The Rise of Christianity
Name ___Mrs. Alls____
Section 1 – The First Christians
 Timeline - - Read pages 343-347 of the textbook and write about the historical
importance of each of these dates in Jewish history. Add 2to 3 more events to this
timeline.
63 B.C.
l
Roman took
over Judah.

A.D. 6
l
Emperor Augustus
turned Judah into a
Roman province
named Judaea.
A.D. 66
l
Zealot rebellion
against Romans
crushed.
A.D. 132
A.D. 700
l
l
Jews rebel again
and are defeated.
They are forced to
leave Jerusalem.
By this time, Jews had
moved as far west as Spain
and as far east as central
Asia.
Parables help simplify
ideas that might otherwise have seemed very complicated. Parables showed how people
could apply Jesus’ teachings to their everyday lives. Compare and contrast parables to
Aesop’s Fables.
Parables
Aesop’s Fables
Choose one of the following to complete.
1. Paraphrase a parable to make it easier to understand.
OR
2. Choose a parable or teaching of Jesus that is in the textbook or a different parable
and make an art piece to explain its meaning.
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
Jesus taught “love your neighbor as yourself” in the middle of tense situations. When
Jesus was teaching, the Jews were a defeated people. Whom did the Jews consider as
their neighbors? What might they have thought about Jesus’ message?
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
What did Jesus teach?
God forgives and
wants all people
saved.
Be merciful
Christian
Beliefs
Must love and
forgive from
the heart
Be
peacemakers
Section 2 – The Christian Church

Complete the diagram.
Gave meaning
to people’s lives
Reasons for
Growth of
Christianity
Ideas of Christianity
were familiar to
many Romans.
Gave people the
chance to be part
of a caring group
 How did Constantine’s conversion affect his position as emperor?
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Write a paragraph about the basic beliefs of Christianity using the following beliefs:
Messiah
Salvation
Resurrection
Gospel
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Contrast - How did the Jews and Christians differ in their belief about Jesus and his
message? Christians believed Jesus was the messiah and had risen from the dead.
Jews did not.
Predict – How would the growth of Christianity have been affected if the emperor
Constantine had not become a Christian?
The Edict of Milan would not have been issued, so the persecution of Christianity
might not have grown as rapidly.
The Rise of Christianity
Directions: You will create a concept web over the rise of Christianity. You will place the terms inside of your web and connect words by lines and writing
connector phrases between the words. Try to make as many connections as you can. Most words connect to multiple other words. Your connector
phrases are explanations of how the two terms relate to one another.
Messiah
Disciple
Parable
Resurrection
Apostle
Salvation
Persecute
Martyr
The Rise of Christianity