From Jesus to Christ The First Christians — Season 1, Episode 2: The Four Gospels
Documentary • 30 min • 1 season, 4 episodes
Episode synopsis
Explores the period after the crucifixion of Jesus and traces the beginnings of the Jesus Movement, in those early years before it was called Christianity: The Jesus Movement began as a sect within Judaism. Along the way, the early Christians branched out and spread their message to non-Jews or gentiles (meaning "nations"). The Apostle Paul had a profound impact on this spread; around 50 C.E., Paul travelled away from the traditional centers of the Jesus Movement and began to found new churches in Greco-Roman cities. Paul's letters to these fledgling congregations mark the first writings of the New Testament. Meanwhile, expectations about the coming of the Kingdom of God and spiraling tensions between Jews and Rome would culminate in a catastrophic Jewish revolt against Rome from 66-70 C.E., ending in the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple--the center of Jewish spiritual life. The traumatic failure of this revolt would dramatically affect the future for Jews and Christians.
About From Jesus to Christ The First Christians
This series tells the epic story of the rise of Christianity. The series explore the life and death of Jesus, and the men and women whose belief, conviction, and martyrdom created the religion we now know as Christianity. Drawing upon historical evidence, the series challenges familiar assumptions and conventional notions about Christian origins. Archaeological finds have yielded new understandings of Jesus' class and social status; fresh interpretations have transformed earlier ideas about the identity of the early Christians and their communities. Interviews with twelve scholars New Testament theologians, archaeologists, and historians. The scholars together represent a range of viewpoints and diversity of faiths and a shared commitment to bring new ways of thinking about Christianity to a public audience. They discuss the value in a historical approach to Jesus and the Bible and whether Christian faith can be reconciled with such an approach.