A Lamb to the Slaughter
The Maccabean revolution set an example to the nation of what a Messiah was. If a man could rescue them with the power of God, how much greater would be the Man called of God. Their alliance with Rome would soon be turned against them, and their eyes would look back to the sky. The Messiah would be their only rescue from Roman rule. Had they only known His victory over oppression came after His death by Roman hands.
Part one of this series was a very brief history of Jewish life prior to Roman occupation. They were constantly oppressed by new nations who felt they were more sophisticated than the jews, yet the beliefs and traditions lived one despite the oppression. This continued with Rome.
With the Maccabean rebellion and subsequent kingdom establishment, Rome stood with them as an ally. It was common for Rome to use tensions of nations to ease their own conquest. The Hasmonean Kingdom was established because of the joint work of the Maccabean rebellion and Roman assistance. This same tactic that allowed for the Jewish nation to govern itself came to be the very thing that brought them into Roman servitude.
When tensions arose between two leaders of the Jewish nation, Rome again tied themselves to an ally. They chose whomever would be more submissive to their rule. With this new alliance, Rome took control of the Jewish government. While they appeared to lead, those in higher positions were under the rule of Rome.
The newfound occupation was a heavy toll on many jews. They had only just freed themselves from Greece when this new ally became a dictator. While they were free to worship as they pleased, it was heavily influenced by the leadership of the church being under the Roman thumb. Taxes to Rome were burdensome, the lack of respect for their religion was disgraceful. The people were more ready than ever before for the Messiah to deliver them once and for all. When that Messiah did appear, his teachings split the narrative.
When the miracles first began, people were enthralled. Here was a Man who was teaching, performing miracles, and expounding scripture. Could this be the Messiah? The Christ? Then His teaching became harsher, calling people to repentance, claiming His heritage of God. Many followers found these teachings hard and fell away. Yet despite those that left, many honored him with palms as he entered Jerusalem before his final moments. His teachings were both great and hard.
While the general population struggled between the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, the leaders at the time had different struggles. They also felt the tension from his teachings. For them, it questioned their very leadership over the people. They feared this newfound teacher would cause a great tension between Rome and Jewish tradition that would end in their distruction. An even greater tension grew as Jesus’ claims became bolder. He claimed to be higher than the law, able to adjust the law. They saw a man who claimed to be God a blasphemy they could not ignore. Yet, due to Roman rule, they had no power to condemn Jesus to death. Just as Rome was their ally in destroying the Greek oppressors, it would now be their ally in killing the blasphemous Jesus.
Rome’s reasoning for Jesus’ were fully political. They saw the tension Jesus was casusing, and while they didn’t see a reason for his death, they saw the same thing the Jewish leaders saw. A potential for unrest.
All these factors lead to the most significant moment of Christian history. The death of Jesus of Nazareth. The very beginning of the Christians’ battle with Rome was in this moment. In the following years, many would die for the same man killed on that cross. A man they knew had risen from the grave. For many, this looked like the end. Even those closest to Jesus were scattered in his final moments. It would take him appearing multiple times before they would truly understand the role they were meant to play. It would take their testimonies in death to bring it to the very nation that had supposedly killed the movement before it began.
Jacob Gittins 