The Pharisees and Scribes in Jerusalem disliked Jesus because Jesus opposed their Old Law and sought to bring the New Covenant. Criticizing the disciples for not washing their hands, the Pharisees defended doing this by invoking the tradition of the elders. 

Departing from Galilee, Jesus expanded his preaching to Tyre, Sidon, and Phoenicia. Despite being a Gentile, a Sidonian woman’s daughter was healed because of her faith. This showed that Jesus came for all people, not only Israelites. Additionally, 4,000 people were fed in these lands. Jesus instructed to honor your parents before the temple and warned of the doctrine of the Pharisees. Predicting his own death, Jesus would voluntarily give Himself up to be crucified. Simon became the “Rock of the Church” and was renamed Peter. 

The conflict between Jesus and the Pharisees was tradition vs. ethics. In order to show the disciples that Jesus was the Son of God, Jesus performed the Transfiguration. Jesus taught his disciples the principles of service: it is better to be physically maimed than ethically rebellious. Legal under New Testament law, Jesus taught that divorce and remarriage were considered adultery. Unlike the thinking of the time, wealth was a barrier to enter into God’s kingdom but in Christianity, poverty for Jesus’ sake will bring riches in heaven. 

The Chief Priests and Pharisees became angrier at Jesus for his actions and were enraged after Jesus drove out the moneychangers from the temple. They challenged Jesus asking Him by what authority he does these things Jesus then answered by questioning what authority John the Baptist had, knowing they were scared to discredit John because of his popularity among the people. Attempting to trap Jesus, the Pharisees asked if it was lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, Jesus responded by saying, “give unto Caesar what is Caesars.” 

Thinking of Jesus as a political leader and savior of the Jewish people from Roman occupation, the people in Jerusalem welcomed Him triumphantly. Jesus was sent to earth to bring the New Covenant and suffer for the sins of all peoples. Prophesying regarding the temple Jesus foretold that not one stone would be left when it was destroyed, this was fulfilled in 70 AD when Jerusalem was sacked. Since this would happen in the lifetime of some of the listeners, Jesus told them to leave the city before it was surrounded. 

Jesus knew He was to be betrayed at the Passover, when He turned wine and bread into His body and blood for the remission of sins. Jesus was delivered to Roman Governor Pontius Pilate for His trial, where Jesus confirmed that He was the son of God to Pilate. Despite not wanting to convict an innocent man, Pilate would free Barabbas instead of Jesus due to the uproar of the chief priests and their subversives in the crowd. Being scourged and then crucified, Jesus fulfilled his own prophecies and others before (like Ezekiel and Isaiah) when He resurrected on the third day.

Out of the three “Renaissances” in history, the Carolingian Renaissance was the earliest and least known. The other two rebirth periods were the 12th century Renaissance and the 15th century which is commonly referred to just as “The Renaissance.” 

Lasting from the reign of Charlemagne to the end of his son Louis the Pious’ rule, this forgotten era stretched from 768-840. Renaissance means “rebirth,” so in the Carolingian Renaissance there was a renewed interest in ancient Greece and the Roman Empire. Unlike in the next two more famous renaissances, the Carolingian entailed the least original work and involved more copying of ancient works. The Carolingians’ aim was to restore a civilization of which Rome would have been proud, but also emphasizing Christianity. 

Before the time of Charlemagne, the Franks had no set capital. Aachen, a city in modern-day Germany, was chosen to be the first capital of the Kingdom of the Franks under Charlemagne. Seeking out well-known artists, builders, and writers in every city he visited, Charlemagne strived to make a society that was not only strong militarily but one that was also the pinnacle of modern Western civilization. Charlemagne improved the lives of his people by establishing a cathedral and monastery in every city where the clergy and laity were educated and taught them how to read and write. 

Almost single-handedly converting Ireland to Christianity, St. Patrick was the only person to do this without using violence. St. Patrick was born in the 4th century in Britain but was taken to Ireland as a slave, then escaped and went to Gaul. Despite being a slave while he was in Ireland, St. Patrick wished to move the Irish people to Christianity. At that point in time, Ireland had never been part of the Roman Empire or had any missionaries visit there. After the monumental change of the Irish people from paganism to Christianity, it became known as the “Isle of Saints” because of its vast number of new converts and monasteries. Unlike monasteries in continental Europe, Irish ones employed harsh asceticism and penitential regiments and were also the chief organizing centers of the Church in Ireland. Many Irish like St. Columbus became the main missionaries who would later go to England and Germany. 

Consisting of 27 books, four of which are Gospels and 21 are Epistles, the New Testament was primarily written by the Apostle Paul and the 12 Disciples of Jesus. The Epistles were aimed at various churches or people that needed guidance. These letters involve rhetoric while the historical books, called Gospels, established a background of the Church and the teachings of Jesus. 

The Gospels were written in the 1st century, the oldest complete copy is from 360 AD. Widely known by about 100 AD these books were written in Koine Greek, a language used during trade. The Old Testament was regarded as authoritative in the New Testament. Chapters and verses were not added until much later in the 13th and 16th centuries. Unlike Greek literature written for entertainment purposes, the New Testament was meant for worship. Roman literature was focused on the city of Rome and was tied to the past and present, while the New Testament was about the teachings of one man and had specific views of the future. Classical literature relied on mythology, but the gospels of Christ were historic accounts.

The earliest and shortest of the four Gospels, Mark is about the life and ministry of Jesus. Gospel means “good news,” Christ means “anointed,” and Jesus means “Yahweh” or “salvation.” Baptism was not practiced by the Jews before Jesus, when he was baptized by John. Mark begins with a declaration proclaiming that Jesus is the son of God. Using miracles to reinforce His message, Jesus began preaching the Kingdom of God. He gained opposition from religious leaders, since He was not a Levite meaning that he was not eligible to become a priest. The religious leaders called “Pharisees” and “Sadducees” disliked him because he held meetings with sinners, like tax collectors, and prostitutes. Proclaiming a new unique law and order, Jesus’ coming was to fulfill the Old Covenant and assert the New Covenant. Along with increasing opposition, Jesus also gained massive amounts of followers, His 12 disciples, and many others. The Disciples were empowered by Jesus and given the ability to heal; this way His message would spread faster. Speaking in parables, Jesus told the story of the mustard seed, which said most people would not accept his message, and among those who did, most would eventually fall away.