Page 28 - LD215 History of the Church in Africa A4 final

A History of the Church in Africa

salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile”
(Romans 1:16). John added that “salvation is from the Jews” (John 4:22).

The political world at the time of Christ was a complicated one. Rome
was the supreme power over a vast empire, but the Romans allowed
limited local self-government to people under their control. The Jews
were permitted to deal with their own local affairs, having both local
courts and a supreme court—the Sanhedrin—over which the High Priest
acted as president (Kealy and Shank, 36). Luke offered some insight
into the political conditions of the time:

In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar—when
Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee,
his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias
tetrarch of Abilene—during the high priesthood of Annas and
Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zachariah in the
desert. (Luke 3:1–2)

The majority of the people who lived at that time were ordinary citizens
who were not involved in politics or religious parties. The population
of Palestine at this time was
composed not only of Jews but
also of foreigners and pagans
There were three major who were strong in number,

influences on the world especially along the coast. Most
Jews communicated and traded
in which Christ and His freely with Gentiles and used

church were born: the the Greek language, which had
become the cultural language
Jews, the Greeks, and of the Greek Empire after the

the Romans. conquests of Alexander the Great.
The Romans continued to use the
Greek language throughout their
empire as the primary language
of commerce and trade. Ferguson states: “Although Aramaic continued
to be spoken in the old Persian domains and Hebrew continued in limited
use (just how much is disputed) among the Jews, Greek became the
language for commerce, government, and literature” (379). The Hebrew
Scriptures were translated into Greek and called the Septuagint.

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