Daily life in the time of Jesus and the political context we study in the program, “Book of Books.”
Everyone remembers that famous scene when Jesus, asked by His opponents about the lawfulness of paying the tribute that the Roman authorities insisted upon, relied with that peasant irony characteristic of Him, “Give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.”
The Romans held Palestine in the time of Jesus with iron order, either directly or by means of their servants. The situation in the province of Judea was far more complex than it could been elsewhere, in Gaul or in Greece, for example, because of the Jews’ very special idea about political authority and its rights.
In the program, “Archaeology and Bible,” we talk about the crucifixion of Jesus. An early story about the empty tomb of Jesus, circulated by the Jerusalem authorities, was that his body had been stolen. We read in the Gospel of Matthew: “When the chief priests had met with the elders and devised a plan, they gave the soldiers a large sum of money, telling them, ‘You are to say, “His disciples came during the night and stole him away while we 48 were asleep”’”(Matthew 28:12-13). This story fits with the “Nazareth decree” – an edict of the Roman Emperor which ordered that anyone caught disturbing tombs or moving bodies from them should be put to death. This edict was reportedly discovered in Nazareth in 1878, and the emperor in question was Claudius, who ruled between AD 41 and 54.
The Apostle Paul did enormous work in the name of Jesus Christ. The letter to the church in Colossae was probably written by Paul while he was imprisoned in Rome, in a state of house arrest, with the freedom to have people around him. That kind of freedom suggest the likelihood of eventual release, which is further indicated in the fact that no letters had been received from his accusers in Judea and no one had arrived evidently to accuse him before the Roman authorities to whom he had appealed.
The parables of Jesus have always been a treasure of wisdom and knowledge. The young rich ruler, his wealth and the pathway to eternal life, we discuss in a segment, “Conversations with Jesus.” The ruler has placed one thing above God, namely, his riches. If he really desires eternal life he must sell all and follow Jesus. Obedience to the law does not merely consist in the ability to refrain from certain sins, it means that one has placed God above everything else in one’s life.
Divine Ownership is part of Christianity and we talk about that in the program, “Life with Christ.” Paul emphasized that the saints in Corinth could not use their bodies in the way that would be a dishonor to God, for their bodies did not belong to them. Their bodies and spirits belong to God, for they had been bought with a price.
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