The Silent Years: From Malachi to Matthew

Four hundred years sit between Malachi and Matthew, and that “blank page” is anything but empty. We walk through the intertestamental period to see how Israel’s world changes while God’s written revelation goes quiet and why that matters when Jesus arrives on the scene.

We trace the major headlines that shape the New Testament background: Persia fading, Alexander the Great reshaping the region through Hellenization, and Koine Greek becoming the common language that later carries the New Testament writings. Then Rome takes control, Jerusalem falls under imperial authority, and the land is reorganized into provinces like Judea, Samaria, and Galilee. Along the way we talk about Herod the Great’s uneasy reign, his obsession with the title “King of the Jews,” and the Roman governance that will later include figures like Pontius Pilate.

We also dig into the religious landscape that explains so many Gospel confrontations. Synagogues become central places of instruction and prayer, and new leaders rise: Pharisees building layers of oral tradition to apply the Law, Sadducees leveraging political power while rejecting the supernatural, scribes acting as legal scholars, and rabbis gathering disciples. None of it is random. We frame these developments as part of God’s providence, preparing the world for “the fullness of time.”

Finally, we zoom out to the four Gospels themselves, showing how Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John each emphasize a different angle while telling one unified story of Jesus the Messiah, the promised King, the suffering Servant, and God in the flesh. If this helped you see Scripture with clearer eyes, subscribe, share this with a friend, and leave a review. What part of the “silent years” do you want to explore next?

