Jesus in the Context of Roman Power
A Christmas Reflection Series: The Son of God — History, Ethics, and Moral Responsibility
When we speak about Jesus, we often strip him of his context.
But Jesus was not born into a peaceful world.
He was born into what the Romans proudly called Pax Romana—a system that promised order, stability, and prosperity.
It worked.
Roads were built. Trade flourished. Cities expanded.
And yet, beneath that stability was something more familiar to us today: occupation, heavy taxation, surveillance, and the quiet understanding that dissent would be crushed quickly and publicly.
Judea was not a theological abstraction. It was a governed territory.
Roman legions were present. Local elites were co-opted. Religious institutions were tolerated as long as they did not threaten imperial order.
In other words, Jesus entered a world where power defined peace, and peace was maintained through force.
This matters because much of what Jesus said—and did—only makes sense against that backdrop.
His language of “kingdom,” his concern for the poor, his rejection of performative piety, and even the title later applied to him—Son of God—all intersected directly with the political theology of the empire.
Rome claimed divine legitimacy.
Emperors were called sons of gods.
Authority flowed from above, enforced from the center.
What followed was not inevitable—but it was predictable.
When moral authority challenges political authority, systems react.
This is one of the central themes explored in The Son of God: Jesus not as a detached spiritual symbol, but as a figure whose life unfolded inside an empire that prized stability over justice.
Tomorrow, I’ll explore how one phrase—“Son of God”—carried radically different meanings for Jewish communities and Roman power alike.
For those interested, the book is currently available as an e-book during the Christmas period.History doesn’t repeat itself exactly.
But it often rhymes—especially when power mistakes control for legitimacy.
This reflection is drawn from my book The Son of God, which examines Jesus in his historical, ethical, and political context. It’s currently available as a holiday e-book for those interested.
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