do this in memory of me. and throughout all the christian communities, whether they were jewish christians or gentile christians, that partaking of the bread and the wine in his memory became the central focus of his worship. but that eucharist would have looked much different than the ritual we see today, as paul reveals in corinthians. but the lord s supper, as he describes it, is not a funny different sort of practice with tiny wee little wafers or bits of bread and a thimbleful and a sip of wine or something. it is something which is integrated into a normal meal. he talks about some people going away hungry and other people having too much, so it s integrated in a normal social sort of context. and while the new testament mentions the idea of a church, using the greek word ekklesia, early christians didn t worship in magnificent cathedrals. ekklesia simply means an
scapegoats. he apparently had some of them burned as human torches in his gardens. he had others wrapped in animal skins and set wild dogs upon them in a public setting. and so this is the first persecution of christians by is a roman emperor. the reason christians were persecuted early on was not because it was illegal to be a christian. they were persecuted because they were known to be troublemakers. among nero s victims were the two most important leaders of the early christian church. peter had been living and preaching in rome. paul had been living under house arrest. now they were both condemned to death for their faith. peter is not a citizen of the roman empire, and so he is able to be crucified. then he s crucified upside down because he did not feel that he was worthy to die in the same manner that jesus did. paul, who spread christianity
beheaded. two years earlier, james, the brother of jesus, had been stoned to death in jerusalem. now peter was gone, and paul, too. the heart and the head of the faith. if jesus hadn t saved these three, what then for christianity? once these people died, there were already leaders in place who could take over the mantle of leadership and then lead christianity on into the future. christians weren t the only ones facing violent martyrdom. back in judea, in the birthplace of christianity, judaism was about to undergo the most horrific trial in its tortured history. rebellion, then war with rome. the terrible outcome would crack
skins and set wild dogs upon them in a public setting. and so this is the first persecution of christians by is a roman emperor. the reason christians were persecuted early on was not because it was illegal to be a christian. they were persecuted because they were known to be troublemakers. among nero s victims were the two most important leaders of the early christian church. peter had been living and preaching in rome. paul had been living under house arrest. now they were both condemned to death for their faith. peter is not a citizen of the roman empire, and so he is able to be crucified. then he s crucified upside down because he did not feel that he was worthy to die in the same manner that jesus did. paul, who spread christianity throughout the empire, was beheaded.
himself threatened with death. i can picture him just trying to convert the entire praetorian guard. the early christians, particularly the evangelists, the apostles were politically problematic. they were claiming a son of god, a god from god, a savior. but those happened to be titles that the roman empire abrogated to himself. for the next few years, paul would languish in prison, surviving assassination attempts and brutal interrogations. finally, his appeals to be tried in rome were answered. paul is a citizen of the roman empire, and that provides certain protections for him. they include the right to a trial, the right to not be whipped or beaten without a trial, the right to appeal to caesar, and a protection against crucifixion. the trip from jerusalem almost killed paul when he was shipwrecked in a storm. finally, in the year 60 a.d., paul reached rome in chains.