The Charismatic Age: First-Century Galilee

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The Charismatic Age: First-Century Galilee

The long-awaited death in 4 BCE of Herod, the ruthless architect of an oppressive Judean police state, sparked a series of spontaneous revolts by the Jewish peasantry. Once these rebellions were subdued, the Jews continued to chafe under a series of tyrannical Roman governors until the massive revolt of 66-70. This period was marked by "widespread discontent and periodic turbulence." Direct Roman rule, along with the burdensome tribute that accompanied it, was highly offensive to the Jews, who considered themselves subjects only to God. Many, in fact, considered their conditions tantamount to slavery (Horsley and Hanson 34-5).

This highly-charged atmosphere reached a fever pitch in Galilee, which produced a host of eccentric figures – many of whom amassed sizable followings. As the peasantry anticipated the arrival of the promised Messiah to deliver them from Roman oppression, a number of social bandits were inspired to pretend to this mantle of "king of the Jews." Others assumed the role of prophet, attempting to recreate the miracles of Joshua or predicting an impending judgment. Also circulating in the area were various Jewish holy men revered as miracle-workers, allegedly capable of influencing natural phenomena. It is in this milieu that the figure of Jesus Christ emerged.

Prophetic Movements

Among Jewish peasantry at the time of Jesus were two distinct types of prophets: the action prophets, who "led sizable movements of peasants from the villages of Judea in anticipation of God's new, eschatological act of liberation," and the oracular prophets, who delivered oracles of either judgment or deliverance (185). The former, as illustrated by the case of Theudas, appea...

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... Hanina disobeyed the rabbinic code of conduct by walking alone at night; he also owned goats despite a Mishnaic prohibition against doing so in Palestine, and even went so far as to carry the unclean carcass of a snake. Another Hasid was found ignorant of the existence of a biblical law concerning ritual uncleanness, while still another scoffed at a rule forbidding the use of liquids kept in an uncovered vessel at night (Vermes 77-8). Jesus of Nazareth, presumably, would have been extremely comfortable in such company!

Works Cited

The Holy Bible: Revised Standard Edition. New York: Thomas Nelson & Sons, 1952.

Horsley, Richard and Hanson, John. Bandits, Prophets and Messiahs: Popular Movements in the Time of Jesus. Minneapolis: Winston Press, 1985.

Vermes, Geza. Jesus the Jew: A Historian's Reading of the Gospels. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1973.

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