Insofar as the messiah anticipated by the Jews was a world leader, it was in connection with the sectarian triumph of Israel over its foreign enemies, i.e. the restoration of Jewish independence or the establishment of Jewish domination over the whole earth. The prophetic victory of the messiah over “the nations” never entailed including Gentiles and embracing their Torah-violating practices.
As the Romans had done with respect to Hellenism, it was their standing policy to plunder, absorb and adopt what they saw as the best parts of the foreign cultures they conquered. Politically, they followed a complimentary policy of slowly expanding citizenship and potential senate membership to eventually include those from once-conquered alien nations. This promise of inclusion was an important key to Rome’s success, stability, and longevity as an empire.
The 1st Century Jewish rebels’ outright xenophobia, the violent extremes to which many contemporary Hebrews were willing to take their purity laws, and the sharp contrast revealed in the Dead Sea Scrolls to the Gospels’ and the Romans’ ideology of peace and pluralism, all suggest that a radically different approach would have been followed by Jews had they succeeded in their revolt against Rome—that is, had the Jewish messiah they anticipated actually arrived.
Instead, in this era of virulent Jewish rebellion against Rome, Jesus Christ is portrayed declaring a Roman centurion’s faith in the God of Abraham as exceeding that of any Jew. Such a statement is tantamount to a Muslim claiming that an infidel American GI exceeds the faith in Allah of any contemporary Muslim. It is, quite frankly, unbelievable, and it is no wonder that such a thing was not published until after the Romans had won the Jewish War.
At the time in which he allegedly made it, consider how confidently Jesus utters such a shockingly controversial claim in the Gospels. Never mind the fear of Roman authorities—saying such a thing in Jewish company would be unthinkably provocative. It could be argued, therefore, that such confidence could only come after the Romans’ had utterly defeated and enslaved the Jewish rebels.
Here is a Gospel account of Jesus’s encounter with the centurion who asked him to heal a paralyzed servant:
“… Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”
When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, “Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith. I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (Emphasis added.) (6)
Jesus is genuinely impressed by the Roman’s military position in this passage. This is simply extraordinary. Again we must remember that the two Gospels in which we find this story were written during the Flavians’ reign following their brutal military conquest of Judea.
In this and so many other ways, Jesus could not be more “pro-Roman,” even as he opposes Jewish exceptionalism in any form. His final entreaty to the disciples before ascending into heaven at the end of Matthew’s Gospel is to “go and make disciples of all the nations.” (7)
All of this seems to indicate that Jesus was not advocating peace as a form of “passive” or “nonviolent resistance” to the Romans in order to subversively overthrow their empire, like an ancient world Gandhi—but as a means of accepting and even accommodating Rome’s imperialist ambitions over the Jews, and, indeed, over all the nations.
The Roman Empire required locals to support its army within the marked boundaries of the “milestones” within which they lived. Milestones set along Roman roads served the dual purpose of measuring these taxes. Jesus advocates going “the extra mile,” thus providing the Romans additional assistance. (8)
Jesus praises the blessings of meekness (9), of making peace (10), and of “loving one’s enemies.” (11) In contrast, the Qumran sectarians who authored the Dead Sea Scrolls required “everlasting hatred” for their enemies, whom they branded the “Sons of the Pit.” (12)
To his followers, Jesus commanded “turning the other cheek” to aggression (13) and explicitly child-like acceptance, in general. (14) In the Gospels, Jesus advocates universal peace and his very birth is heralded by angels presaging peace on earth (15)—the same hope churned out on Roman coins while the Gospels were being composed. Meanwhile, Jewish hardliners were committed to an “eye for an eye,” rebellion against foreign pollution, and national sovereignty brought about by a warrior messiah.
The transnational scope of Jesus’s words is in perfect harmony with the imperial agenda of Rome at the time they were written. Jesus shares the same “political theology” Paul expresses in his letter to the Romans, which is probably one of the three or four oldest parts of the New Testament and one of seven letters attributed to Paul that are considered by most scholars to have been authentically composed by him:
Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and you will be commended. For the one in authority is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God’s servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also as a matter of conscience. This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing. Give to everyone what you owe them: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor. (Emphasis added.) (16)
Many Christians today do not realize that according to the New Testament obedience to the state is a moral and religious obligation—or that the government, even the Roman government that enforced slavery, crucified tens of thousands, and fed slaves and criminals to lions in their infamous arenas, must be recognized as God’s appointed agent on earth. The New Testament makes political rebellion a sin. Commandments and proclamations to this effect are repeated for emphasis in several places in the New Testament.
As an example, we see these sentiments expressed by the author of the first epistle that is (dubiously) ascribed to St. Peter:
Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human authority: whether to the emperor, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish people. Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as God’s slaves. Show proper respect to everyone, love the family of believers, fear God, honor the emperor.
Slaves, in reverent fear of God submit yourselves to your masters, not only to those who are good and considerate, but also to those who are harsh. For it is commendable if someone bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because they are conscious of God. But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God. (Emphasis added.) (17)