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Jesus and his World

What did Jerusalem look like in the 1st century? Who were the Jews of that time, and what did the Samaritans believe? Fr. Ludovic Nobel, a biblical scholar and Superior General of the Missionaries of Bethlehem, presents historical, geographical, and cultural elements from the time of Jesus to enrich our understanding of the biblical text.

This series was created in collaboration with the YouTube channel of the Catholic Church of the Canton of Fribourg (Switzerland) in January 2023.

First Video | The Temple

In this episode, we explore the Temple of Jerusalem during the time of Jesus. The Second Temple, rebuilt after the return from the Babylonian exile starting in 536 B.C., no longer matched the grandeur that Herod the Great desired for the city of Jerusalem. This Temple had lost its splendor. Herod sought to restore the city’s beauty and gain the favor of his people…

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Second Video | Religious Parties

This episode focuses on the religious parties during the time of Jesus: the Sadducees, the Pharisees, and the Essenes. While all Jews professed the faith of the Shema Israel and considered themselves heirs to the Covenant, with the exception of the Samaritans, who saw Jerusalem as the holy city, groups with different spiritual tendencies gradually emerged within the people of Israel. These groups took shape during the Maccabean revolt in the 2nd century B.C., when a Greek ruler attempted to Hellenize the people of Israel and prohibit worship at the Temple…

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Third Video | Galilee, “Crossroads of Nations”

In this episode, we focus particularly on Galilee, the “Crossroads of Nations”. Located in the north of the Holy Land, this region is divided into Upper and Lower Galilee, south of the present-day Lebanese border…

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