Jesus and the Imperial Order

I’ve been reading Shane Claiborne’s new book “Jesus For President” and in one particular section he is dealing with the amazing similarities between the imperial language used by the Roman Empire and the account of Jesus’ birth in Luke. I thought it worth sharing. Claiborne’s point is that Jesus’ life, even his birth, was a revolution and a challenge to the Roman imperial order. But the challenge didn’t stop with the death of the Roman Empire. Jesus’ life and message is a challenge to all empires.

Imperial Language

Basilea (“empire” or “kingdom”): Term used for the Roman Empire. At the head: Caesar

Gospel (evangelion: “good news”): An imperial pronouncement, usually accompanied by flags and political ceremony, that an heir to the empire’s throne had been born or that a distant battle had been won.

Christ (Greek translation of Hebrew messiah): Known by the Romans as the name Jews used for their ruler, anointed by God and the people. The King of the Jews job title had already been granted to Herod, hence the problem when Jesus was also considered to be a King of the Jews. Only one person at a time can fit on a throne; expression of being commissioned or appointed, especially by divine authority—precisely how folks thought of the Roman emperors (literally means “dripped on by the gods,” as in anointed with oil).

Son of God: A popular title for kings and emperors. Name taken up by Alexander the Great (also used King of Kings) and Octavian, later known as Augustus, in the lineage of Julius Caesar.

Ekklesia: A local public assembly within the greater Roman Empire, much like a town meeting. These assemblies bestowed citizenship, discussed local political concerns, assigned “elders,” and offered prayer and worship to Caesar. There was no separation of religion (cultic sacrifices, etc.) and secular political business.

Parousia (literally, “presence”): The return of Caesar to visit a town.

Savior (soter: literally, “healer” or “preserver”): Caesar Augustus, as Savior, was seen as the one who healed the chaos of Rome and brought it into a new golden age.

Faith: A term used for trust in, allegiance to, and hope in the Pax Romana. It had much to do with loyalty, as with a faithful husband.

Lord (kyrios): Name for a ruler, particularly a supreme ruler.

Emmanuel (dues praesens): The manifestation of the presence and will of the gods; a title claimed by emperors like Antiochus IV Epiphanes and Domitian.

Worship (proskynesis): A practice involving the act of prostration or bowing in submission before a ruler or emperor; an act of submission.

Jesus’ Language

Basilea: Jesus’ most common topic of conversation: the kingdom of God or the kingdom of the heavens. At the head: YHWH, who liberated the Israelites from Egyptian slavery.

Gospel: Jesus’ good news that the kingdom of God is at hand.

Messiah: Divinely anointed ruler over Israel who would fulfill the scriptural promises of saving the Israelites from oppression (and from themselves). While a primary title for Jesus, this is also the name used for David and other rulers. Messiah does not mean, as it is commonly mistaken to mean, that God beamed down to earth and squeezed into human flesh, but a “divinely mandated royal man.” (We might understand Jesus as the incarnate deity, but Messiah had a very different political connotation and historical role.)

Son of God: Name given to Jesus, though he more commonly spoke of himself as the Son of Man (or “the human one,” a term borrowed from the prophet Daniel). Used by the Tempter in the desert in reference to tempting a king.

Ekklesia: Word used for the early church, “Emphasizes that the followers of Jesus were called to participate in their world as ‘local communities of an alternative society to the Roman imperial order.’” Bestowed alternative citizenship and assigned elders. Though it discussed its own political  and religious concerns, it was understood as separate from, and in contrast to, the state and the other ekklesia, their politics, and their religion.

Parousia: The second coming of Jesus, seen in contrast to the parousia of Caesar.

Savior: A title for Jesus.

Faith: A term used for trust in, allegiance to, and hope in Jesus.

Lord: A much more international acclamation for Jesus than the term Christ/Messiah.

Emmanuel: Means “God with us” and is the name prophesied in Hebrew Scripture for the Messiah, later proclaimed by the angel to Mary as one of the names for Jesus.

Worship (proskyneo): Bowing before God in praise and adoration. For example, this word is used when the magi bowed down before the baby Jesus in the manger.

Well, there you have it. Now do you understand why Herod, Rome and the Jewish authorities wanted Jesus dead from the moment he was born?

shalom, matt