The Long Awaited Conqueror

A depiction of Jesus’ humble birth only recognised by a handful of people at the time.

Under Roman rule in 0 AD, Jesus was born to his mother Mary, a virgin at the time. He grew from a child into a man and at 30 years old left the family carpentry business and started to travel, preach and perform miracles. Jesus’ preached that he was the leader foretold in the ancient prophecy and son of God. He declared that he had come to bring freedom from oppression.

His teaching gained momentum and his followers grew from a handful to tens of thousands in a few years. As he started to gain more attention, the Israeli religious leaders grew more aware of his teachings and miracles. They were in a difficult political position. Although they held the religious power of Israel, that power was granted to them by their Roman oppressors. The religious leaders were aware that the little freedom they had could quickly be taken away by Rome if Israel caused too many problems for them.

The religious leaders believed in the ancient prophecy and would happily follow this foretold leaders teachings and leadership against Rome. However, they didn’t believe Jesus was that leader. Jesus’s preaching focuses on love, peace, helping the poor and sick, as well as encouraging paying tax to Rome. Expecting a more militant and overtly revolution leader, the religious leaders concluded that Jesus could not be the awaited leader and would only agitate the delicate power balance between Israel and Rome.

The Roman occupiers were also aware of the ancient prophecy. And although they didn’t believe it, they were weary of any person gaining popularity amongst the Israeli nation. They were always concerned of a military uprising.