Vanderkam Review Paper - the New Testament Through a Historical View

The New Testament through a Historical View

In the 21st century many people read the New Testament as if the book was written just for them. Others try and interpret or apply what is read because that is what has always been taught to them. However, the New Testament is much more than just a book full of different letters and stories. There was a time called the second temple period, which was the time that Jesus and his disciples walked the earth. During this time, the writings and teachings that took place were based off the rich history of Early Judaism and political leaders. Even though the teachings and writings were meant for the people at that time, the New Testament still applies to everyone today.

Festivals were a time for worship an "annual celebration and remembrance of important occasions in Israel's history" (VanderKam, 2001, p. 204). The Passover was one of the major festivals that the Jews participated in and was mentioned many times in the New Testament. VanderKam explains what the Passover festival celebrates. He also gives references to find instructions about how to prepare and consume certain foods in the Hebrew Bible. "The first of three pilgrimage festivals" that follows the day after the Passover (VanderKam, 2001, p. 205) is The Festival of Unleavened Bread which derives from Exodus 23: 14-17 "Three times in the year shall all your males appear before the Lord God" (English Standard Version). Within the New Testament both of these festivals were mentioned a total of 22 times. This shows not only the importance of the festival but also the symbolic relevance Jesus, and his disciples had with the Jewish people. Jesus begins his teaching ministry at a young age in Luke 2:40-42, whereas, in Luke 22, Mark 14, Matthew 26 and John 13 Jesus ends his teachings with breaking of the unleavened bread and washing of feet with his disciples. This is all significant His first and last teachings were during the Passover and The Festival of Unleavened Bread.

The "Last Supper" took place in Jerusalem around the year 34 CE. Jerusalem was known as the holy city for Jews because the temple was the main gathering place for the Passover. During this time Judea was under Roman administration (6-66 CE), which was split into two parts. "The first (6-41CE) officials with the title perfect were placed in charge, while from 44-66 the territory was governed by procurators" (VanderKam, 2001, p. 39). This is why Pontius Pilate was in Jerusalem when Jesus was arrested and tried. From the writings in Matthew 27 regaurding Jesus' trial, Pilate appeared to side with Jesus. However, Pilate sided with the Jews, which shows that not all of his "actions reflected his failure to take Jewish views sufficiently into account" (VanderKam, 2001, p. 40).

Another form of worship was studying at the synagogue, a place "where non-sacrificial worship took place" (VanderKam, 2011, p. 211). These places date back to the third century BCE in Egypt (the word in Greek is found in the book of Acts 16). Every seventh day scholars would sit and listen to a teacher's words about the Law. In Luke 4:16-21 Jesus went to the synagogue in Nazareth

...where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read. And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written, 'The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,