Church History :: essays research papers fc

Christianity Begins On a late afternoon, in about the year AD 33, two men were walking from Jerusalem to the nearby village of Emmaus. Their conversation centered on events that had occurred the previous week. As they journeyed, a stranger who seemed ignorant of these events joined them. Surprised, they asked him: "Are you the only person staying in Jerusalem not to know what has happened there in the last few days?" So they explained to him about a certain Jesus of Nazareth, "a prophet powerful in speech and action before God and the whole people. Our chief priests and rulers handed him over to the Roman authorities to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him. But we were hoping that he was the man to liberate Israel." Even more amazing, they went on to say, were reports from some women who visited his tomb that he was alive again, raised from the dead. Suddenly the stranger spoke: "How dull-witted you two are! And how slow to believe all that the prophets said. Was not th e messiah bound to suffer thus before entering upon his glory?" Then he went on to clarify from the Hebrew scriptures all the passages that referred to himself. For the stranger was Jesus of Nazareth, of whom the two had been speaking. Based on the life, death and coming to life again of Jesus Christ there has developed the world's largest religion, Christianity. Expectation and Reality The two men on the road to Emmaus were not simple common folk. They were a selected group of twelve followers, called disciples or learners, of Jesus who had known him for at least three years. During this period they had listened to all he said and had witnessed his amazing actions, such as healing the sick, giving sight to the blind and hearing to the deaf and even bringing people back to life. They had become convinced that he was the Messiah who was to redeem Israel. Israel wanted and expected redemption. This small Jewish nation, located in the eastern part of the Roman Empire, had for centuries looked forward to a time when their God would, through some decisive action, free them from outside oppression and establish Israel as the preeminent nation in the world. The word messiah means "the lord's anointed," someone God has set aside for a specific task. Christians believe that Jesus, from the small town of Nazareth in Galilee, was that Messiah.