Chapter 37 - The Beginning of Christianity / 第三十七章 - 基督教的开端

Augustus奥古斯都/ɔːˈɡʌstəs/ Caesar may have been called "First Citizen," but he was actually an emperor皇帝/ˈempərər/. He ruled统治/ruːld/ over Rome and all the land土地/lænd/ that Rome had conquered征服/ˈkɒŋkərd/. No one questioned his decrees法令/dɪˈkriːz/. He was in charge.

Augustus Caesar became famous著名的/ˈfeɪməs/ for keeping the peace和平/piːs/ all over the Roman Empire. Everywhere in the Roman Empire, Roman law法律/lɔː/ was followed. Roman soldiers士兵/ˈsoʊldʒərz/ kept villages村庄/ˈvɪlɪdʒɪz/ and cities城市/ˈsɪtiz/ safe from enemy attack. There were no wars战争/wɔːrz/ anywhere within the Roman Empire.

This time时期/taɪm/ of peace and safety安全/ˈseɪfti/ had a name—the Pax Romana罗马和平/pæks roʊˈmɑːnə/. In Latin拉丁语/ˈlætɪn/, this means "The Roman Peace." All across the Roman Empire, people人们/ˈpiːpəl/ could live in safety, without worrying about invasion入侵/ɪnˈveɪʒən/. They could work工作/wɜːrk/ out in their fields田地/fiːldz/, raise their animals动物/ˈænɪməlz/, travel旅行/ˈtrævəl/ back and forth between Roman cities, and even sail on the Mediterranean Sea地中海/ˌmedɪtəˈreɪniən siː/ without being attacked.

During the time of this Roman peace, a baby婴儿/ˈbeɪbi/ was born in Judea犹地亚/dʒuːˈdiːə/, the land that was once called Canaan迦南/ˈkeɪnən/, and was now under Roman control. This baby would grow up to start a whole new religion宗教/rɪˈlɪdʒən/. The Bible圣经/ˈbaɪbəl/ tells us about this baby in four books called "the Gospels福音书/ˈɡɑːspəlz/." Here is the story as it is told in the Gospel of Luke:

In the days when Augustus Caesar ruled over Rome, a girl女孩/ɡɜːrl/ named Mary玛利亚/ˈmeri/ lived in Nazareth拿撒勒/ˈnæzərəθ/. Mary was a Jewish犹太的/ˈdʒuːɪʃ/ girl who worshipped崇拜/ˈwɜːrʃɪpt/ the God of Abraham亚伯拉罕/ˈeɪbrəhæm/. She was engaged订婚/ɪnˈɡeɪdʒd/ to be married to a man named Joseph约瑟/ˈdʒoʊzəf/, but the wedding婚礼/ˈwedɪŋ/ was still months away.

One day, God sent an angel天使/ˈeɪndʒəl/ to Mary to give her a message消息/ˈmesɪdʒ/. "Mary, God is with you!" the angel said. "You will have a baby, and you will name命名/neɪm/ him Jesus耶稣/ˈdʒiːzəs/!" "But I can't have a baby," Mary said. "I don't even have a husband丈夫/ˈhʌzbənd/ yet!" "God will send the baby," the angel answered. "He will be called the Son of God上帝之子/sʌn ʌv ɡɑːd/."

When Mary told Joseph about the angel's visit, he was amazed惊讶的/əˈmeɪzd/! But he agreed to marry her and help her raise the baby. Just before Mary's baby was born, Augustus Caesar ordered命令/ˈɔːrdərd/ that everyone in the Roman Empire should be counted统计/ˈkaʊntɪd/. He wanted everyone to go back to the place where their ancestors祖先/ˈænsestərz/ came from, to make the counting easier.

Joseph came from Bethlehem伯利恒/ˈbeθlɪhem/. So, even though Mary was about to have her baby, Joseph and Mary traveled旅行/ˈtrævəld/ from Nazareth to Bethlehem. When they arrived in Bethlehem, the village村庄/ˈvɪlɪdʒ/ was so full that they couldn't find anywhere to sleep睡觉/sliːp/! Finally, they found a cave洞穴/keɪv/ where animals were kept.

Mary had her baby there, in the cave, in the middle of the night. They named the baby "Jesus," just as the angel had said. Joseph wrapped包裹/ræpt/ the baby in clean linen亚麻布/ˈlɪnən/ cloths, and laid him in the feeding trough饲料槽/ˈfiːdɪŋ trɔːf/ where the animals ate.

Now, just outside Bethlehem, there were shepherds牧羊人/ˈʃepərdz/ spending the night out in the fields, watching over their sheep羊/ʃiːp/. When Jesus was born, an angel appeared to the shepherds. The angel shone with light光/laɪt/, and the shepherds were afraid害怕/əˈfreɪd/. But the angel said, "Don't be afraid! I bring you good news消息/nuːz/ of great joy喜悦/dʒɔɪ/. Today, a Savior救世主/ˈseɪvjər/ has been born to you."

