Silent Preparation: Do You Believe?

The Persian king, Cyrus, had allowed a remnant of Jews to return to the land in 536B.C. That remnant rebuilt the temple under the leadership of Haggai and Zechariah (520-526B.C.).

The Persian king, Cyrus, had allowed a remnant of Jews to return to the land in 536B.C.

That remnant rebuilt the temple under the leadership of Haggai and Zechariah (520-526B.C.).

Sixty years later (457 BC) Ezra came to help reestablish the nation.

Thirteen years later (444BC) Nehemiah came and rebuilt the wall.

The Jews had been back in the land about 100 years by the time the Old Testament ends with the book of Malachi.

At that time we learn from Malachi that they were neglecting the House of God and the tithe. Priests were lax and degenerate and they were offering inferior sacrifices. The people had already reverted to their old practice of intermarrying with idolatrous neighbors (). The Jews were in a lethargic state of mind as they await the coming of the Promised Messiah.

It is in this condition that the 400 “silent years” between the Old and New Testaments kicks off. Though there is no direct revelation from God during these years there is much context being shaped and formed that will be in place at the coming of the Messiah.

Alexander the Great will capture a substantial part of the world and spread Greek culture, religion and language into that world. The Grecian philosopy spread during this time will become known as Helleinsm.

Alexander the Great will die in 323BC and his kingdom is divided into four parts and given to four of his generals. Two of those parts (the Ptolemaic and the Seleucid) will play a role in New Testament historical background.

Ptolemaic Empire is centered in Egypt. Alexandria was it capital. Cleopatra, who died in 30 BC was the last of the Ptolemaic dynasty.

Seleucid Empire centered in Syria. Antioch was its capital. This Empire comes to an end in 64BC when Pompey made Syria a Roman province.

Palestien (Israel) became a victim of rivalry between the two Ptolemies and the Seleucids because of where it was sandwhiched between and both providences wanted to collect taxes from them and make them a buffer zone. The Ptolemies (Egypty) controlled Palestine for 122 years (320-198BC). The Jews fared well during this time. It was during this time that Ptolemy Philadeophus had the Hebrew Old Testament translated into Greek which became known as the Septuagint (LXX).

In 198BC a Syrian ruler named Antiochus III defeated Egypt causing two factions to develop amoungst the Jews.

The House Of Onias (pro-Egyptian)

The House of Tobias (pro-Syrian)

During his reign 175-163 Antiochus IV replaced the high priest Onias III with his brother Jason. Jason was a Hellenizer who started making Jerusalem into a Greek city.

After various revolts in 168BC Antiochus sent his general and twenty two thousand soldiers to collect tribute, outlaw Judais and enforce Heathenism in order to consolidate his empire and replenish his teeasury.

In 167BC you have the Maccabean Revolt. This lead to Judas Maccabeus leading a highly successful guerilla warfare until the Jews were able to defeat the Syrians in battle. and drive the Syrian army out of the Promised Land after a three-year struggle.

During this time of celebration and rebuilding of the desecrated Temple there was given rise to the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah which means “dedication”. Both the altar and the Holy of Holies had been desecrated. A pig had been slain on the altar, and the image of a heathen deity had been carried into the Temple. This desecration occured on the 25th day of the Hebrew month Kislev (December 25th), and exactly three years later, to the day, the altar and Temple were cleansed.

Light had defeated darkness, the God of Israel had defeated the heathen deity Zeus Olympius. It is during this feast of dedication that Jesus will later refer to Himself as “the Light of the World”.

The Hasmoneans would exercise leadership over Israel for 103 years (166-63BC) until the Roman general Pompey conquered Jerusalem in 63BC.

During this period of “silent years” God used both the Greeks and the Romans to prepare the way for the coming of the Messiah. As Alexander the Great swept accross the ancient world expanding his empire, he established the Greek language as the common tongue to cement his victories. The Old Testament was translated into Greek during this time. This common language made the spread of Christianity easier. During the frist centure, Apostolic preaching was done largely in Greek and the New Testament books were written in Greek, the common language of the world.

The Romans prepared the world for the coming of Christianity in a number of ways. From their emphasis on law and order provided a period of peace, to their Roman system of Roads which enabled travel and thus the spread of the gospel.

The point is, though God seemed silent, and though we call it the silent years, perhaps we should call it the prepatory years and in calling it that we would not think that God is silent today but recall the words of the Messiah,

John 14:3 ESV

And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.

The Gospels

It is now at the end of this 400 preperational peiriod that the gospels pick up. The gospel period takes place under the law however the Gospels were not written before the Epistles, but are placed first because they serve now as a bridge between the Old Testament and the New Testament Epistles. None of the gospels were actually written until after 50AD because,

First century believers expected Christ to return very soon.

Eye Witnesses carried more weight than written accounts.

Eventually the gospels were written by the Spirits inspiration to keep truth accuate and uniformed.

The writers had direct information and knowledge concerning Christ and the apostoles as well as the Holy Spirits directing of the writing.

2 Peter 1:20–21 ESV

knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

When studying the gospels we don’t simply look at them as the life of Christ, but rather as four different portraits of Christ. In other words, the purpose of the Gospels was not to record the events of the life of Christ in the order in which they happened, but to set forth the person of Christ according to a certain theme.

As such the material is arranged largely according to topics and is not necessarily chronological. (Matthew and Luke are not Chronological.)

When you break it down into the portrait of each, you have the following:

Matthew - KING - JEWS

Matthew 21:5 ESV

“Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’ ”

Matthew

Mark - SERVANT - ROMANS

Mark 10:45 ESV

For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Mark 19:10

Luke - SON OF MAN (HUMANITY) - GREEKS

Luke 19:10 ESV

For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

John - SON OF GOD (DIETY) - World

John 20:31 ESV

but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

All of the Gospels show that Jesus is the Messiah, the fulfillment of prophecy.

Put these portraits together and you have a beautiful description of the gospel. The King of the Jews has come to the world in a humble manner, to serve and give His live as a ransom for man, to as the Son of Man, seek and save the lost, that the Word of Him might be spread to the uttermost parts of the world, that you may hear and believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name.

And that my friends is what the four gospel books and what the gospel itself is about. It is about life in the name of Christ. And that is how we now approach the Word of God and the study of the Gospels, it is as ones seeking to find the treasure of our life which abides in Christ.

Just as God prepared the way for Christ to come at the first advent, it is He who prepared the path that you would hear the Word of Christ, and it is He who is preparing the world for the second coming. As such hear this church, we read these gospel words not to know them, but in knowing, to believe them as truth and life. Read them that way this week and this month. Read the words the accounts which God took such care to provide you with. Read them to believe them with such belief that they drive you to make decisions to shape your life, to lift up your life, to lay down your life by what you have read, and in that let us be the true church, the church of gospel belief, gospel living and gospel proclamation.

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