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Transcript

From Old Testament To New

SPEAKER_00 0:54

Well, today our wisdom journey brings us now to the New Testament. Since the end of the Old Testament with the book of Malachi, 400 years have transpired. Now, these 400 years are often referred to as the silent years. And what that means is there wasn't any word from God. There's no new revelation. No prophet came on the scene to declare, thus saith the Lord. So when you open the New Testament, you've traveled some 400 years from the close of Malachi to the beginning of Matthew. And let me tell you, this blank page right here in between Malachi and Matthew, this represents a lot of change that's taken place in the world over these 400 years. For one thing, the Persians are no longer the dominant empire in the control of Israel. The Roman Empire is now in control. For the first time, we encounter religious leaders known as Pharisees and Sadducees. We find that Jewish life is centering around the synagogue, and the synagogue is nowhere to be found in the Old Testament. What in the world happened during these 400 years? Well, to begin with, just as Daniel had prophesied back when the kingdom of Persia was in power, a great conqueror will arise. We know from history that his name was Alexander the Great. He defeated the Persians, he established the Greek Empire. Alexander practiced what's called Hellenization, that is, the systematic establishment of Greek culture in the nations he conquered. So with that, the Greek language became the language of the empire. And this explains why the New Testament will be written in common or koine Greek. Just as Daniel prophesied, after Alexander's death, his vast empire would be divided among four of his generals. Well, Israel became governed by one of those generals, and one of his notorious successors tried to force the Greek religion with all its gods and goddesses down the throat of the Jewish people. The Jewish people, of course, revolted. They succeeded in gaining independence, but it was only for a brief period. Eventually, in 63 BC, the Romans conquered Jerusalem. After they conquered Jerusalem, they divided the land of Israel into several provinces. You have Judea in the south, you have Galilee in the north, you have Samaria right in the middle, and you have the province of Perea just east of the Jordan River. Now at the time of Jesus' birth, all these Jewish provinces were governed by a man known as Herod the Great. He wasn't Jewish at all. In fact, he was an Edomite. He was a descendant of Esau, Jacob's brother. But he gained favor with the Romans, and they appointed him with a title that he happened to love best of all. Here it is. King of the Jews. Well, Herod tried his best to keep that title, to earn the favor of the Jewish people, even enlarged and he beautified the Jerusalem temple. But Herod was actually an extremely evil man. Frankly, he was paranoid. He will murder some of his own sons because he considers them a threat to his rule. Of course, he went on a murderous rampage in Matthew chapter two after some wise men arrived from old Persia. You remember they were wondering where the child was born who was king of the Jews. Well, that's his title. Well, shortly after the birth of Jesus, Herod the Great dies. One of Herod's surviving sons follows his father. He rules over Judea and Samaria until the Romans replace him with a procurator, that is, a governor. Some thirty years later, the governor appointed over this territory was a man named Pontius Pilate. There's another son of Herod the Great called Herod Tetrarch of Galilee. Luke chapter 3, verse 1 tells us that he ruled over the northern region of Galilee. That'll be the primary location of Jesus' ministry. Now, this particular Herod was responsible for beheading John the Baptist. He'll later on interrogate Jesus just before the crucifixion. Here's what I want you to understand, however, at this point. By the time we get to Jesus, Israel is under Roman control, governed by appointed rulers. Detachments of the Roman army are stationed throughout the land to maintain order. But the Romans are also Hellenized, that is, they know the Greek language. They're greatly influenced by the Greek culture and architecture and religion. Now I need to add that you can't count all the gods and goddesses of the Greeks and the Romans, or so many of them. But the Jewish people are strictly following Yahweh, the one true and living God. You see, the Babylonian captivity had cured them of idolatry. During their captivity, without a temple available to them, the synagogue began to arise as a place of instruction and prayer. So during these 400 silent years, religious leaders called Pharisees and Sadducees rose up. They began to elaborate, teach the law, they began to lead the people in all sorts of applications of the law in their daily lives. The Pharisees were the largest religious party. They laid heavy burdens on the people as they sought to apply the Old Testament law to everyday life. For instance, the law forbade working on the Sabbath, and they defined work as bearing any kind of burden. But the question was, you know, well, what's a burden? So they would debate, you know, rather vigorously on whether or not you could pick up a chair and move it on the Sabbath or even pick up your baby. By the time of Christ, they had accumulated thousands of oral traditions and rules and interpretations that frankly had become more important to them than God's word. Now there's another group called the Sadducees. They were fewer in number, but they had greater political power. They dominated the Jewish Supreme Court known as the Sanhedrin. It was the Sadducees who served as high priests at the pleasure of the Romans. Now the Sadducees denied the supernatural. They denied the resurrection of the dead. They were basically more interested in politics than in God's word, and they did everything they could to stay in favor with the Roman Empire. Now let me tell you, the Pharisees and the Sadducees actually resented each other, but they will become united in hating Jesus Christ. Now another group of men who arose during these silent years were called scribes. They were lawyers, they were recognized scholars of Old Testament law. They defended the law and all the traditions that had grown up over these 400 years. Another group of men who appeared in this particular period of time were known as rabbis. These are the Jewish teachers. They would often gather students or disciples around them. Jesus will be referred to by this title. They'll preach and teach in the synagogue. Now, these rulers and institutions that arose between Malachi and Matthew, this little blank sheet of paper here, they're all part of God's providential plan. God isn't wringing his hands up in heaven because Pharisees are working over time with all the regulations and Herod is on the throne, and the Sadducees don't believe in the resurrection. In fact, the Apostle Paul writes in Galatians chapter 4 and verse 4, when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his son. God was at work through these centuries, preparing his people, preparing the world for the arrival of the Messiah Jesus, God's Son. Now you may know that the New Testament opens with the biography of God's Son. We have four biographies, in fact, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. These four Gospels, as they're called, emphasize different aspects of the Lord's life. Matthew was one of Jesus' twelve disciples, and he writes particularly to the Jewish people, and he presents Jesus as their promised king. The Gospel of Mark presents Jesus as the servant, and he seems to be writing to a Roman audience. Luke writes to a broad Gentile audience, and he emphasizes the genuine humanity of Jesus. And John, another of Jesus' original disciples, is writing to unbelievers, and his purpose is clearly evangelistic. He wants to present Jesus as God in the flesh. Now, all four gospel writers often looked at the same event, but they ended up emphasizing different aspects that suited their overall purpose in writing. So when you put the gospels together, what you've got is a wonderful panoramic view of Jesus, the suffering servant, the promised king, the Messiah of Israel, the Son of God. What a blessing that the silent years now are coming to a close. God is speaking again. And keep in mind that while these divinely inspired biographical accounts of God's Son teach us about the culture of his day, his ministry and teaching, ultimately we're given the word of God so that we might come to know Jesus Christ personally, so that you and I might come to claim him as our personal Savior, so that we call him King. He is our Messiah. He is our Redeemer. Well, until next time, when we dive in to the opening verse, may the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.