The Roman World

The Roman Empire in the first century was the largest and most sophisticated political structure the Western world had ever seen. It stretched from Britain to Mesopotamia, from the Rhine to the Sahara. Its roads, its navy, its legal system, and its common Greek language made long-distance travel and communication easier than at any previous time in Mediterranean history.

The gospel did not spread despite the empire. It spread through the empire — along its roads, through its cities, in its language, and eventually in tension with its religious and political claims.

Judea was a minor province on the eastern edge of the empire. It was governed by a Roman prefect (later a procurator) from the coastal city of Caesarea Maritima, not from Jerusalem. The prefect commanded a small garrison of auxiliary troops and was responsible for maintaining order and collecting taxes.

Pontius Pilate, prefect from c. AD 26 to 36, is attested not only in the Gospels but in the writings of Josephus and Philo, and by the "Pilate Stone," a limestone block found at Caesarea in 1961 bearing his name and title. He was removed from office after a violent incident involving Samaritans (Josephus, Antiquities 18.4.1–2).

The client kingdom of Galilee and Perea was ruled by Herod Antipas (4 BC – AD 39), son of Herod the Great. He built the city of Tiberias on the Sea of Galilee and ruled throughout Jesus' ministry. It was Antipas who executed John the Baptist (Mark 6:17–29).

Roman society was hierarchical, patriarchal, and organized around networks of patronage. A small elite controlled most of the wealth and political power; below them we're free citizens of varying status, freedmen, and slaves. Perhaps a third of the population of the empire we're slaves.

The culture was also an honor-shame culture. A person's standing depended on public reputation, and insults required responses. This is one reason the apostles' willingness to accept public shame — beatings, mockery, execution — was so striking to pagan observers. It was not merely a religious conviction. It was a reversal of the most basic social values of the ancient world.

The early church's practice of caring for the poor, the sick, and the dying — including during plagues, when pagan society often abandoned the afflicted — cut against the honor-shame logic of the surrounding culture. Christians we're known for it, and it contributed to the movement's growth.

The Roman road system was one of the great engineering achievements of the ancient world. Roads like the Via Egnatia (which ran from the Adriatic to Byzantium) and the Via Sebaste (in Asia Minor) made travel by foot, donkey, and cart comparatively fast. Sea travel was faster still when winds allowed, though the Mediterranean was closed to shipping in winter.

Paul's journeys followed these routes. His itinerary — Antioch, Cyprus, southern Galatia, Macedonia, Achaia, Ephesus, Jerusalem, Rome — traced the major arteries of the eastern empire. The gospel was carried on the same roads that carried Roman soldiers, merchants, and officials.