My Brother's Final Senior Paper!
Site Preparation
The foundation of the Christian church was laid out by the Prophets, Apostles, and Evangelists; however, before a foundation can be laid the site has to be prepared for the foundation. Savage landscapes have to be tamed, debris and rocks removed, and the land leveled—all necessary so that the land can support the foundation it will bear. The site preparation for Christianity began with Judaism and heathenism. “In Judaism, the preparation was direct and positive, proceeding from above downwards, and ending with the birth of the Messiah. In heathenism it is indirect and mainly, though not entirely, negative, proceeding from below upwards, and ending with a helpless cry of mankind for redemption” . Both were used to tame the hearts of man, teach them faith, and prepare them for the foundation that was yet to be laid; however, both served different purposes in preparing the way for Christianity. Judaism gave the law, teaching man the righteous of God, and revealed the destitute state of men that was inherited from our forefathers. While in heathenism, man was left hopelessly alone, creating a deep, anxious desire for the truth, driving men and empires to the ends of the earth. “In Judaism the true religion is prepared for man; in heathenism man is prepared for the true religion” .
Building the Foundation
Now that the site was prepared for construction, a foundation could be poured by the Prophets, Apostles, and Evangelists. Judaism while riddled with Prophets throughout its history, through freedom and in captivity, only purpose was to bring the law and predict the coming of the Messiah and his kingdom. However, this ended after the death of Malachi, four hundred years before the Messiah was born. It was not until John the Baptist, the cousin of Christ, was born that Israel began experiencing a religious revival. John the Baptist, serving as the forerunner of Christ, began baptizing for repentance and preaching in the wilderness. John admonished the people to “Repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand,” (Matthew 3:2, NASB) and declared the presence of one coming who was greater than himself, baptized with the Holy Spirit and fire, and carried a winnowing fork to sift the grain from the chaff . John apparently attracted many as disciples and grudgingly earned the outward respect of the Pharisees and Herod, since both feared harming him through word or action. These followers of John likely formed the nucleus of Christ’s disciples and followers.
For several years John preached in the wilderness; during this time, Jesus came to John to be baptized . After John’s initial reluctance and eventual baptism of Jesus, the Holy Spirit in bodily form descended upon Jesus as a dove, marking the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. Jesus then was lead by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness where He was tempted by the devil. Emerging forty days later, Christ began His routine of traveling and teaching on the Sabbaths in the synagogues of various cities, while he searched for disciples of His own. Jesus spent the next three years of His life preaching, teaching, healing, casting out demons, raising the dead, and many other miracles. During these three years the Disciples of Christ received their training, being taught daily, being sent out to spread the gospels to various cities, and experiencing first hand His miracles. Israel increasingly became polarized to Jesus, one group loved and followed him in a grassroots movement, while the political and religious leaders hated and feared Him. Constantly Christ chose the weak, the common, and the inferior to spread His message of compassion and forgiveness. After Christ’s three years of ministry, He was arrested, condemned by Pontius Pilate, crucified, buried, arose to the astonishment of many, and after forty days finally ascended to the right hand throne of God .
1)Schaff, Vol I, p 57, 58
2)Schaff, Vol. I, p 58
3)Matthew 3:11,12
4) John apparently was preaching for several years, since Matthew speaks of Jesus returning from Egypt and moving to Nazareth as a child in chapter 2 verses 19-23 and immediately followed in chapter 3 verse 1 with “Now in those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness…”
I placed his foot notes at the bottom in Italics, as you can see. This is not his final draft. When I get it, I'll edit this one and put it in here. Also, there are several mistakes in here that he corrected over the phone with me, but I haven't corrected here. I'll do that when he emails me his final draft. I just didn't want to forget to do this. I'm putting his outline below this so you can see where he's going. If no one seems interested, I may just skip the editing. Let me know if you'd like the final version! ~Shulamite
I. Intro
II. Body
A. Foundation Ephesians 4:11,12
1. Preparation
2. John the Baptist
3. Christ
4. Peter
5. Paul
6. Others (Clemetus, etc.)
B. Persecution
1. Jews
a. High Priests
b. Populace
2. Gentiles
a. Ephesian Silversmiths and the like
b. Nero
C. Acceptance
1. Pentecost
2. Missionary Journeys of Paul
3. Constatine
III. Conclusion