Due to the incompetence of one of Herod the Great’s  sons, the Romans took direct control over Judea and   other parts of the Holy Land about 6 AD

incompetence Study Puzzle CH 5 Gospels

 ACROSS

 1  Due to the incompetence of one of Herod the Great’s  sons, the Romans took direct control over Judea and   other parts of the Holy Land about 6 AD. They conducted  a census to determine taxes and a Jew named ____ from  Galilee (the North, Jesus’ home) led a Revolt.  The   Romans crushed it and CRUCIFIED 2000 JEWS. (p.84;   most people don’t even know about this or many other   mass crucifixions, yet they all know about crucifying on   poor Jew named Jesus. p.84)

 5  During the period of Greek domination (after the Persian  control) Jews in Alexandria translated the OT into Greek,   which the NT writers all used as their “Scripture” called   the ___. (p.81)

• Writings in which a “seer” has a vision of the violent overthrow of the current evil world rulers and the end of   the world. (p. 90)
• The Romans appointed the family of ___ to be the

“puppet rulers” (or “client kings”) over the Jews of the  Holy Land (called “Judea” at that time; p. 83)

 13  Versions of early Christianity that emphasized the need  for special “knowledge” rather than faith believed the   creation of the world was a cosmic ____. (They rejected   the OT as scripture for this reason; p.93)

• This OT prophet from the time of the Exile speaks of a

“suffering servant.” (p. 89)

• Jews living outside the holy land (which after the second jewish-roman war was all Jews; p. 90)
• The Pharisees were Jewish ___. (p.86)
• Those who put the NT gospels together were not drawing on their own memories but were primarily editors or

_____ of sources that were written earlier. (p.77)

• By the third century (200-300 AD) Christianity’s main competitor for the hearts and souls of individuals in the   Roman Empire was the Persian mystery religion (very   popular with Roman soldiers) of ___. (pp. 92-3)

 22  After the Romans destroyed the Jerusalem Temple in 70  AD, the Jewish leaders (Pharasees now) began focusing   on the canon of Hebrew Scriptures with their center in   the town of ___. (p. 86)

 24  Matthew’s Gospel contains ____  large blocks (called  “discourses” or speeches) of teaching. (p.78; why this   number?)

 27  Tradition holds that Matthew was a disciple of Jesus who  was a(n) _____. (p.78, no space)

• For perhaps 30-40 years after Jesus’ death and resurrection, his words and deeds were preserved   primarily through ___ tradition. (pp.75-6)
• Another name for the aristocratic (but not Davidic = royal or Aaronic = priestly) Jewish family of the Hasmonians   who briefly liberated the holy land from 167-67 BC. (p.81)
• Sayings that confer “blessings” on obedient believers found in Matthew and Luke. (p.78)
• Scholars believe the first (and shortest) gospel to be written (ca 70 AD) was ___. (p.76)
• How many gospels in the NT? (p.75)
• This NT gospel has the fewest parallels with the others and has a more philosophical style and point of view. (p.

76)

• This son of Herod the Great ruled Galilee after his father’s death (ca 4-39 BC).  He beheaded John the

Baptist for criticizing his leadership. (p.83)

• The first Roman Emperor (27 BC – 14 AD) hailed as a

“savior” and worshipped in an “imperial cult” for bringing   “the Roman Peace” the “pax romana” to the known world.

(pp. 91-2)

 45  The early versions of Christianity that emphasized that  salvation was through secret “knowledge” of God’s plan   had ways of life that were either ASCETIC (restraining   one’s passions, appetites and emotions”) or ____ (the   exact reverses, flaunting one’s “freedom” to indulge in   every conceivable passion, appetite, lust or emotion;   because they were now “free” from the law and actually   duty bound to show this “freedom” in their daily   behavior–those who did not display this new “freedom”   were thought to be “hypocrites” and NOT “true believers”   –watch for these teachers and believers in the   congregations of Paul in his letters in the NT.; p. 93.)

 47  The Second Jewish-Roman War from 132-5 AD was led  by a zealot whom many believed was a “messiah” named  Simon bar _____. (p.85, means “son of the star”)

• Gentiles (non-Jews) who converted to the Jewish faith were called __. (p.91)
• This OT book, set during the Exile, but written around the time of  the Hasmonian Revolt, speaks of a mysterious   heavenly figure coming on the clouds called the “Son of   Man” who will save the Hebrew people from “beastly”   empires (like Persia, Alexander & his followers and later   Rome; p. 82; which NT book most resembles this OT   book? extra credit question?)

 53  The Jewish beliefs during the first centruy AD about the  soon coming end of the world are called _____. (p. 89)

 55  The NT gospels were originally written anonymously. The  titles of apostles were only attached based on oral   tradition late in the ___ century AD. (p.77)

• These editorial sections connect the two works of Luke, his gospel and his sequel, the Acts of the Apostles.

(p.78)

• Scholars explain a common sequence of sayings found in Matthew and Luke (but not Mark) with they theory that   they both had a copy of an earlier written source (the   genre of a “sayings gospel) that the Germans called Q   for _______. (p.77)

 61  Tradition refers to John as the ___ gospel. (p.79)

• In 63 BC, this general defeated the Hasmonians and made the Holy Land part of the Roman Empire. (p.82)
• These aristocratic Jews were priests who only believed in the written law (or Torah). They did not believe in a   resurrection of the dead (which is not mentioned in the   first five books of the OT; p. 87)
• The traditional religion of Rome was largely political and official but it did not speak to the personal needs and   situations of individuals.  “Mystery religions” from the   East began spreading with “secret” rituals meeting   individual needs for comfort, hope, life after death and   From Egypt spread the mystery religion of __.

