Terms 1
Greek for "Lord", a title that is given to Christ in the Gospels and marks his divine status
Kyrios
Christian text of the early 2nd century CE. Asserts that various kinds of Torah law (food laws, circumcision, sacrifice, etc) should not be interpreted literally but spiritually, giving moral examples and foreshadowing life of Christ (allegory + typology)
Letter of Barnabas
A mode of specifically Christian interpretation of the Bible, in which the life, death, and resurrection of Christ is seen to fulfill the prophecies of the Hebrew Bible (Isaiah's suffering servant, etc.)
Prophetic interpretation, fulfillment
Roman Governor of Judaea at the time of Christ's death. The gospel accounts acknowledge that he presided over the trial but tend to minimize his blame. The creeds, on the other hand, tend to emphasize his role in Christ's death and omit the Jews.
Pontius Pilate
A region in northern Biblical Israel; Jesus began his ministry in Galilee, before moving to Jerusalem, where he was eventually executed.
Galilee
An anti-Semitic label for Jews, popular in late antiquity and the middle ages and even among some far-right Christian groups today, that assigns them blame for having put Jesus to death.
"Christ-killers"
A key religious claim of Christianity / the Jesus movement, recorded already in the "Philippians 2 hymn" (so, quite early); this phrase means that Jesus is in some sense an authoritative, divinized figure who has come into the world to bring his followers a new way.
Jesus as Lord
The process - proceeding at different paces in different areas and taking place over a period of generations - by which Christianity and Judaism, originally competing factions of a single religious polity, become separate institutions in terms of their law, their governing authorities, their social strucutres, etc.
The parting of the ways
The contents of a placard that, the gospels say, Pilate ordered to be placed over Christ's cross in mocking reference to his claimed status as messianic king. Interesting piece of evidence in unpacking what the actual charge against Jesus was.
INRI
Iesus Nazarenus Rex Iudaeorum, "Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews"
Every single element in the Biblical text conveys some meaning - there are no accidents and no extraneous details. (Rabbis will take this further than most Christians do, assigning meaning even to stray syllables)
Omnisignficance
A defense (originally, a legal defense) of a position; there were many Christian _______ written in the first few centuries, designed to show that Christianity is (a) the proper inheritor of Judaism and (b) philosophically and morally good.
Apology
*the author of an apology is an apologist
______ means "end", so ______-logy is an account of the "end" - in a religious sense, the coming end of history when God will judge the world.
Eschaton; eschatology
Matthew 25:27 is a verse which the author puts in the mouths of the Jews at the time of Christ's trial before his execution. This verse, part of the author's attempt to locate blame for Christ's death with the Jews, is one that has a long history in religious anti-semitism.
“His blood be upon us and upon our children”
A mid-2nd century Christian apologist, author of the Apologies, defenses of Christianity for Roman audiences, and the Dialogue with Trypho, which argues that Christianity, not Judaism, is the proper interpretation of the Biblical text.
Justin Martyr
The part of a gospel that describes the trial and death of Christ. Each of the four gospels has this narrative, but they all differ in certain details
Passion narrative
A Latin word, translating a Jewish term. It applies to anyone who is not ethnically or religiously Jewish
Gentiles
A piece of evidence concerning the reasons for Jesus' execution. According to several gospels, when he came into the temple and found money-changers practicing commerce in the temple precinct, he flew into a rage and drove them out. This would put him in conflict with the religious authorities in Jerusalem
Overturning the tables of the moneychangers
Matthew, Mark, and Luke. These three gospels are called _________ because they all noticeably tell the same story; some differences in details or in the particular teachings/ parables between them, but in comparison with John, which is a very different version of the story, their similarities stand out
Synoptic
The method of execution by which Jesus was killed. It is important to note that this is a Roman judicial method of execution, usually reserved for enemies of the state.
Crucifixion
The name for Judaism as it is practiced after the destruction of the Second Temple, when authority in Judaism migrated from the Temple priesthood to the rabbis or sages; emphasis shifted from sacrifice to the study and observance of the Law, including the Oral Torah
Rabbinic Judaism