Words from the time of the Gospels

People and offices

Apostle

The Twelve whom Jesus chose at the beginning of his public life to be with him and to share in his mission. (Mk 3:13–19)¹ More →

Disciple

Anyone who follows Jesus and learns from him; from among them he chooses the Twelve. (Lk 6:13)² More →

Rabbi

A title for a teacher. The Jewish people and their spiritual leaders viewed Jesus as a rabbi. (Jn 1:38)³ More →

High priest

The chief priest at the temple; in the last forty years of the Sanhedrin he presided over it. (Lk 3:2, Mk 14:53)⁴ More →

Tetrarch

The title of rulers over part of the former kingdom of Herod the Great; Luke calls Herod Antipas tetrarch of Galilee. (Lk 3:1, Mt 14:1)⁵ More →

Governor

Rome's representative in Judea. Pontius Pilate held the office from A.D. 26 to 36. (Mt 27:2, Lk 3:1)⁶ More →

Tax collector

A collector of tolls and taxes for the rulers, regarded by many as a sinner; Matthew and Zacchaeus were tax collectors. (Mt 9:9–11, Lk 19:2)⁷ More →

Synagogue official

The leader of a synagogue community; Jairus was one of them. (Mk 5:22, Lk 13:14)⁸ More →

Priest

A minister at the temple in Jerusalem. The priests served in divisions; Zechariah belonged to the division of Abijah. (Lk 1:5, Lk 1:8–9)² More →

Levite

A temple servant. Priests and Levites are sent to question the Baptist; in the parable of the Good Samaritan a priest and a Levite pass by. (Jn 1:19, Lk 10:31–32)² More →

Centurion

A Roman officer. A centurion in Capernaum asks Jesus for help; another says at the cross that Jesus was the Son of God. (Mt 8:5, Mk 15:39)² More →

Prophet

A messenger of God. After the raising of the young man at Nain, the people cry out that a great prophet has arisen in their midst. (Lk 7:16)² More →

Groups

Pharisees

A group of devout Jews who devoted themselves to the Law and taught in the synagogues; Nicodemus too was a Pharisee. (Jn 3:1)⁹ More →

Sadducees

The leading group among the priests; they rejected the oral traditions of the Pharisees and the resurrection. (Mk 12:18)¹⁰ More →

Scribes

Interpreters of the Law who taught the people. (Mk 12:28)¹¹ More →

Zealot

From “zeal”; the surname of the apostle Simon. (Lk 6:15)¹² More →

Samaritans

The people of Samaria; Jews and Samaritans had little to do with each other. (Jn 4:9)² More →

Sanhedrin

The supreme council and highest court of the Jews in Jerusalem; according to the Mishnah it had 71 members. (Mk 14:55)⁴ More →

Elders

Respected men of the people; with the chief priests and the scribes they belonged to the Sanhedrin. (Mk 14:43, Mk 15:1)⁴ More →

Scholar of the law

An expert in the Law; a scholar of the law asks Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life. (Lk 10:25)¹¹ More →

Places and regions

Galilee

The northernmost region of the land; here Jesus first worked. (Mk 1:14)¹³ More →

Judea

The hill country in the south, with Jerusalem and Bethlehem. (Mt 2:1)¹³ More →

Samaria

The region between Galilee and Judea. (Jn 4:4)¹³ More →

Decapolis

The region east and south of the Sea of Galilee; people from the Decapolis follow Jesus. (Mt 4:25, Mk 5:20)¹⁴ More →

Synagogue

Greek for “assembly”: the house where people gather on the sabbath to pray and to hear the Law and the Prophets. (Lk 4:16)⁸ More →

Temple

The sanctuary in Jerusalem. Jesus showed it the deepest respect. (Lk 2:46, Jn 2:13–16)¹⁵ More →

Gethsemane

A garden at the foot of the Mount of Olives; there Jesus prays after the Supper and is arrested. (Mk 14:32, Jn 18:1–12)¹⁶ More →

Golgotha

Aramaic for “Place of the Skull”: the place of the crucifixion, then outside the city; today within the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. (Mk 15:22, Jn 19:17–20)¹⁷ More →

Mount of Olives

The ridge east of Jerusalem, with Bethphage and Bethany; here Jesus prays before his Passion. (Lk 19:29, Lk 22:39)² More →

