World English Bible · Under Rome
James 3
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Let not many of you be teachers, my brothers, knowing that we will receive heavier . For we all stumble in many things. Anyone who doesn't stumble in word is a perfect person, able to bridle the whole body also. Indeed, we put bits into the horses' mouths so that they may us, and we guide their whole body. Behold, the ships also, though they are so big and are driven by fierce winds, are yet guided by a very small rudder, wherever the pilot . So is also a little member, and boasts great things. See how a small can spread to a large forest! And is a . The world of among our members is , which defiles the whole body, and sets on the course of nature, and is set on by . 7For every kind of animal, bird, creeping thing, and sea creature is tamed, and has been tamed by mankind; but nobody can tame . It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we our and , and with it we men who are made in the . Out of the same comes and . My brothers, these things ought not to be so. 11Does a spring send out from the same opening fresh and bitter water? Can a fig tree, my brothers, yield olives, or a figs? Thus no spring yields both salt water and fresh water. Who is and among you? Let him show by his good conduct that his deeds are done in gentleness of . But if you have bitter and selfish ambition in , don't boast and don't lie against the truth. This is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, sensual, and demonic. For where and selfish ambition are, there is confusion and every evil deed. But the that is from above is first pure, then peaceful, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without . Now the fruit of is sown in peace by those who make peace.
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The world at this moment · Under Rome, 63 BC to AD 100 ›
Judea as a client kingdom and then a province. Roads, garrisons, taxes, crucifixion, and a common Greek language that let a message travel the empire faster than any before it.
- Rome
- The republic tears itself apart in civil war and comes out as an empire under Augustus. What follows is two centuries of relative peace across the whole Mediterranean, enforced by legions and paid for by taxes, with safe roads and safe sea lanes. Every one of Paul's journeys depends on that.
- Judea
- Governed first through Herod the Great, a client king of enormous ability and enormous brutality who rebuilds the temple into one of the wonders of the ancient world, then directly by Roman prefects. Crucifixion is the standard penalty for sedition and is used often and publicly.
- The wider world
- Greek is spoken from Spain to Syria, which means a letter written in Corinth can be read in Rome without translation. Jewish communities already exist in most major cities, which is where the first Christian preaching lands. Mystery religions, imperial cult, and philosophy all compete in the same marketplace.
- Further afield
- The Han dynasty rules China and trades silk westward along routes that touch the Roman world at second hand. In Britain the Roman conquest begins within a decade of the crucifixion.