About 2,000 years ago, in Judea, a land ruled by the Roman Empire, a Jewish teacher from the town of Nazareth traveled with a small band of followers. His name was Jesus. He taught in villages and on hillsides, told stories called parables, and spoke of loving God and loving your neighbor.
Key idea
After Jesus's death, about AD 30, his followers, the apostles, began to spread his teaching. Paul traveled thousands of miles around the Mediterranean, starting Christian communities and writing them letters. The good Roman roads and the shared Greek language helped the message travel.
For almost 300 years, Christians were often mistreated in the Roman Empire, because they would not worship the emperor or the Roman gods. Then, in AD 313, the emperor Constantine allowed Christians to worship freely. In AD 380, Christianity became the official religion of the empire.
Worked example: Why AD?
- About AD 525 the monk Dionysius Exiguus counted the years from the birth of Jesus, as he worked it out.
- His count spread across Europe and later the world.
Answer: Because the count was set up to start from the birth of Jesus.
Common mistake
Try it at home
- Read the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25–37) together, or the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5–7), and talk about what it teaches.
- Find Jerusalem, Rome and the Mediterranean Sea on a globe or a map.