Scripture: One Book at a Time
The whole of Sacred Scripture is a single narrative that promises and points to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of the World. It is an epic story, the greatest ever told, and told "one book at a time." Each book makes it contribution to the narrative as God reveals God's self to us and his desire that all be saved.
Lesson 41: The Books of Maccabees
The setting for these books is several hundred years after the time of the Prophet Zechariah. Judea is a but a city-state with Jerusalem and a 20-mile circumference about its walls. The great powers of the ages sweep to and fro across the region in their attempts to estabish dominance in the larger region. Meanwhile Rome is growing in power and moving eastward towards the Levant. During a particular time of persecution, God worked through the family of Mattathias (1 Mc 2:1)—especially through his three sons, Judas, Jonathan, and Simon, and his grandson, John Hyrcanus to free Judah from the oppressors.
For those interested in more details about these books, consider reading this Introduction to the Maccabees.
For those who would like to explore details of this book, please consider videos from Fr. Mike Schmitz’s “Bible in a Year” program. You can find the entire playlist here.
1st and 2nd Maccabees are Deuterocanonical books only considered Sacred Scripture by the Catholic and Orthodox Christians. Take a moment with Fr George as he explains the history of the books and the Reformation debate about the content of these books.