World English Bible · Under Rome
John 2
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The third day, there was a in of . ' mother was there. also was invited, with his , to the . When the ran out, ' mother said to him, "They have no ." said to her, "Woman, what does that have to do with you and me? My hour has not yet come." His mother said to the servants, "Whatever he says to you, do it." Now there were six water pots of stone set there after the ' way of purifying, containing two or three metretes apiece. said to them, "Fill the water pots with water." So they filled them up to the brim. He said to them, "Now draw some out, and take it to the ruler of the feast." So they took it. When the ruler of the feast tasted the water now become , and didn't know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the ruler of the feast called the and said to him, "Everyone serves the good first, and when the guests have drunk freely, then that which is worse. You have kept the good until now!" This beginning of his signs did in of , and his ; and his in him. After this, he went down to , he, and his mother, his brothers, and his ; and they stayed there days. of the was at hand, and went up to . He found in those who sold oxen, sheep, and , and the changers of money sitting. 15He made a whip of cords and drove all out of , both the sheep and the oxen; and he poured out the changers' money and overthrew their tables. To those who sold the , he said, "Take these things out of here! Don't make house a marketplace!" His remembered that it was written, " for your house will eat me up." The therefore answered him, "What sign do you show us, seeing that you do these things?" answered them, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." 20The therefore said, "It took forty-six years to build this temple! Will you raise it up in three days?" But he spoke of of his body. When therefore he was , his remembered that he said this, and they the and the word which had said. Now when he was in at , during the feast, many in his name, observing his signs which he did. But didn't entrust himself to them, because he knew everyone, and because he didn't need for anyone to testify concerning man; for he himself knew what was in man.
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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.