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Lesson 8: The Government of Palestine. From Wayne Jackson’s book. The Roman Caesars. Augustus (31 B.C. – 14 A.D.) Augustus issued the enrollment decree that sent Joseph & Mary to Bethlehem where Christ was born Augustus secured the Roman empire with peace, the famous Pax Romana .
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Lesson 8: The Government of Palestine From Wayne Jackson’s book
The Roman Caesars • Augustus (31 B.C. – 14 A.D.) • Augustus issued the enrollment decree that sent Joseph & Mary to Bethlehem where Christ was born • Augustus secured the Roman empire with peace, the famous PaxRomana. • He appointed Herod the Great as King of Judea. • It is believed that the “Augustan Regiment,” to which Julian, Paul’s Roman guard, belonged (Acts 27:1), was named for this Caesar.
The Roman Caesars • Tiberius (14-37 A.D.) • Tiberius is mentioned by name only in Luke 3:1 • He is alluded to elsewhere in the gospel record • He was the Caesar on the throne during the earthly ministry of Christ • His image on coin shown to Christ (Matt. 22:17) • The Caesar referred to in an attempt to intimidate Pilate, “If you release this man [Jesus], you are not Caesar’s friend” (John 19:12, cf. v. 15).
The Roman Caesars • Caligula (37-41 A.D.) • He is not mentioned in the NT • Caligula played a part in fueling the Jewish rebellion against Rome • He vigorously promoted “emperor worship” • He proposed the erection of his statue in the Temple, though he was assassinated before the plan could be carried out
The Roman Caesars • Claudius (41-54 A.D.) • Covered the greater part of Paul’s missionary labors • He is mentioned by name twice in the NT • Agabus, a Jerusalem prophet, foretold a coming famine which would engulf the empire in the days of Claudius (Acts 11:28) • Aquila & Priscilla left Italy and came to Corinth “because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to depart from Rome” (Acts 18:2) • Suetonius, a popular Roman writer, declares that Claudius expelled the Jews from Rome as they “were continually making disturbances at the instigation of Chrestus [Christ]” (Vita ClaudiiXXV, 4).
The Roman Caesars • Nero (54-68 A.D.) • Not mentioned by name in the NT, however: • He was the “Caesar” to whom Paul appealed during his Caesarean imprisonment (Acts 25:11) • He was the “Caesar” before whom the apostle eventually appeared (Acts 27:24) • During Paul’s first Roman confinement, he converted some from Nero’s “household” [i.e., servants] (cf. Phil. 4:22) • Nero was a hateful persecutor of Christians and under his rule both Paul and Peter were martyred. • During his reign, the First Jewish War broke out (66 A.D.) • Galba, Otho & Vitellius (68-69 A.D.)
The Roman Caesars • Vespasian (69-79 A.D.) • Commander of the Roman forces in Judea & Syria • He fought vigorously in the late 60s A.D. (66-69) to put down the Jewish rebellion in Palestine, a task completed by his son Titus in 70 A.D., after the general was called to Rome to assume the emperor’s throne. • God’s providential use of these men as an instrument of His wrath upon the Jewish nation is mentioned by Christ in one of His parables (cf. Matt. 22:7). • The Lord Jesus prophetically detailed the destruction of Jerusalem 40 years before its fall (Matt. 24:1-34).
The Roman Caesars • Titus (79-81 A.D.) • Succeeded his father with a short & peaceful reign • The NT record passes over him in silence • Domitian (81-96 A.D.) • Irenaeus (c. 180 A.D.), a student of the famous Polycarp (who was a disciple of the apostle John), declared that John received the visions of the book of Revelation near “the close of the reign of Domitian” (Against Heresies, V, 30). • Domitian demanded reverence for himself as Dominus et Deus, “Lord and God” • He killed many Christians and exiled others
The Roman/JewishConnection • Herod the Great (37-4 B.C.) • After the death of Julius Caesar, Herod was appointed “King of the Jews” • He conquered Idumea, Samaria, Galilee and finally, after a 3-month siege, he took Jerusalem in 37 B.C. • One of Herod’s greatest enterprises was the reconstruction of the dilapidated Temple of the post-Babylonian captivity period (cf. John 2:20). • In addition, he built the city of Caesarea, which was to become the HQ of the Roman forces in Palestine • Herod slaughtered the infants in his attempt to murder baby Jesus (Matt. 2)
The Roman/JewishConnection • Herod the Great (37-4 B.C.) • Shortly before his death (4 B.C.), Herod made a will through which three of his sons were appointed to succeed him • Archelaus was made tetrarch of Judea (including Samaria & Idumea) • Antipas became tetrarch of Galilee & Perea • Philip became tetrarch of Trachonitus & adjacent regions • Aristobulus was a 4th son, but he did not receive any land • He is important because he was the father of Herod Agrippa I
The Roman/JewishConnection • Archelaus (4 B.C. – 6 A.D.) • Reigned over Judea, Samaria & Idumea • His administration was cruel & inept • In a Jewish riot, he killed 3,000 men • When his subjects complained against him to Rome, he was removed from his office and banished to Gaul • His territory was subsequently made subject to procurators (6-41 A.D.)—one of whom was Pontius Pilate • Archelaus is mentioned only in Matthew 2:22 • After their return from Egypt, Joseph and Mary, due to their fear of this ruler, together with the angelic warning, settled in Galilee.
The Roman/JewishConnection • Herod Antipas (4 B.C. – 39 A.D.) • Tetrarch of Galilee, built capital Tiberias on Sea of Galilee • Divorced the daughter of Aretas, an Arab king (cf. 2 Cor. 11:32), in order to marry his niece, Herodias, who had deserted her husband. • Condemned by John the Baptist (Matt. 14:4-12) • When Antipas heard rumors that Jesus was John “risen from the dead,” he sought to see the Lord (Luke 9:7-9) • Christ once called him a “fox” (Luke 13:31-32) • Christ warned of his evil influence (Mark 8:15) • During His trial before Pilate, Jesus was sent to Herod, who was in Jerusalem at the time(Luke 23:7-15)
The Roman/JewishConnection • Herod Philip (4 B.C. – 34 A.D.) • Philip (not the former husband of Herodias) is mentioned only in Luke 3:1 • He ruled in NE Palestine until his death in 34 A.D. • He rebuilt the city of Caesarea-Philippi at the base of Mt. Hermon, and Bethsaida-Julias on the Sea of Galilee • He was the best of the Herods and it was into his territory that Jesus went when Pharisaic hatred became so intense