Snapshots - Jesus through the Lens of History

The Political Minefield Jesus Enters

Most Christian upbringing, just like mine, tends to create a scenario of Jesus meandering through a pink hazed landscape inside a bubble of lovely stories that insulate the reader of the New Testament from reality. We have pictured a gentle man sitting on a grassy knoll quietly sharing stories with groups of avidly interested listeners. They lean forward toward him and smile sweetly to their neighbors, while perhaps singing a first century version of ‘kumbaya’. Not so! Jesus may have been inherently gentle and compassionate, but the people around him were noisy, argumentative, demanding and sometimes downright ornery. And they had reason to be that way. 

    Let’s take a few snapshots of the upheavals and hostility that surrounded Jesus as he started his ministry. The camera view will help clarify the tensions and political/religious fractures that Jesus had to deal with constantly. And it wasn’t a pretty sight. The turmoil ultimately killed his cousin, forced him to stay away from large cities for his own safety, and eventually led to his own crucifixion. 
    
    Keeping the history lesson short and sweet, here are a few quick photos that show the political ‘mines’ being placed in the field.

1000 B.C. A small tribe begins a nation and Solomon, the first king builds the Temple - the holy place where ‘God can reach down and touch earth’.

600 B.C. Raiders crisscross the area and Babylonians outright destroy the Temple.

500 B.C. The Temple is rebuilt as well as the fledgling nation under Persian rule.

300 B.C The ever charming Alexander the Great rides into town and wants to set up his statue inside the Temple – The Temple narrowly misses being destroyed again. 

     The Greeks remain and the rich Jews love the new culture and become copycats. The working class grumbles and wants a return to ‘old time religion and politics’. And then, horrors of horrors the Greeks outlaw circumcision, which marks Jews as Jews, and actually erect a statue of Zeus in the Temple. Chaos reigns. The Maccabeans eventually return the nation to the Jews, but they just can’t seem to stop the infighting. 

63 B.C. The Romans enter the photo and create a form of stability through oppression. And guess who they name client king? The Roman pet who just loves to grovel. . . .wait for it! . . Herod the Great, now named ‘King of the Jews’!

    And into this constantly exploding minefield walks Jesus.