HISTORY OR HIS STORY?
By the time Jesus was born, The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean world. Palestine, where Jesus was born, was under Roman rule during the time of his birth. The Roman Empire had extended its dominion over various parts of the world, including Palestine, during the 1st century BCE. At that time, the Roman Empire was one of the most influential and expansive empires in history and exerted significant control over its territories. Jesus’s birth occurred during the reign of Caesar Augustus, the Roman Emperor, from 27 BCE to 14 CE.
Luke tells us that Joseph and Marie had to visit Bethlehem, where Jesus was born, due to a census required by Augustus. Prophecies in the Old Testament indicated that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem, where also King David was born. The Emperor of the world of that time declared a census “just at the right time.”
There were many other things that Rome prepared for the Gospel. The Pax Romana (Latin for “Roman peace”) was 200 years of peace and prosperity in the Roman Empire. The Pax Romana provided:
- Ease of travel due to a well-developed and maintained road system
- Safety in travel due to the absence of warfare and stepped-up crime prevention
- The extensive use of Greek as the common language
- Order and stability that trade required
- A stable government
- Better communications systems
- Economic prosperity
- Stability to social classes
The Pax Romana lasted from 27 B.C.E. to 180 C.E..
It was because of that stability and the use of Greek as a common language (Latin was used in Rome and the official documents) that was instrumental to the expansion of the Gospel, allowing Paul and many others to easily travel among cultures and continents.
If you want to go deeper and touch history and learn more about God’s purposes and divine interventions, then the tour “History of Christianity” is for you! Take a look right now and reserve your space!
