Free at last!  The Jews were freed from years of bondage under first the Assyrians, then the Babylonians, and lastly the Persians.  They returned a changed people facing a drastically changing world.  The Judaism they knew in earlier days would be transformed through all they experienced.[i]  Examining these changes will help us better understand the world in which Jesus walked.  Throughout our studies in Mark’s Gospel we will be clarifying many of these factors to help us grasp what they signified.  Before looking specifically at Mark’s Gospel, let’s take an overview look at the many changes and challenges that shaped the experiences of those living in Jesus’ day.

• The majority of the Jews returned to Palestine but many did not, spreading out throughout the Greek world in what is referred to as the Diaspora; the Diaspora Jews and their practices often took on a more liberal flavor.
• Those living in Palestine were essentially peasants, farmers, and day laborers with a very basic education, struggling to survive day to day.  It was with these hopeless and downtrodden people that the teachings of Jesus found a home.
• The temple had been rebuilt by 515 BC under Ezra, Nehemiah, and other courageous Jews, but while they were in Babylon their substitute for the temple had become the Synagogue, a gathering place for worship, study, prayer, etc. This practice was continued by those living both in and outside of Palestine, anywhere there were at least ten male Jews.  The Synagogue later became the launching pad for the ministry of Paul in the Roman world.
• Many political powers struggled over or controlled Palestine in the years between the Testaments.  First was Alexander the Great, who conquered basically the entire known world, and then used the Greek language to unite his vast empire, through which he spread Greek culture and its philosophies.
• After Alexander died in a drinking binge at age 33, his four generals divided up the empire.  Ptolemy controlled the areas south of Palestine, and Seleucus controlled the area north of Palestine.  These two forces fought back and forth for the control of Palestine from 323 BC to 167 BC.  At times the Jews were allowed to practice their religion without harassment, but under the Seleucids and the evil Antiochus IV Epiphanes, their practices were squelched.  Eventually, the people had all they could take of this foreign control.
• During this time, two main political groups in Judaism developed:  the Hasidim (pious ones), who were committed to traditional Judaism, and the Hellenizers, those sympathetic to the Greek way of life.  Over time, these two parties would become what we see in the Gospels as the Pharisees and the Sadducees.
• In 167 BC, a brave Hasidic family stood against the wrongs the Jews suffered under the Seleucids.  Judas Maccabeus (Maccabeus means the hammer) and his followers used guerilla warfare tactics, and with home-made weapons and faith in their God, they broke the control of the Seleucids over them by December 164 BC.  This victory is still celebrated by the Jews today in the Feast of Dedication, or Hanukkah.
• From 164-134 BC, the descendents of the Maccabees ruled the land and expanded it, renaming the country Judah.  Yet there grew again a greater liberalism; the Hellenizers gained power and changed way the high priesthood was established.  By 134 BC the Hellenizers held the power over Judah, which continued under the Sadducees of Jesus’ day. 
• Between 69 and 63 BC, a violent civil war broke out between these two factions.  A delegation of Jews went to Rome, asking for help in putting down this civil war and restoring peace in the land.  Little did they know what the consequences of this would bring for the Jewish people.  In 63 BC, the Roman general Pompey led the invasion of Palestine, not only putting down the civil war but conquering the nation!  Judah then became a province of the Roman Empire.
• The Romans tried various ineffective ways of governing Judah, such as the false Herod line, or Procurators such as Pontius Pilate who were military men promoted far above their level of competence.  Horrible taxation crushed the Jewish people as they struggled for survival (the poorest peasants had to pay about the equivalent of 40% of their meager income); both economic and environmental disasters also perplexed the people.  Many longed for the coming of the Messiah, and several mini-Messianic revolts arose, but were unsuccessful. 
• During the inter-testament times, the Jews had to deal with the influence of Greco-Roman philosophies and lifestyles completely contrary to what the Law had taught.  But more than being concerned about the Law, the Pharisees especially began treasuring oral traditions and interpretations of the Law as much as or more than the Scripture itself, and despite their conservative religious practices, because of this they came under the greatest scrutiny of Jesus.  His conflicts with the Sadducees would come on their turf, which was the Temple and its related practices.

Despite the negative experiences of the years between the Testaments, we can see that God was at work and, much like we saw in the Book of Esther, He would take a tragic time and bring about a turn of events that none really expected.  The way had been well paved for Jesus’ coming to this earth.  Think about it:  the universal use of the Greek language opened the way for communication with wide groups of people; the roadways built by Rome making for relatively easy travel throughout the Roman empire; its postal system was advanced for the day; and the struggle of the Jews and their hopes for Messiah to come and deliver them all prepared the way for Jesus, the Gospel, and its rapid and powerful spread to both Jew and Gentile throughout the First Century AD and beyond.  As the Apostle Paul well summarized,