Harris lays out this chapter chronologically, beginning with Alexander the Great and his successors (beginning 336 BCE) and continuing all the way to the second, major Jewish revolt against Rome in (132–135 BCE). He discusses the Maccabean Revolt, by which the Jews won their independence, though short-lived. A large amount of the chapter is dedicated to Rome as it ruled Judea during the time of Christ, and it is within the Roman Empire that Christianity expanded. Through this, he shows the amount of political upheaval that the Mediterranean world and the Jewish people especially, endured. His thesis is that Jesus cannot be completely understood without being examined against this backdrop of change and war.
Four important illustrations to look at are the maps on pages 63, 66, 68, and 70. These illustrations allow the reader to put the Jewish state, and Jesus’ ministry, into the context of the greater world, which is the point of this chapter. Harris sums up his own argument as follows:
The Period of Jesus’ life is thus chronologically framed by two Jewish wars for religious and political independence. The first, led by the Maccabees, created a Jewish state. The second, a generation after Jesus’ death, resulted in national annihilation.[5]
Without understanding the world Jesus lived in, we cannot achieve a full understanding of his motivations and impetuses.
It is also important to note Harris’s claim that the New Testament is not a fountainhead of anti-Roman sentiment. There certainly is some negative views held against Rome and Jesus seems to present “the ‘kingdom of God,’… [as] both an implicit criticism of and an exciting alternative to Roman rule.”[6] Despite this, Roman soldiers often come out favorably in scripture. Harris cites Luke, Matthew, and Mark to support this claim. “By placing favorable judgments of Jesus on the lips of Roman soldiers, the Gospel writers anticipate the historical fact that Jesus’ followers achieved far greater success among Greeks and Romans than among their fellow Jews.”[7]
The most interesting point in this chapter is how often Judea changed hands. It was ruled by Alexander the Great, then by his successors. The Jews managed to regain their independence, only to lose it to Rome a hundred years later. Attempting to gain independence from Rome, the Jews lost their national identity as the Romans ruthlessly put down the rebellion.
Another interesting discussion in the chapter is the development of the Jewish concept of martyrdom and the afterlife. Though only receiving two paragraphs, it helps set the scene for Jesus’ own death as well as his teachings about the kingdom of heaven. Harris quotes 2 Maccabees 7:9: “The King of the world will raise us up, since it is for his laws that we die, to live again for ever.”[8]
It is imperative that we understand the world of Jesus. Both the Jewish history and the larger Mediterranean history converge to create that world. It is important to understand the Jesus created partly through his own experiences and did not exist in a vacuum.
Harris does a fine job explaining the issues and points brought up in the chapter, not leaving anything to be unclear. While no unclear, I do wish that some mention of Masada had been made, if only to satisfy my curiosity about the event.
I do not see any problems or discrepancies between how Harris interprets the Biblical passages and how I interpret them. This is partly caused by the rather obviousness of the quotations. However, Harris fails to mention the torture that Jesus received at the hands of Roman soldiers. This happens both in Matthew and Mark and goes against Harris’s argument about a more positive view of the Roman found in the Gospels.
The three most important contributions of this chapter are: Jesus was a creature of his time and place. The Roman Empire brought stability to the Mediterranean and most were willing to accept the decrease in civil rights in exchange, leading to a complex view of Rome in the Gospels. And, finally, the development of the idea of martyrdom and reward of future life as these are ideas that would find new homes in Christianity.
[1] Harris, Stephen L. “Chapter 4: The Troubled World Into Which Jesus Was Born.” The New Testament: A Student’s Introduction. Fifth ed. (New York: McGraw Hill, 2006), 64.
[2] Harris. 67.
[3] Ibid. 68.
[4] Ibid. 70.
[5] Ibid. 79.
[6] Harris. 71.
[7] Ibid.
[8] Ibid. 67.