World English Bible · Under Rome
Mark 11
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When they came near to , to Bethsphage and , at , he sent two of his and said to them, "Go your way into the village that is opposite you. Immediately as you enter into it, you will find a young donkey tied, on which no one has sat. him and bring him. If anyone asks you, 'Why are you doing this?' say, ' needs him;' and immediately he will send him back here." They went away, and found a young donkey tied at the door outside in the open street, and they untied him. 5Some of those who stood there asked them, "What are you doing, untying the young donkey?" 6They said to them as had said, and they let them go. They brought the young donkey to and threw their garments on it, and sat on it. Many spread their garments on , and others were cutting down from the trees and spreading them on the road. Those who went in front and those who followed cried out, "! is he who comes in the name of ! is of that is coming in the name of ! in the highest!" entered into in . When he had looked around at everything, it being now evening, he went out to with the twelve. The next day, when they had come out from , he was hungry. Seeing a fig tree afar off having leaves, he came to see if perhaps he might find anything on it. When he came to it, he found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. told it, "May no one ever eat fruit from you again!" and his heard it. They came to , and entered into and began to throw out those who sold and those who bought in , and overthrew the money changers' tables and the seats of those who sold the . 16He would not allow anyone to carry a container through . He taught, saying to them, "Isn't it written, 'My house will be called a house of for all the nations'? But you have made it a den of robbers!" The and the heard it, and sought how they might destroy him. For they feared him, because all was astonished at his teaching. When evening came, he went out of the city. As they passed by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered away from the roots. , remembering, said to him, "Rabbi, look! The fig tree which you has withered away." answered them, "Have in . For most certainly I tell you, whoever may tell this mountain, 'Be taken up and cast into the sea,' and doesn't doubt in , but believes that what he says is happening, he shall have whatever he says. Therefore I tell you, all things whatever you and ask for, that you have received them, and you shall have them. Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone; so that your , who is in , may also forgive you your . 26But if you do not forgive, neither will your in forgive your ." They came again to , and as he was walking in , the , the , and the came to him, and they began saying to him, "By what do you do these things? Or who gave you this to do these things?" said to them, "I will ask you one question. Answer me, and I will tell you by what I do these things. The of —was it from , or from men? Answer me." They reasoned with themselves, saying, "If we should say, 'From ;' he will say, 'Why then did you not him?' If we should say, 'From men'"—they feared the people, for all held to really be a . They answered , "We don't know." said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what I do these things."
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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.