Revolutionary Christmas I: The Advent of Caesar Augustus

Here's my summary of Part 1 of Mars Hill's recent Christmas series.

Summary: (details)
Bell sets the context of the Christmas story by answering the question, "What was the world like when Jesus was born?" The Romans ruled by extreme force from Briton to India. The caesar's were considered gods. Slogans such as "son of god", "he will establish a universal empire of peace", and "divine king of salvation" were prevalent. Caesar taxed to pay his war bills. It is estimated that 80-90% of a person's income in Judea was given in taxes. So, why does Luke include certain details? Why caesar? Why a census? How do the angels' words relate to the slogans used of caesar? How is the story about religion? About politics? About power? About worship?

Thoughts:
I guess you could say Rome was the world's first super power. It seems the Text has much to say about true power and how to wield it. Luke is asking in his Christmas story, "Who is your Lord? Is it Caesar?"

I'm part way through a book that Bell mentions, Christ and the Caesars by Ethelbert Stauffer. Stauffer is a coin expert and comments heavily on the god-like proclamations made by the caesars on the coins. When Jesus is asked if taxes should be paid to caeasar, he was probably shown a coin with caesar on it (an idol/graven image) that claimed caesar as god. What was Jesus thinking when he saw the text on the coin? And yet he says render to caesar what is his.

In the sermon, Bell mentions temples built to honor and worship Augustus. We visited a Roman temple in northern Israel that dates to the first century and might have been built by Herod as part of the Augustus' emperor cult. The temple site is called Omrit and is an active dig. The column capitals are at least one Quentin tall, see the photos. It's near the road to Damascus, which Paul traveled, but that's another story.

Here are a few of my photos from Sepphoris (Zippori in Hebrew) and Gamla, two places that Bell mentions. Here is a slide show on Gamla from Roy Blizzard (thanks Eric).

Revolutionary Christmas

Mars Hill has a new sermon series called Revolutionary Christmas. Part 1 deals with the Roman empire and the kingdom that ruled when the King was born. Part 2, discusses Herod, the rule of Judea at the time of Jesus' birth. Part 3 appears to discuss the politics of Mary's song. I'll post my summaries as I listen to them.

I can see your house from here

The new U2 album has been ringing through my head for the last two months and it's blowing me away. Have you heard their new single, Vertigo? If not, check it out at u2.com. Then read this.

Bono was asked, "Where is Vertigo?" He replied, "It's a dizzy feeling, a sick feeling, when you get up to the top of something and there's only one way to go. That's not a dictionary definition; that's mine. And in my head I created a club called Vertigo with all these people in it and the music is not the music you want to hear and the people are not the people you want to be with. And then you just see somebody and she's got a cross around her neck, and you focus on it -- because you can't focus on anything else. You find a little tiny fragment of salvation there."

Vertigo...a dizzying place where temptation is near. Sounds like Matthew 4. Verse 5 reads, "Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple." And later in verses 8 and 9, "Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. 'All this I will give you...'"

The "highest point" of the temple is likely the southwest corner, the place where the shofar was blown. Archaeologists have found the engraved corner stone which served as a platform for the priest blowing the shofar. At the temple, the shofar was blown to call people to assembly and to announce the daily sacrifices. Here are a few photos of the southwest corner stone I took this summer in Israel.

So, imagine. Jesus is being tempted at the place where the shofar was blown. He is standing at the place where the shofar sounded for the ninth hour sacrifice (3pm). Did he flash forward to his ninth hour sacrifice (Matthew 27:46)? “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?”

There is a verse in Vertigo that goes:

All this, all this can be yours
All of this, all of this can be yours
All this, all of this can be yours
Just give me what I want
And no one gets hurt.

Was Jesus dizzy? Did he lean over the parapet? Did he see a "girl with crimson nails" to remind him of the truth? Thank God something did.

May something always bring us back to our senses.

(Steve, the title is for you...)