World English Bible · Under Rome
Luke 19
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He entered and was passing through . There was a man named . He was a chief , and he was rich. He was trying to see who was, and couldn't because of the , because he was short. He ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was going to pass that way. When came to the place, he looked up and saw him, and said to him, ", hurry and come down, for today I must stay at your house." He hurried, came down, and received him joyfully. When they saw it, they all murmured, saying, "He has gone in to lodge with a man who is a ." stood and said to , "Behold, , half of my goods I give to . If I have wrongfully exacted anything of anyone, I restore four times as much." said to him, "Today, has come to this house, because he also is a son of . For came to seek and to that which was lost." As they heard these things, he went on and told , because he was near , and they supposed that Kingdom would be immediately. He said therefore, "A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and to return. He called ten servants of his and gave them ten coins, and told them, 'Conduct business until I come.' But his citizens hated him, and sent an envoy after him, saying, 'We don't want this man to reign over us.' "When he had come back again, having received , he commanded these servants, to whom he had given the money, to be called to him, that he might know what they had gained by conducting business. The first came before him, saying, ', your has made ten more .' "He said to him, 'Well done, you good servant! Because you were found with very little, you shall have over ten cities.' "The second came, saying, 'Your , , has made five .' "So he said to him, 'And you are to be over five cities.' Another came, saying, ', behold, your , which I kept laid away in a handkerchief, for I feared you, because you are an exacting man. You take up that which you didn't lay down, and reap that which you didn't sow.' "He said to him, 'Out of your own I will judge you, you servant! You knew that I am an exacting man, taking up that which I didn't lay down and reaping that which I didn't sow. Then why didn't you deposit my money in the bank, and at my coming, I might have earned interest on it?' He said to those who stood by, 'Take the away from him and give it to him who has the ten .' "They said to him, ', he has ten !' 'For I tell you that to everyone who has, will more be given; but from him who doesn't have, even that which he has will be taken away from him. But bring those of mine who didn't want me to reign over them here, and kill them before me.'" Having said these things, he went on ahead, going up to . When he came near to Bethsphage and , at the mountain that is called Olivet, he sent two of his , saying, "Go your way into the village on the other side, in which, as you enter, you will find a colt tied, which no man has ever sat upon. it and bring it. If anyone asks you, 'Why are you untying it?' say to him: ' needs it.'" Those who were sent went away and found things as he had told them. 33As they were untying the colt, its owners said to them, "Why are you untying the colt?" They said, " needs it." Then they brought it to . They threw their cloaks on the colt and sat on them. As he went, they spread their cloaks on the road. As he was now getting near, at the descent of , the whole multitude of began to rejoice and with a loud voice for all the mighty works which they had seen, saying, " is the King who comes in the name of ! Peace in , and in the highest!" Some of the from said to him, "Teacher, rebuke your !" He answered them, "I tell you that if these were silent, the stones would cry out." When he came near, he saw the city and wept over it, saying, "If you, even you, had known today the things which belong to your peace! But now, they are hidden from your eyes. For the days will come on you when your will throw up a barricade against you, surround you, you in on every side, and will dash you and your children within you to the ground. They will not leave in you one stone on another, because you didn't know the time of your visitation." He entered into and began to drive out those who bought and sold in it, saying to them, ", 'My house is a house of ,' but you have made it a 'den of robbers'!" He was teaching daily in , but the , the , and the leading men among the people sought to destroy him. They couldn't find what they might do, for all the people hung on to every word that he said.
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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.