Would you be able to tell the difference between a counterfeit $100 bill and the real thing? Are you aware of the counterfeit claims of the world’s most powerful leader of the time when Jesus was born? The Christmas story in Luke begins “In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered.” (Luke 2:1) This is a reminder of who was ruling Judea and the world around it when Jesus was born. Caesar Augustus was the first Roman emperor and the founder of the Roman Empire – sounds pretty important. Is he […]
Tag Archives: Augustus
The Gospel According to Caesar?
We have recently celebrated Jesus’ birth and a new year on our calendar. Did you know there are some surprising parallels to Caesar Augustus? Luke reminds us of who was ruling at the time of Jesus’ birth: “In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus…” (Luke 2:1a) Caesar Augustus reigned over the Roman Empire when Jesus was born, including the areas of Judea (where Jesus was born) and Galilee (where Jesus grew up and did most of his ministry). “Gospel” Unlike Luke’s starting with Jesus’ nativity, Mark begins his account of Jesus with, “The beginning of the gospel […]
Summer Gods
“You shall have no other gods before me.” Exodus 20:3 I didn’t intend to take the whole summer off for my blog, but that’s how it turned out. I have something to think about as the summer ends. I’ve seen plenty of temples in the places I’ve traveled around the ancient world. The gods were worshiped everywhere. Pervasively, the worship of the Roman emperors grew, starting at the end of the Roman Republic with Julius Caesar. In the eastern Mediterranean, he was called god and savior. About four months after his death, a comet appeared in the sky, interpreted to […]
A Temple on a Lonely Hill
And when he [Herod the Great] returned home after escorting Caesar [Augustus] to the sea, he erected to him a very beautiful temple of white stone in the territory of Zenodorus, near the place called Paneion. Josephus, The Antiquities of the Jews, 15:363 Reaching the Sea of Galilee, we began a few days exploring the Golan region, east/northeast of the lake. Our first stop of the morning was a remote site called Omrit. Following some directions, we drove off the main road into seemingly the middle of nowhere, the dirt road jostling the car until we pulled over. Hiking a […]