"He is Christ基督/kraɪst/ the Lord! You will find him wrapped in linen cloth, lying in a feed trough." Then a great company of angels appeared in the sky over the field where the shepherds were sleeping. "Glory荣耀/ˈɡlɔːri/ to God in the highest!" they sang. "Peace on earth, good will to men!"

The shepherds were astounded震惊的/əˈstaʊndɪd/! They hurried to the cave where the baby had been born. And after they saw him, they went out and told everyone what they had seen and heard. Today, many people celebrate庆祝/ˈseləbreɪt/ the birth出生/bɜːrθ/ of Jesus on December 25. We call this day "Christmas圣诞节/ˈkrɪsməs/."

After Jesus was born, he lived in Judea for thirty years. Then he started to travel around Judea, teaching教导/ˈtiːtʃɪŋ/ people what God wanted them to do. His most famous著名的/ˈfeɪməs/ teaching was given on the side of a mountain山/ˈmaʊntən/, so today, people call it the "Sermon on the Mount山上宝训/ˈsɜːrmən ɒn ðə maʊnt/."

Here are some of the things that Jesus taught: Blessed有福的/ˈblesɪd/ are the poor贫穷的/pʊr/, for the kingdom of God belongs to them. Blessed are the merciful仁慈的/ˈmɜːrsɪfəl/, for they will receive mercy怜悯/ˈmɜːrsi/. Blessed are peacemakers和平使者/ˈpiːsmeɪkərz/, for they will be called the children of God.

If someone strikes打击/straɪks/ you on the cheek脸颊/tʃiːk/, don't fight back. Turn the other cheek instead. Love your enemies敌人/ˈenəmiz/, and pray祈祷/preɪ/ for those who are mean to you. Do not judge评判/dʒʌdʒ/ other people, or you will be judged.

The "Gospels福音书/ˈɡɑːspəlz/," in the New Testament新约/nuː ˈtestəmənt/, record these and many other teachings of Jesus. Jesus was very popular受欢迎的/ˈpɑːpjələr/ with the people of Judea. He was so popular that the leaders领袖/ˈliːdərz/ who were governing Judea began to worry担心/ˈwɜːri/. The Jewish leaders were afraid that Jesus might begin a rebellion叛乱/rɪˈbeljən/ against the Romans.

If that happened, Roman soldiers might march into Judea and kill hundreds of Jews. When the Roman official官员/əˈfɪʃəl/ who was supposed to keep the peace in Judea heard about Jesus, he got worried too. If he didn't get rid of Jews who might start rebellions against Rome, he could get into trouble with the Roman "First Citizen"—a man named Tiberius提比略/taɪˈbɪriəs/, who had inherited继承/ɪnˈherɪtɪd/ the job of running Rome from Augustus Caesar.

He might lose his job as a Roman official, or even be executed处决/ˈeksɪkjuːtɪd/. So the Romans helped some of the leaders of Judea arrest逮捕/əˈrest/ Jesus. They put him on trial审判/ˈtraɪəl/ for treason叛国/ˈtriːzən/. The penalty惩罚/ˈpenəlti/ for treason was death! Jesus was convicted定罪/kənˈvɪktɪd/ of treason and put to death near Jerusalem耶路撒冷/dʒəˈruːsələm/, the capital city of Judea.

The Gospels tell the story of what happened after Jesus' death. Here is what the Gospel of Luke says: After Jesus died, he was put in a tomb坟墓/tuːm/ that was like a cave, carved into rock. A huge stone石头/stoʊn/ was rolled into place across the entrance入口/ˈentrəns/ to the tomb. His followers跟随者/ˈfɑːloʊərz/ and the people who loved him were very sad. They mourned哀悼/mɔːrnd/ and wept.

Three days after Jesus died, some of the women妇女/ˈwɪmən/ who followed him went to the tomb where he had been buried埋葬/ˈberid/. But when they got there, they found that the huge stone at the entrance had been rolled away! And the tomb itself was empty空的/ˈempti/. "What has happened here?" they asked each other. "What has happened to the body身体/ˈbɑːdi/ of Jesus?"

Then two angels, dressed in shining闪亮的/ˈʃaɪnɪŋ/ clothes, appeared to them. "Why are you looking for Jesus here?" one of them asked. "He is not here. He has risen复活/ˈrɪzən/ from the dead!" The women were terrified恐惧的/ˈterəfaɪd/! They ran back to tell Jesus' other followers what had happened. But no one believed相信/bɪˈliːvd/ them!

While his followers were talking about the story the women told, Jesus himself appeared to them. "Peace be with you!" he said. "I am not a ghost鬼魂/ɡoʊst/! I have risen from the dead." Then he blessed祝福/ˈblesɪd/ them and said, "Go and tell all nations民族/ˈneɪʃənz/ what you have seen."

The followers of Jesus told this story all around Jerusalem. Then they spread it all the way to Rome itself! More and more people believed that Jesus had been resurrected复活/ˌrezəˈrektɪd/, or brought back to life from the dead. They were careful to follow the teachings of Jesus. They believed that Jesus was the son of God. Soon, these people were called "Christians基督徒/ˈkrɪstʃənz/."

Note to Parent: The actual year of Jesus' birth is probably closer to 3 BC/BCE than to the year 1.