The Political Situation in Early First Century Judea

If we are to learn from Jesus, and indeed all of his word, regarding politics it is helpful to know something of the context in which he lived and taught.

I begin with a brief history of post-exhilic Israel. The southern tribes returned in part to the land in the late fifth century BC under Persian sponsorship and rebuilt the city and walls of Jerusalem. About one hundred years later, however, the Persians and their empire, including the Jewish lands, fell to Alexander the Great. His successors ruled the area, bringing Hellenization but also increasing oppression, until the Maccabean Revolt in the 160s BC restored Jewish religious freedom. The war for political independence achieved success in 142 BC but the process of adopting Greek ways, at least by the ruling classes, continued.

The principal players in Judean politics in the early first century included the Romans, the Herodians, and the Jewish religious parties.

1) The Romans: Far and away the dominant power in the ancient Mediterranean world, the Romans added Palestine to their empire when Pompey the Great occupied Jerusalem in 63 BC. The region was created the Roman province of Judea. Initially they tried to rule the province through local leadership, but by the time of Jesus’ public ministry a substantial territory was under the direct control of a Roman governor and the peace enforced by a Roman army.

2) Herod and his family: Herod, an Idumean [descendant of Edom] proselyte to Judaism, was created king by the Romans in 37 BC. He was an effective and productive, if somewhat ruthless, ruler. Upon his death in 4 BC his kingdom was divided amongst his three sons: Philip took the northeast; Herod Antipas the region of Galilee and Perea; and Archelaus had Judea, Samaria, and Idumea, but only until AD 6, and after that these regions were ruled by Roman procurators.

3) The religious parties: There were four main divisions. (a) The Pharisees were the party of religious and cultural purity. Orthodox Jews, they wanted to preserve distinctive Jewish religious and cultural values. Politically, they were conservatives. Religious quietists who developed an elaborate oral tradition concerning the Law, they were not actively involved in political life except where matters affected their own self interest but were generally considered to represent the opposition party. They resisted Hellenization. They are the religious ancestors of the Hasidic Jews. (b) The Sadducees were religious liberals. Like many liberals today they did not believe in a resurrection or a life to come, and consequently put their energies into politics and the affairs of this life, in partnership with the Roman administration. They actively collaborated with the Hasmoneans and then the Herodians and remained the chief political party until the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70. (c) The Zealots were at the opposite end of the political spectrum. Fanatical Jewish nationalists, they were crusaders, freedom fighters, and revolutionaries dedicated to the overthrow of Roman tyranny, if necessary by means of terrorism and violence. (d) the Essenes, a separatist group that lived in community on the shores of the Dead Sea. They expected the imminent arrival of the Messiah and the consummation of God’s final victory over his enemies.