Chapter Thirty-Seven: The Beginning of Christianity

Chapter Thirty-Seven

The Beginning of Christianity

The Birth of Jesus

Augustus Caesar may have been called “First Citizen,” but he was actually an emperor. He ruled over Rome and all the land that Rome had conquered. No one questioned his decrees. He was in charge!
Augustus Caesar became famous for keeping the peace all over the Roman empire. Everywhere in the Roman empire, Roman law was followed. Roman soldiers kept villages and cities safe from enemy attack. There were no wars anywhere within the Roman empire.
This time of peace and safety had a name – the “Pax Romana.” In Latin, this means “The Roman Peace.” All across the Roman empire, people could live in safety, without worrying about invasion. They could work out in their fields, raise their animals, travel back and forth between Roman cities, and even sail on the Mediterranean Sea without being attacked.
During the time of this Roman peace, a baby was born in Judea – the land that was once called Canaan, and was now under Roman control. This baby would grow up to start a whole new religion. The Bible tells us about this baby in four books called “the Gospels.” Here is the story as it is told in the Gospel of Luke:

In the days when Augustus Caesar ruled over Rome, a girl named Mary lived in Nazareth. Mary was a Jewish girl who worshipped the God of Abraham. She was engaged to be married to a man named Joseph, but the wedding was still months away.
One day, God sent an angel to Mary to give her a message.
“Mary, God is with you!” the angel said. “You will have a baby, and you will name him Jesus!”
“But I can’t have a baby,” Mary said. “I don’t even have a husband yet!”
“God will be the baby’s father,” the angel answered. “The baby will be called the Son of God.”
When Mary told Joseph about the angel’s visit, he was amazed! But he agreed to marry her and help her raise the baby.
Just before Mary’s baby was born, Augustus Caesar ordered that everyone in the Roman empire should be counted. He wanted everyone to go back to the place where their ancestors came from, to make the counting easier. Joseph came from Bethlehem. So, even though Mary was about to have her baby, Joseph and Mary traveled from Nazareth to Bethlehem.
When they arrived in Bethlehem, the village was so full that they couldn’t find anywhere to sleep! Finally, they found a cave where animals were kept. Mary had her baby there, in the cave, in the middle of the night. They named the baby “Jesus,” just as the angel had said. Joseph wrapped the baby in clean linen cloths, and laid him in the feeding trough where the animals ate.
Now, just outside Bethlehem, there were shepherds spending the night out in the fields, watching over their sheep. When Jesus was born, an angel appeared to the shepherds. The angel shone with light, and the shepherds were afraid. But the angel said, “Don’t be afraid! I bring you good news of great joy. Today, a Savior has been born to you. He is Christ the Lord! You will find him wrapped in linen cloth, lying in a feed trough.” Then a great company of angels appeared in the sky over the field where the shepherds were sleeping. “Glory to God in the highest!” they sang. “Peace on earth, good will to men!”
The shepherds were astounded! They hurried to the cave where the baby had been born. And after they saw him, they went out and told everyone what they had seen and heard.

Today, many people celebrate the birth of Jesus on December 25. We call this day “Christmas.”·

Jesus Crucified and Resurrected

After Jesus was born, he lived in Judea for thirty years. Then he started to travel around Judea, teaching people what God wanted them to do. His most famous teaching was given on the side of a mountain – so today, people call it the “Sermon on the Mount.” Here are some of the things that Jesus taught:
“Blessed are the poor, for the kingdom of God belongs to them.”
“Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.”
“Blessed are peacemakers, for they will be called the children of God.”
“If someone strikes you on the cheek, don’t fight back. Turn the other cheek instead.”
“Love your enemies, and pray for those who are mean to you.”
“Do not judge other people, or you will be judged.”
The “Gospels,” in the New Testament, record these and many other teachings of Jesus.
Jesus was very popular with the people of Judea. He was so popular that the Romans who were governing Judea started to get worried. What if Jesus decided that he wanted to be the king of the Jews? If the Jewish people had a king of their own, they wouldn’t want to obey Augustus Caesar any more. Jesus made the Romans nervous. They wanted to get rid of him!
So the Romans helped some of the leaders of Judea arrest Jesus. They put him on trial for treason – disobeying Augustus Caesar’s laws. The penalty for treason was death! Jesus was convicted of treason and put to death near Jerusalem, the capital city of Judea.
The Gospels tell the story of what happened after Jesus’ death. Here is what the Gospel of Luke says:

After Jesus died, he was put in a tomb that was like a cave, carved into rock. A huge stone was rolled into place across the entrance to the tomb. His followers and the people who loved him were very sad. They mourned and wept.
Three days after Jesus died, some of the women who followed him went to the tomb where he had been buried. But when they got there, they found that the huge stone at the entrance had been rolled away! And the tomb itself was empty.
“What has happened here?” they asked each other. “What has happened to the body of Jesus?”
Then two angels, dressed in shining clothes, appeared to them. “Why are you looking for Jesus here?” one of them asked. “He is not here. He has risen from the dead!”
The women were terrified! They ran back to tell Jesus’ other followers what had happened. But no one believed them!
While they were talking about the story the women told, Jesus himself appeared to them. “Peace be with you!” he said. “I am not a ghost! I have risen from the dead.” Then he blessed them and said, “Go and tell all nations what you have seen.”

The followers of Jesus told this story all around Jerusalem. Then they spread it all the way to Rome itself! More and more people believed that Jesus had been resurrected, or brought back to life from the dead. They were careful to follow the teachings of Jesus. They believed that Jesus was the son of God. Soon, these people were called “Christians.”
Because so many people became Christians in ancient times, we now call the year that Jesus was born “Year 1.” The years before Jesus’ birth are called “B.C.,” for “Before Christ,” or “B.C.E.,” which means “Before the Christian Era.” The years after Jesus’ birth are called “A.D.” or “C.E.” “A.D.” stands for “Anno Domini,” or “The Year of Our Lord” in Latin. “C.E.” means “Christian Era.” Both of these names mean “after the birth of Jesus.”

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