During the time after Jesus's death, when the movement he had initiated by means of his ministry was carried on by his followers, the situation in Palestine remained the same as it had been during the first three decades. As in the time of Jesus, there was tension with Rome over economic, political and religious matters.

In 36 CE the governorship of Pontius Pilate came to an end. In Rome, Tiberius was succeeded by Gaius Caligula as emperor (37-41 CE ). Attaching great importance to emperor worship, Caligula ordered that a statue of himself be placed in the temple in Jerusalem. This step had the potential for serious revolt amongst the Jews. Fortunately, he was eventually persuaded by Agrippa I, grandson of Herod the Great, to abandon this intention.

In addition to Galilee, where he was ruler, Agrippa I was now also appointed by Claudius - the new emperor who had succeeded Caligula in 41 CE - as king of Judaea and Samaria. On the whole, his rule - cut short after three years by his death in 44 CE - was experienced positively since he respected Jewish sentiments. After his death, Palestine again came under direct Roman control in the form of Roman procurators. From then on relations between the Roman rulers and the Palestinian population deteriorated even further. Banditry, that is, social protest movements which consisted of peasants who had lost their land as a result of economic measures and who thus took food and other necessities from the rich, increased in Galilee and Judaea.

It was in this context that the Jesus movement, which Jesus had initiated, took form. During Jesus's ministry, he mainly, though not exclusively, addressed Jews. Initially, the movement in Galilee was a reform movement among Jews and not a separate movement apart from Israel. Jesus and the members of the Jesus movement were concerned with concrete matters such as poverty and debt. The Jesus movement had an inclusive character. This is evident from factors such as that women and outcasts were ‘members’, the ethos of compassion which came to expression in table fellowship with outcasts, and its rejection of violent resistance to Rome.