• Last lesson
    • Women in Jesus’ ministry
    • Social strata of Jerusalem and Judea
  • This lesson
    • Continue with social strata in Judea
      • Who were these people?
      • What made them tick?
  • What was the 1st century social scene?
    • Farmers, farmers, farmers, and fishermen
      • Farmers included shepherds, and lots of them
      • All had long days, hard work
      • Most formed the base of the social strata
      • Matthew 4:18-22; Luke 5:1-11
      • John 21:1-8 – Jesus appears to the disciples in a similar manner to the way in which He first called them.
      • John 5:2 – There was a gate near the temple used for bringing sheep in for sacrifices. Sheep were important!
    • Merchants
      • Distributed goods to/from other parts of the world
      • Ran markets where farmers, shepherds, fishermen sold
      • Generally better off than most agrarians/fishermen
      • One rung up from the agrarians/fishermen
      • Matthew 25:14-30 – Most merchants had servants. They needed their servants to help them make money or they would go out of business.
  • Somewhere in the middle
    • Tax collectors (publicans)
      • Bought position
      • Assessment arbitrary
      • Fill quota
      • Shaky heritage
      • High net worth
      • Very low esteem with all
      • Matthew 5:43-48
      • Matthew 18:15-17
      • Matthew 9:9-13
      • Luke 18:9-14