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Who Is Jesus?

The Jews in the Roman Empire

Jesus (c.1 BC-c.30 AD) was a Jew who lived and taught a small band of followers, which included members of his own family, in Israel at the time of the Roman occupation.

The Roman Empire had grown out of the ancient Roman republic and by 146 BC covered all the lands of the conquered by the Greek hero, Alexander the Great. The Roman Empire stretched from the north of Britain to the Sahara in Africa, from Spain in the west to the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in the east.

Jesus lived at the time of the Pax Romana, the Roman Peace, one of the best times of antiquity, which conventionally is said to have lasted from 27 BC with the accession to Emperor Augustus until 180 AD with the death of Marcus Aurelius.

For the Jews however, the Pax Romana was not a good time, it was oppressive. While the Romans were tolerant overlords by and large, and even exempted the Jews from compulsory Emperor worship, which would have transgressed their religious rules, the Jews heavily resented their political dependency and they hated the blatantly idolatrous culture of their rulers.

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Copyright © 2005, Dr Matthew Del Nevo, Dean of Research and Development, Broken Bay Institute for Catholic Formation and Education: Centre for Christian Spirituality