In this column, we’re in the midst of exploring some background to Jesus’ proclamation of the kingdom of God.
One key part of the story is the dozens of revolutions or mini-revolutions different groups of Jews attempted exactly in those decades we read about in the Gospels, approximately 4 B.C. to 70 A.D. Most of these were concerned with throwing off the oppressive Roman rule and ushering in the true kingdom. We know about them primarily from the Jewish historian Josephus (who lived from 37-100 A.D.), and looking at a few of them helps us get the flavor of the tumultuous times in which the Gospels are set. (For the below, a good source is N.T. Wright’s “The New Testament and the People of God,” p.170-81.)
For instance, at almost exactly the time of the birth of Jesus (4-6 B.C.), some Jews became fed up with the Jewish King Herod the Great’s lifelong compromise with paganism. A few of them pulled down a golden eagle — a pagan image — that Herod had set up near the entrance to the Temple. The rebels were rounded up, tortured and killed, all the while cheerfully witnessing to their willingness to die for the honor of God.
We see here a pattern that is repeated throughout the lifetime of Jesus. A leader or a popular movement arises that is critical of the Romans and/or the current Jewish leadership, those in power see this as a threat, send in the troops, and scatter, kill, and often crucify, those responsible. Revolutionary activity is treasonous activity, and punishable with the highest penalty. (This is what crucifixion was reserved for, and so, to look ahead just a bit, it should not surprise us that Jesus, convicted of treason — “The King of the Jews” — was crucified as well.)
Following the disturbance surrounding the eagle, a fuller revolt took place at Passover that same year. Herod had died, and his successor and son, Archelaus, refused to make amends for his father’s cruel treatment of those who tore the eagle down. The populace revolted, and Archelaus retaliated brutally, slaughtering thousands. Passover, as we see in the Gospels as well, was an especially touchy time for revolutionary activity, since it was the feast of the liberation of the Jews from Egypt.
About the same time, a man named Judas ben Hezekiah led a popular revolution in Galilee, gaining a substantial foothold against the Roman and official Jewish leadership there. The Roman governor was called in, and marched south through Galilee killing, punishing and retaliating. He ended his march in Jerusalem, where he finally put down the ongoing revolt there as well, and crucified some 2,000 rebels. The historian Josephus calls all these insurgents “revolutionaries” (in Greek, “lestai”), the same word used in the Gospels for those crucified alongside Jesus, and for Barabbas.
During the governorship of Pontius Pilate, the governor of Judea who ordered the crucifixion of Jesus, we know of no fewer than seven similar uprisings — sometimes involving a charismatic or “Messianic” leader — most of which he put down in the usual summary fashion. Seven, of course, is all that we know about, and we must assume that there were others lost to history. Jesus’ own movement, and his own trial and crucifixion, then, would have seemed to Pilate as just another day’s work.
Finally, it’s worth mentioning that these movements did not always rely exclusively on the sword. Some hoped for divine intervention to cast off the bad guys. For instance, we hear about one Theudas who led a band of followers to the river Jordan and predicted that, just like Joshua had in the Old Testament, he would part the waters and lead them across to liberate the Holy Land. The governor Fadus, however, “sent a troop of horsemen out against them; they took Theudas alive, and cut off his head, and carried it to Jerusalem.”
All this helps us see why it would both be worrisome and unsurprising for the Jewish and Roman leadership to hear of Jesus’ movement gathering speed in the countryside. Like other movements before and after him, Jesus called a large following, spoke of a kingdom, hinted that he was the real king, and performed actions — such as the feeding of the 5,000 — that clearly symbolized key moments in Israel’s political history. All this will help us understand Jesus’ own kingdom proclamation more clearly.
Miller is the director of the Center for Catholic Social Thought at Assumption in St. Paul. He is the author of “We Are Only Saved Together: Living the Revolutionary Vision of Dorothy Day and the Catholic Worker Movement,” published by Ave Maria Press.
