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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Who baptized Jesus?

2. Who wrote the book "Antiquities of the Jews?"

3. What area do the histories written by Roman authors mainly cover?

4. What aspects of Jesus' life does the author claim he will attempt to explain?

5. How much is Pontius Pilate mentioned in the histories written by Roman authors?

Short Essay Questions

1. According to external sources written in the first century, what was Jesus considered to be?

2. What reason did Jesus give for overturning the tables at the Temple?

3. What prompted Jesus to begin his ministry at around the age of 20?

4. What did the term Messiah mean in ancient times?

5. In Chapter 15, whom does Sanders say the apostles were accountable to?

6. Why were miracle workers more likely to be celebrated in the ancient world than they are today?

7. What are the terms B.C.E. and C.E. alternate abbreviations for, and what do they stand for?

8. What opposing view to Jesus' prediction at the Temple do some people have?

9. What areas did the scholar Josephus study?

10. When Pilate was first asked to execute Jesus, why did he refuse?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What are the two contexts Sanders examines Jesus' life in? Describe both and discuss what role each of them plays in constructing a history of Jesus.

Essay Topic 2

What is significant about what is written about Jesus in external sources? Does he play prominently in other sources? Why? Do these external sources help or hinder historians in determining what Jesus' life was like?

Essay Topic 3

What are the discrepancies that arise concerning the resurrection? Why are these discrepancies problematic?

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