Getting Started

The first area of New Testament context we’ll explore is a mix of geography, politics, history and culture. Seems like a lot, right? You’ll soon see how they are all interrelated. The “playing board” is the same as it was in the Old Testament. But now you’ll meet the new “cats and mice.” What many people call the “400 silent years” is actually full of important history leading up to Matthew 1. So let’s learn about Greece and Rome, the Hasmoneans and the Herodians. It’s the often-untold middle story between the Old Testament and the New, and yet it has enormous significance for how we understand the Gospels and the Early Church.