Praetorium

The residence of the Roman governor in Jerusalem; Jesus is brought there to Pilate. (Jn 18:28, Mk 15:16)² More →

Jordan

The river that rises at Mount Hermon and flows into the Dead Sea; its winding course is about 205 miles (330 km) long. John baptizes in the Jordan. (Mk 1:5, Mk 1:9)¹⁸ More →

Feasts and times

Sabbath

The seventh day of the week, a day of rest, counted from evening to evening. (Ex 20:8–11)¹⁹²⁰ More →

Passover

The great feast of the Jews. Jesus celebrates the Last Supper in the course of the Passover meal. (Mk 14:12)²¹²² More →

Feast of Tabernacles

A Jewish autumn feast; Jesus goes up to Jerusalem for it. (Jn 7:2–10)² More →

Feast of Unleavened Bread

The days of the feast around Passover, when unleavened bread is eaten; Mark names the two together. (Mk 14:1, Mk 14:12)²¹ More →

Feast of the Dedication

A feast in winter; Jesus walks about in the temple area, in the portico of Solomon. (Jn 10:22–23)² More →

Pentecost

The feast at the end of the seven weeks after Easter; the disciples receive the Holy Spirit. (Acts 2:1–4)²³ More →

Day of preparation

The day before the sabbath; Jesus is buried on a day of preparation. (Mk 15:42, Jn 19:31)² More →

Hour

The day has twelve hours. The Gospels mention, for example, the third, sixth and ninth hours, which the NABRE gives as nine o'clock, noon and three o'clock. (Jn 11:9, Mk 15:25, Mk 15:33–34)² More →

Night watch

A part of the night; during the fourth watch Jesus comes to the disciples across the lake. (Mk 6:48)² More →

Money and measures

Denarius

A Roman silver coin; in the parable of the vineyard, a worker's wage for one day. (Mt 20:2)² More →

Double drachma

The amount of the temple tax. (Mt 17:24)² More →

Stater

The coin Peter finds in the mouth of a fish, for Jesus and for himself. (Mt 17:27)² More →

Talent

A sum of money in the parable of the talents; one servant owes his master ten thousand talents. (Mt 25:14–30, Mt 18:24)² More →

Pieces of silver

Judas hands Jesus over for thirty pieces of silver. (Mt 26:15, Mt 27:3–5)²⁴ More →

Stadium

A measure of length (plural stadia). Emmaus lies sixty stadia from Jerusalem, according to the Custody of the Holy Land about seven miles (11 km). (Lk 24:13, Jn 11:18)²⁵ More →

Words of faith

Christ

The Greek translation of the Hebrew “Messiah”, which means “anointed”. (Mk 8:29)²⁶ More →

Parable

A story in images by which Jesus invites people into the kingdom of God: a characteristic feature of his teaching. (Mk 4:33–34)²⁷²⁸ More →

Gospel

“Good news”; the four Gospels tell of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. (Mk 1:1)²⁹ More →

Messiah

Hebrew for “anointed”, in Greek Christ. Andrew tells his brother that they have found the Messiah. (Jn 1:41)²⁶ More →

Hosanna

The joyful cry of the crowds when Jesus enters Jerusalem. (Mk 11:9–10, Jn 12:13)³⁰ More →

Beatitudes

The words “Blessed are …” at the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount; they are at the heart of the preaching of Jesus. (Mt 5:3–12, Lk 6:20–23)³¹ More →

Our Father

The prayer Jesus teaches his disciples: in Matthew with seven petitions, in Luke with five. (Mt 6:9–13, Lk 11:2–4)³² More →

Brothers of Jesus

The Gospels use this name for close relatives of Jesus, such as James and Joseph, the sons of another Mary. The Church understands these passages as not referring to other children of the Virgin Mary. (Mk 6:3, Mt 13:55, Mt 27:56)³³ More →

Synoptic Gospels

The common name for the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke; placed side by side, they show many shared passages.³⁴ More →

Longer ending of Mark

The verses Mk 16:9–20. The Church counts them as part of the canonical text of the Gospel, as the Council of Trent confirmed. (Mk 16:9–20)³⁵ More →