As we consider the times of Jesus, we need to address the Roman element, that part of our metaphor, the perfect storm, which we’ll identify as the western cold front, a strong political and military disturbance, moving into Judea. Rome had been gaining political and military power for at least the past two hundred years, and had reached Judea during the days of the Hasmonean kings, but about two decades later, after a brief bout with Antigonus, the last Hasmonean king, Rome set up the Edomite, Herod called “the Great,” as its client king of the Jews, who was to govern according to Rome’s interests on its eastern frontier (cir. BC 37).
Rome had been a republic, when it first began to influence the affairs of the Jews, during the days of Hycranus II and Aristobulus II (cir. BC 67-63), but with the coming of Julius Caesar that changed. Except for a brief return to the republic after Caesar’s assassination, for all intents and purposes it was the Empire of Rome that made its will felt in the land of the Jews during the first three decades prior to Jesus’ birth and beyond.
What occurred is that Julius’ name had become vindicated in the establishment of his adopted son, Octavian, as emperor of Rome. There had been the promise to return to the republican form of government, but that never happened, and Julius became deified and Octavian took the name of Augustus, vis-à-vis “majestic or worthy of honor.” Moreover, he became known by the title, son of god, due to the deification of Julius, his father. In fact, that title, son of god was stamped upon Roman coins bearing Augustus’ image. Moreover, not only was all the civil power centered in the office of emperor, but so was religious power, and Augustus became the chief priest (high priest; Pontifex Maximus) of the empire.
With Augustus’ death in AD 14, his adopted son, Tiberius became Emperor of Rome, and inherited all the titles of his father: son of God and Pontifex Maximus, each of which were stamped upon Roman coins minted during Tiberius’ reign. In fact, it would have been this sort of coin that was given Jesus in the Temple, just days after Jesus’ first entry into Jerusalem upon a donkey (Matthew 22:17-21). Caesar’s image with the title son of god was stamped on one side of the coin, while Pontifex Maximus (high priest) was stamped on its other side. There Jesus was, the Son of God, the High Priest of God, in the eye of the storm, locking horns with the high-pressure system, as it collected itself together with the western cold front disturbance that had already taken its place in Jerusalem that spring. How would it end?
Pilate, Rome’s governor on its eastern frontier, was saddled with the responsibility of not only collecting taxes, vis-à-vis the Jews’ giving tribute to Caesar (Matthew 22:17), but he was also to keep the peace, being empowered by Caesar to administer justice, whenever necessary. Just as the oil fields of the Middle East are important to western civilization today, so the grain fields of Egypt were vital for Roman prosperity and supplying its military forces throughout the empire. Any unrest that occurred in places like Judea threatened to interrupt Roman grain supplies, and that would have been political death for Pilate. The Roman cold front with its own gospel of peace (Pax Romana), had entered Jerusalem that Passover season, affixing in the minds of every Jewish pilgrim there, a doctrine about the world presence of Rome, “the good news that had brought blessings and peace to the whole world.” This doctrine had to be preached to and believed by the world, and it was Pilate’s responsibility that the will of Rome was enforced.
Thus, Rome’s presence in Jerusalem brings in the western cold front, the first element in the climatic disturbance that builds up our perfect storm, into which Jesus would eventually come during that fateful Passover season cir. AD 30.
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