#13 Jesus and the Meridian of Time
Just
as we must deal with, and are affected by the environment into which we are
born and live, so it was with the society into which Jesus came. He would have
to deal with the existing societal influences, prejudices, cultures, customs
and beliefs of that time, from his birth to the completion
of the Atonement and his earthly ministry.
The
time and locale of Jesus' birth were about as difficult and negative as they
could be. Rome was the master of this ancient world. It had become so by brute
force and death to any nation that opposed it. Israel was a captive slave to
Rome … yearning for and expecting God to come and deliver them from bondage … to
free them and restore them to might and power … to vanquish all their enemies.
Their
ancestry back to Abraham was a vital part of who they were. For centuries they
had believed they were the exclusive chosen people of God, and therefore above
all other races. There was great hatred
and animosity between Rome and Israel. This condition would also exist between
Jesus and Israel, and between Jesus and Rome. The Jews hated most other people
… they were gentiles and unclean. Many of these gentiles in turn despised the
Jews.
The
Samaritans were gentiles who had intermarried with unworthy Jews and were
especially disliked. Orthodox Jews would not even travel through Samaria
because they became defiled and unclean by so doing. They would journey the
longer way around the land of Samaria.
There
was also much animosity within the Jewish nation between Sadducees and
Pharisees, various schools of the Jewish law who had opposing views, and
between groups known as Herodians, Essenes, Zealots, Nazarites and others. A “good” Jew did not associate with gentiles,
heathens, or unworthy Jews. This exclusiveness brought much ridicule onto them
from other nations and peoples.
Jewish
people were required to be well acquainted with the nations religious laws, but
there was much disagreement within themselves regarding interpretations and the
importance of these laws. The various well-known religious schools (Gamaliel,
Hillel, Shammai) disagreed on numerous points of doctrine. There was also very
little distinction between Jewish civil and ecclesiastical laws. Obviously,
this in itself caused great dissention.
The
Jews by this time were largely a dispersed people, widely scattered among the
nations. They were no match for their
captors. For many generations they had lived in servile bondage. The ten tribes were now lost to history. The
Jewish population in Palestine when Christ was born was only a small remnant of
what had once been a great Davidic nation.
Jesus
was raised and grew up in a traditional Jewish home of that time. He was taught
their religious ways and requirements, laws, ceremonial observances and
sacrifices. Also the history of his people, a trade, and observed and practiced
these things along with the other members of his earthly family. Of course, our
Heavenly Father prepared him for all that he would be required to do while on
this earth.
The
ancient prophet Isaiah prophesied: “He shall grow up before him as a tender
plant, and as a root
out of dry ground.” (Isaiah 53:2) In the words of the Apostle Bruce R.
McConkie: he “grew up before his Father
as a Tender Plant, as a Vine of whose fruit men may eat and never hunger more.
He grew up in the arid soil of a spiritually degenerate society … in a Holy
City that had become like Egypt and Sodom; among a people who chose darkness
rather than light because their deeds were evil.”
So,
this somewhat sets the stage upon/within which we may consider our Savior's
earthly life, his teachings, restoring the gospel in its fullness, suffering
the agonies of the Atonement, and opening the doors of the Resurrection for all
of our Father's children. I sincerely believe that a knowledge of such things
greatly enhances our understanding and learning from the scriptures.
History
The
following is a very brief history of the Jewish people during the 1000 years
before the birth of Jesus Christ. As mentioned earlier, the Jews were very
jealous and proud of their ancestry and previous generations. These things
greatly influenced the “who, what, why and how” of the people living when Jesus
was on the earth.
With
the death of King Solomon about 97 BC there was a revolt within the Twelve
Jewish tribes. The tribes of Judah and part of Benjamin followed Solomon's son,
Rehoboam, and became the kingdom of Judah. The other Ten tribes followed Jeroboam
as king and became the kingdom of Israel. They each enjoyed autonomy for some
250 years.
Israel
became captive to Assyria in 720bc and these Ten tribes were carried away into
other countries and lost. Judah was overrun by Nebuchadnezzar (Babylonian
empire) in 588 BC. Babylonia
was subdued by Cyrus of Persia about 550 BC. The Hebrew people were allowed to
return to Judea/Jerusalem. Only a small number (some 50,000) returned. The rest
remained in Babylonia. The Jews were never again an independent people. They
were later dominated in turn by Greece, Egypt, Syria, and Rome.
The
Jews were led to revolt in 165 BC by a patriotic group of their people called
the Maccabees. This resulted in some semi-independence, but they were not
strong enough to maintain this status. To gain a measure of national protection
the Jewish nation formed an alliance with the Roman empire which had now
(around 50 BC) gained dominance and control of this ancient world.
Augustus
Caesar was emperor/god when Jesus was born. The Roman government allowed some
national autonomy to its captive subject/nations, especially within their
religious beliefs and ceremonies, so long as they paid their tribute to Rome
and did not interfere with its governance.
Glenn
R. McGettigan
November
2011; Revised August 2014
References:
“Life
of Christ.” Geikie
“Caesar
and Christ.” Volume 3. Durant
“Jesus
the Christ.” Talmage
“Life
and Times of Jesus the Messiah.” Volume 1. Edersheim
“The
Mortal Messiah.” Book One. McConkie
“The
Politics of Jesus.” Hendricks
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