(p.92)

• Luke’s gospel and acts emphasize the ____ of the good (p.78)
• The Pharisees believed in the Jewish law (Torah) in its written and ____ tradition. (p.87)
• This is the only NT gospel to tell about Jesus being born right before Herod the Great’s death and that Herod had   young Hebrew boys, under 2 years old, murdered in   order to try to stop a potential rival for his power. (pp.83-  4; what OT event is this meant to remind readers of?)
• The theological belief that God became man (or human) in Jesus Christ is the doctrine of __. (p.80)

 DOWN

• In a negative way (for Jews), Herod the Great was remember for his practice of ____. (p.83)
• The purpose of the NT gospels was not primarily historical but rather ____. (writing for the needs of their immediate community of believers; p.77)
• Tradition holds that Luke was a companion of

__________. (p.78)

• Non-jews who did not convert to the Jewish faith but who like to hang out around the Jewish community centers or synagoges were called ____. (p.91–this group of people   were the key target of early Christian missionaries like   Saint Paul who worked hard to convert them to the   Christian version of Jewish religion, not needing   circumcision or strict adherence to Jewish laws about   food and purity)
• The Romans let this council of Jewish aristocrats run local affairs in Jerusalem. (p.82)
• Another name for “non-canonical” gospels that were not accepted into the NT canon. (p.75)
• Some early versions of Christianity (and Judaism) emphasized that personal salvation came through learning some secret information or “knowledge” rather   than through “faith” (meaning “trust” in the promise of   ) These versions of Christianiy are known as ___.

(p.

 12  This Jewish sect awaited a violent kingly messiah who  would lead a military force of freedom fighters (terrorists)   to conquer the Romans. (pp. 88-9)

 14  The Dead Sea Scrolls were probably produced by this  sect, or group of Jews, that emphasized ritual purity   (daily baths, prayers, fasting, discipline) in preparation for  a cosmic war that would bring a priestly messiah to   cleanse the Temple of Jersualem from its corruption. (p.

88)

• During the period of Persian control, after the Exile, the

Jerusalem _____ was rebuilt. (p.81)

• The monastic community (meaning of disciplined monks) at _____ produced the Dead Sea Scrolls. (p.89)

 23  The most popular moral (or ethical) philosophy during the  Roman Empire was the Greek philosophy of emotional   self-restraint known as ____. (p.92; “itinerant” teachers   of various Greek philosophies travelled from town to town  preaching their way of life and making converts)

• The Hasmonians conquered and forced conversion to

Judaism on this foreign people south of Jerusalem. (the

Herod family came from here; p.82)

• Some scholars believe this non-canonical gospel contains some original sayings of Jesus that were   preserved independently of the NT gospels. (p.75)
• Most Jews despised tax collectors (who likes them?) because they felt they were dishonest individuals who

____ with the Roman occupiers. (p.83)

• In first century Jewish writings, the end of the world is preceeded by an intense persecution of the true believers  known as the ______. (this is ironically, or fanatically,   depending on your point of view, a “hopeful” sign; p. 90)
• Mark’s community probably experienced blowback (some form of persecution) after the first ____ War that ran   from 66-74 AD. (p. 78)
• The whole way Matthew arranges and edits the material in his gospel leads scholars to conclude that his original   community was ___. (p.78)
• The earliest Christians believed they were living in the

____ generation. (p.75)

• Tradition holds that Luke was not a disciple and not even a Jew.  By occupation, he was believed to be a(n) ____.

(p.78)

• Mark’s Gospel repeatedly emphasizes that Jesus was the Messiah who had to _____ to save his people. (p.78)
• He was a Jewish historian (a prisoner of war in Rome) whose works about the Jews and the first Jewish-Roman  war was published around 93 AD, and we still have it as   a source for study. (p.86)
• In 128 BC, the Hasmoneans destroy a temple of this rival group of Jews to the immediate north of Jerusalem that   had claimed to preserve the tradition of Moses in a more   pure form. (p.82)

 44  In a positive way (at least for the Romans) Herod the

Great (his sons continued this) was remembered for his

___ campaign. (p.83)

 46  The Gospel of John speaks of Jesus as the ____ of God.

(p.79)

• Luke’s community that he writes for are _. (p.78)
• The tradition (but not the actual book itself) holds that Mark was not a disciple but rather a companion of the   apostle ___. (p.78)

 52  In 70 AD, the Roman’s destroyed Herod’s __. p.85.

 54  It means “good news.” (p.75)

 56  During the Babylonian Exile the ____ dynasty of kings  came to an end. (p.80)

• A senior enlisted military man who “administered” a small and remote section of a larger province (the governor of   the whole PROVINCE in big city farther away, called a   PROCONSUL–a noble born aristocratic senator was his   boss) was called a ___. Pontius Pilate was one of these–  he was detached with a small force to “administer” Judea  = Jerusalem and its immediate surroundings. (p. 84;   what was another name for this senior enlisted   adminstrator?)
• Jewish synagogues were very _____ gathering places for local Jews AND NON-JEWS throughout the Empire that   functioned like modern YMCA’s as community centers   for many activities that included prayer and bible study     (p.86; only after 70 AD did they start changing   into more STRICTLY JEWISH religious “houses of   worship.”)
• The mystery religions had rituals that helped individuals actually “participate” in the death and resurrection of their  “saviors.” Christianity shaped its ritual of ____ along very   similar ritual lines. (p. 93)
• The Jewish belief God specially annointed a man to  restore the Davidic kingship or Aaronic priesthood was   called a(n) ____. (p.89)
• Matthew, Mark and Luke are called ____ gospels because when “viewed together” they have a similar   sequence of events and wording. (p.76)
• Jesus’ main teaching was about the “____ of God.” (p. 90; what he meant by this is the 64 million dollar question  of “historical jesus” study.)