Telling God's Story - Chapter 9: The Return from Babylon

Chapter 9 of "Telling God's Story" presents Act 4 of the Bible narrative which is also stage 4 of God's redemption: Israel's Return from Babylon.

In this stage of redemption history, God brings His people back, reestablishing them in their land after their captivity by the superpower of that day, Babylon. The time in captivity served as a purifying and refining process, resulting in a faithful remnant returning to Israel. With this remnant God, once again, starts over. He is "re-creating" Israel.

"Israel's exile, rejection, and suffering in Babylon foreshadow Jesus' own rejection and suffering on behalf of his people. The famous prophecy in Isaiah 53 about the 'suffering servant' is primarily referring to the suffering of Israel, God's servant. It is ultimately fulfilled in Jesus and his suffering for his people. But God is not finished with Israel yet."

When the Persians took over world domination they allowed the captives to return home, and now God's people could worship Him properly, meaning the rebuilding of the temple. The temple was completed in 516 BC. The people were allowed relative freedom but were still subject to foreign power.

During the long Persian dynasty, Aramaic replaced Hebrew as the common language for the Jews. In order that all could read the Hebrew Bible, it was translated into Aramaic, the international language of the day. "This is an extremely important point: Israel was going international. Now, other people could have access to the Bible in their own language."

Later when Alexander the Great took control of the known world, Greek became the language of choice. Eventually a mixture of languages was spoken in Israel: Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek, and Latin. (The sign hung over the cross of Jesus was in 3 of these languages: Aramaic, Greek, and Latin.)

The return of Israel from Babylon got them back to their land, but it also introduced a great mixture of peoples, languages and customs, making Israel a volatile land at the time Jesus came on the scene.

"Into this situation, Jesus came...If you knew nothing of Jesus or Christianity, but you understood the tense political, cultural, and religious mood of the first century, and then you started reading the Gospels, it wouldn't be long before you asked yourself 'Who is this Jesus and when is he going to be killed?'" 

Chapter 10 ("Jesus: Scene One and Scene Two") is the closing chapter and climax of this book.