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Answer
The Roman Empire was the political entity that God used to prepare the world for the birth of the Messiah and the spread of the gospel.
By the end of the Old Testament, Israel had returned from exile, Jerusalem had been rebuilt, and the temple was functioning again. The dominant world power was the Median (or Medo-Persian) Empire. Over the 400 years between the testaments, the Greek Empire emerged under Alexander and then fragmented after his death. Israel faced persecution from the Seleucids, a splinter kingdom of the Greek Empire based in Syria. The Seleucid ruler, Antiochus IV Epiphanes (“manifest god”), was notably harsh. He imposed Hellenization on the Jews and desecrated the temple. His actions sparked the Maccabean revolt, during which Israel expelled the Greeks and regained independence.
During the revolt, the Maccabees received support from the rising power of Rome (1 Maccabees 8;15:15-24). As Rome’s influence expanded, it transformed into an empire and absorbed Israel. The Jewish people were permitted to practice their religion as long as they did not disrupt Roman rule. Rome installed a succession of puppet kings (the Herod family) and military governors (e.g., Pilate, Felix, Festus) in various provinces of Israel.
Even though Scripture foretold centuries earlier that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem «But thou, Beth-lehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting. », (Micah 5:2), Mary and Joseph were residing in Nazareth of Galilee «And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of GAlilee, named Nazareth, (Luke 1:26). The Roman Empire relocated them to the city where Christ was to be born. A decree of the Roman Emperor Augustus (Octavian) mandated that all should return to their homes for registration. “So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child” (Luke 2:4-5). God used the decree of a pagan emperor to move Mary and Joseph to the prophesied place. Mary and Joseph could have chosen to go to Bethlehem on their own to fulfill the prophecy; however, the Roman emperor’s decree that set everything in motion showed that Mary and Joseph did not manipulate events to “set up their son” as a potential Messiah.
One of the priorities of the Roman Empire (perhaps the main priority) was peace, which it achieved with an iron hand. The Pax Romana (“peace of Rome”) ensured that people could live and travel within the Roman Empire safely. Roads were built to facilitate travel, and a common language broke down communication barriers among different ethnic groups, providing a common culture. The apostle Paul traveled extensively throughout the Roman Empire on Roman roads and shared the gospel with diverse groups of Gentiles in the common Greek language. (The common trade language of the Roman Empire was Greek and was not replaced with Latin for several centuries.) Paul’s Roman citizenship allowed him to move about the empire more freely and provided him with an additional measure of protection (see Acts 22:22-29). Not only Paul, but many Christians spread throughout the Roman Empire, taking th
Share the gospel with them.
It is commonly accepted that Rome was the primary persecutor of the church in the first century. However, an examination of the evidence in the New Testament does not support this claim. Widespread persecution by the Romans did not occur until the time of Nero (the late 60s) and subsequent emperors. The evident pattern in the New Testament indicates that Rome showed little concern for Christians and only acted against them when prompted by the Jewish authorities (see Acts 22:30). Rome frequently sought to appease the Jewish authorities to maintain peace. For instance, the Roman governor Pilate intended to release Jesus, but the Jewish leaders insisted on His execution (Matthew 27:15-23). Similarly, Paul faced opposition mainly from his fellow countrymen who either took matters into their own hands, roused the pagan population, or sought assistance from the Roman authorities. This occurred in Thessalonica (Acts 17:1-9) and Corinth (Acts 18:12-17). The one instance where Paul was arrested by the Roman authorities, he utilized his Roman citizenship to secure an apology upon his release (Acts 16:35-40).
When Paul was identified in the Jerusalem temple, it was his countrymen who assaulted him, leading to his arrest/rescue by the Roman authorities (Acts 21:27-36). The Roman governor intervened to save Paul from a Jewish plot to kill him (Acts 23). Both Felix and Festus, Roman governors, are depicted as showing sympathy towards Paul but hesitant to release him due to fear of upsetting the Jewish leadership (Acts 24–26). Ultimately, Paul appealed to Caesar as he knew he would not receive a fair trial in Jerusalem. In conclusion, the Roman governor Festus and theRoman puppet king Agrippa concurred, stating, “This man is doing nothing to deserve death or imprisonment” «For these causes the Jews caught me in the temple, and went about to kill me. », (Acts 26:21).
The Roman authorities demanded unwavering loyalty to Rome above all else. Due to the Jews’ enduring commitment to monotheism, they were excused from making sacrifices to the emperor. Initially, Christians were viewed as a sect of Judaism and received the same exemption. However, Jews began to distance themselves more forcefully from Christians, prompting Rome to scrutinize Christians more closely. By the second century, Christians were persecuted as enemies of the state for refusing to worship the emperor as a deity. Nevertheless, this persecution is not explicitly documented in the New Testament.
In AD 70, the Roman general Titus (son of Emperor Vespasian) devastated Jerusalem and razed the temple, fulfilling Jesus’ prophecy in Luke 21:6.
Three Roman emperors are specifically named in the New Testament. Augustus, previously mentioned in relation to the census that led Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem for Jesus’ birth. Tiberius, who was emperor when John the Baptist commenced his public ministry «Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Cæsar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judæa, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of Ituræa and of the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias the tetrarch of Abilene, », (Luke 3:1). Claudius is noted as the emperor who expelled all Jews from Rome «After these things Paul departed from Athens, and came to Corinth; », (Acts 18:1). The Roman historian Suetonius, in his work “The Lives of the Twelve Caesars,” mentionsThat the expulsion was the result of Jewish disputes over someone called Chrestus. Many scholars believe that this may be a reference to Christ. Most Roman authorities were uninterested and uninformed about the particulars of Jewish disputes (see Acts 25:18-20), so it is understandable that they might get the name wrong. Within a few years, the Jews had returned to Rome.
In summary, the Roman Empire had a tremendous impact on the circumstances regarding Jesus’ birth and crucifixion, and unintentionally provided the necessary infrastructure to allow the apostles to spread the gospel throughout the Mediterranean world.
