 BC), and the third by Nehemiah (444 BC). Haggai was in the first group. He began to prophesy 16 years later, during the second year of King Darius (1:1) in 520 BC.
Continue reading “Haggai: Restoration Of Jerusalem After Babylonian Captivity – Bible Overview”Zephaniah prophesied “in the days of Josiah” (1:1), between 641-610 BC. Not only was Zephaniah of the tribe of Judah, but his ancestry was of royal blood. His great-great-grandfather was king Hezekiah (727-698 BC).
Continue reading “Zephaniah: The Great Day of the LORD – Bible Overview”We know nothing about the man Habakkuk except he was a prophet of God. Habakkuk doesn’t tell us who was king in Judah when he wrote, but from 1:5-6, we can determine it was sometime before Babylon had risen to prominence as a world power (626 B.C.), but after the Lord had decided the condition of Judah warranted destruction and captivity which happened in the reign of Manasseh (2 Kings 21:1-16).His reign was from 698 to 643 B.C..
Continue reading “Habakkuk: A Prophet’s Struggle With God’s Plan – Bible Overview”Two of God’s prophets were commissioned to address the Assyrian capital of Nineveh directly. Jonah was sent to proclaim a message of judgment and to provoke repentance (approx. 760 BC). God would then employ the Assyrians to judge Israel for her sins, resulting in the eventual destruction of the northern kingdom in 721 BC. Approximately 100-150 years later, Nahum proclaimed “the burden against Nineveh” (1:1). Unlike the former prophet, Nahum’s message was not to provoke repentance. Nineveh had returned to her old ways, and so the prophet pronounced judgment upon them. There are two details which help us know the timing of the book; the prophet mentions the destruction of the Egyptian city No Amon (3:8, better known as Thebes) which took place in 663 BC, and Nahum foretold Nineveh’s fall, which happened in 612 BC. Thus, the book was written sometime between these two dates.
Continue reading “Nahum: The Complete Destruction Of Nineveh – Bible Overview”Micah was contemporary with Hosea and Isaiah, prophesying during the reigns of the Judean kings, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah (1:1). His message is identified as what “he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem” (1:1), which are the respective capitals of Israel (the northern tribes) and Judah (the southern tribes). His message to Samaria is limited to the first chapter; in fact, he foretold their fall to Shalmaneser of Assyria which took place in 722 BC (1:6).
Continue reading “Micah: A Message for Samaria and Jerusalem – Bible Overview”