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Coming of Christ
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Roman Occupation
And A Promise of Hope By Ruth Kerr
The Romans took global domination very seriously. They were determined to run a world of culture and enlightenment. While the Romans conquered and pillaged, they also brought paved roads, running water and sporting facilities to every corner of the empire. They also allowed surrendered nations to keep their own customs and gods—as long as everyone honored Caesar as supreme.
Generally, things ran fairly smoothly, with one exception. There was one province that was an endless source of irritation to the Romans. That province was Judea, a dreary cultural backwater, home to countless rebellions and stubborn Jews. Some of the Jews were so defiant they would not touch Roman coins and averted their eyes from Roman soldiers. In an attempt to keep a lid on things, Rome appointed a governor to Judea in 26 A.D., the despised Pontius Pilate. He was so disliked even his fellow Romans couldn’t stand him. The Roman historian, Philo, described him as being “of spiteful disposition and an exceeding wrathful man.” | |
Pilate loved antagonizing the Jews. According to the New Bible dictionary, he sent the military to Jerusalem every Holy Day in a show of Roman strength. He seized control of the temple, its funds and even the high priest’s vestments. He also erected images of Emperor Tiberius in Jerusalem to howls of protest, until Tiberius himself told Pilate to remove them.
The historian Josephus says Pilate siphoned money from the Temple to build an aqueduct to divert water from Jerusalem. The New Bible Dictionary says, “tens of thousands of Jews demonstrated against this project.” Pilate responded by ordering the army to kill protesters. (The New Bible Dictionary suggests Jesus referred to this incident in Luke 13:1-3 when He talked about Pilate mingling the blood of Galileans with their own sacrifices). |
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Things ended badly for Pilate. He orchestrated the slaughter of several Samaritans and when news of this reached Rome, he was brought into stand trial. According to the New Bible Dictionary, it was not long afterwards he was “forced to commit suicide.” The Romans allowed the Jews to have a puppet king, the hated Herod the Great. Herod felt no allegiance to the Jewish religion. He rebuilt the temple in Jerusalem while he built pagan temples in Caesarea. He also arranged the murders of his own family, including his wife and three of his sons. Not surprisingly, this was the same Herod who ordered the slaughter of all the children of less than two years of age in an attempt to kill Jesus as a young child (Matthew 2:17). Herod the Great was succeeded by a son who managed to stay on his father’s good side, and like his father, Herod Antipas led an eventful life. He divorced his first wife to marry his half-brother’s wife, a scandal that ended in the unfortunate beheading of John the Baptist (Mark 6:17-28). This Herod loved to spy on Pilate and wrote scathing letters about him to Rome. Strangely enough, it was the trial and execution of Jesus that caused the two to become friends (Luke 23:12). Herod Antipas was eventually overthrown by his nephew, Agrippa, and lived out his days in exile. It was into this world of so-called culture and enlightenment that Jesus came. He lived with the same violence and political unrest that we see in our world today. So when Jesus stood on a mountain and talked about the poor in spirit, the persecuted and the falsely accused, His words were heavy with meaning (Matthew 5:1-12). To those living under foreign occupation and a corrupt government, Jesus’ message was revolutionary. With Roman soldiers patrolling every mile of Judea, He warned people not to give their allegiance to Caesar. Even though it’s hard to see beyond military might, you must put your faith in the One who is greater than this great empire. It was a promise of hope to those who craved justice and righteousness. It still is. i | |