Hour one & two examines how Judaism and the Roman empire shaped Jesus' life. Jesus was an ordinary Jewish resident of his time, but new archaeological findings show that Jesus was probably not the humble class. Nazareth, where he grew up, was about four miles from the cosmopolitan urban center of Sepphoris, one of the Roman provincial cities. The death of Jesus was a Roman act; there was little if any notice taken by Jewish people. Jesus was another victim of the Pax Romana.
Hour three & four follows the story of the first attempts to write the life of Jesus--the Gospels. The Christian movement - as it became separate from Judaism-would face new challenges--both internal and external.
