Bible Studies
The Roman Imperial Cult And Preaching Jesus as King (Acts 17:6-7)
Series: Additional StudiesIntroduction:
1. I believe it was on my first trip to Israel that I was exposed to an inscription that identified a Roman ruler as savior. 2. This set off a powerful interest as to how Roman rulers might be seen as saviors and what relationship this might have with the presentation of Jesus as savior of the world. 3. Since that initial interest I have learned that Emperor worship in the Roman Empire was quite prevalent. 4. Consideration is usually given to the Jewish historical setting in which the disciples took the message—Jesus is the Messiah, King of the Jews. But consideration must also be given to the Roman historical setting in which they proclaimed Jesus as King. 5. When Paul and Silas were preaching in Thessalonica they preached in the synagogue that Jesus was the Messiah. But some of the Jews set the city in an uproar and said, “These men who have upset the world have come here also; and Jason has welcomed them, and they all act contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus.” 6. They were calling attention to conflict between Caesar being king and Jesus being king. Jews had done this kind of thing before. At His trial before Pilate Jesus had responded by saying, “My kingdom is not of this realm (world)” (Jn. 18:36). Later the chief priests proclaimed, “We have no king but Caesar” (Jn. 19:15). 7. The N.T. message conflicts with the Roman Imperial Cult and much of what is said in the N.T. may be said in direct confrontation with the Roman Imperial Cult. 8. In this lesson we will survey some of the Roman evidence of this and look at some of the N.T. language that seems to confront Roman Imperial theology.Discussion:
I. Evidence from Roman Empire.A. Roman coinage particularly of Augustus Caesar (27 B.C. to 14 A.D.) is inscribed “Caesar Divi F,” which is the abbreviation of the Latin “Caesar Divi Filius” or “Son of the Divine [Julius] Caesar.”
1. If Julius Caesar was divine and Augustus was his adopted son, Augustus then was the “Son of god.”
2. This divine title attributed to Augustus was well known throughout the Roman Empire in the N.T. time (Thanh Van Nguyen, “The Roman Empire and the New Testament,” New Theology Review, 2013).
B. The inscription on the Mazeus-Mithridates gate to the city of Ephesus, through which Paul would have walked, identified Caesar Augustus as lord and Savior of the world. (Worship of the emperor was not exclusive for at Ephesus Artemis was their patron deity. Theirs was a very pluralistic society with multiple gods and goddesses, various images, and many temples.)
Note: PontificiMaximo = “chief priest”
C. An inscription dated around 9 B.C. gives another illustration of Augustus being honored and worshiped as divine, savior. Because he had ended civil strive and brought order and peace to the Roman Empire the people of Asia Minor declared him divine and changed their calendar in order to coincide with his birthday. The inscription says, Since the providence that has divinely ordered our existence has applied her energy and zeal and has brought to life the most perfect good in Augustus, who she filled with virtues for the benefit of mankind, bestowing him upon us and our descendants as savior– he who put an end to war and will order peace, Caesar, who by his epiphany exceeded the hopes of those who prophesied good tidings [euaggelia]… and since the birthday of the god first brought to the world the good tidings [euaggelia] residing in him… For that reason, with good fortune and safety, the Greeks of Asia have decided that the New Year in all the cities should begin on 23rd September, the birthday of Augustus. --John D. Crossan, God and Empire: Jesus Against Rome, Then and Now. New York: HarperSanFrancisco, 2007.
D. N. T. Wright says in his article, “Paul and Caesar: A New Reading of Romans,” that Augustus had done the sort of thing only gods can do. Rome had power to sweep aside all opposition; the power, in consequence, to create an extraordinary new world order. Rome claimed to have brought justice to the world. The accession of the emperor, and also his birthday, could therefore be hailed as euaggelion, good news. The emperor was kyrios, the lord of the world, the one who claimed the allegiance and loyalty of subjects throughout his wide empire. When he came in person to pay a state visit to a colony or province, the word for his royal presence was parousia (the word used to refer to the coming of Jesus in 1 Thess. 2:19; 3:13; 4:15; 5:23, and elsewhere).
II. The N.T. challenges Roman Emperor worship.A. The gospel accounts provide ample references to and proclamation of Jesus as the true “Son of God.”
1. Mark 1:1: “The beginning of the gospel [euaggelia] of Jesus Christ the Son of God.”
2. Mark 1:11: “You are My beloved Son, in You I am well pleased.”
3. Mark 9:7: “This is My beloved Son, listen to Him!”
4. Lk. 2:10 describes the birth of Jesus as good news [euaggelia]. He is the savior of the world (Lk. 2:1; cf. Jn. 4:22).
B. Read Rom. 1:1-17.
1. Note: “set apart for the gospel of God;” “His Son;” “Son of God;” “the obedience of faith” (loyal allegiance to the universal Lord; contra. allegiance to Caesar), “peace;” “Lord Jesus Christ;” “preaching gospel of His Son;” “power of God for salvation to everyone.”
2. Van Nguyen says, “Paul’s clever usage of imperial terminology throughout his epistles is a clear indication of a direct challenge to Caesar.”
3. N.T. Wright (Paul and Caesar) says, “Most commentators on Rom. 1:1-17 insist that it forms the thematic introduction to the whole letter. None that I know of (myself included) have suggested that it must have been heard in Rome, and that Paul must have intended it, as a parody of the imperial cult.” Can you imagine reading Rom. 1:1-17 in the city of Rome in the Roman Coliseum? Can you imagine being in Rome or even in some Roman colony at a Temple of Augustus and preaching Jesus as Lord (kyrios), assembling passages from the O.T. that address the universal nature of His kingdom, tracing His lineage to David, the son of Jesse? This is exactly what Paul does in Rom. 15:7-13.
C. N.T. writers see the Jewish Messiah as the ultimate King.
1. The long story of Israel is to bring the law, the rule, and the peace of the kingdom of God to fruition in the Messiah.
2. Their aim is to extend the rule of the Lord Jesus Christ. Contra. Emperor’s aim of extending the rule of the Roman Empire to the world.
3. Their message is “Jesus is the true Lord” (Phil. 2:5-11; 3:19-21).
4. He is the one who brings peace and security (1 Thess. 5:3).
5. He is “the blessed and only Sovereign, King of kings and Lord of lords to Him be honor and eternal dominion (1 Tim. 6:12-16).
III. In light of this Roman context other passages take on radical significance.A. The cross is the means of victory for us (Rom. 5:6-11; 8:31-39; Eph. 1:19-23).
1. The cross was widely used in Rome as an emblem of what they would do to those who resisted their power.
2. It now becomes the means of victory for the Kingdom of God.
B. Our king died on the cross, but His resurrection, ascension and coronation prove defeat for all opposing forces. He is seated at the right hand of God. He is both Lord and Christ (cf. Acts 2:31-36).
C. Places in the kingdom belong to those who drink the cup of self-sacrifice that characterized the Lord (see Matt. 20:20ff; Mk. 10:37ff).
D. Submission to Jesus as Lord in baptism links the people to the King and to citizenship in the kingdom (Rom. 6:1-11; 1 Cor. 10:1-2; Gal. 3:26-29).
E. They are given secure promises of salvation (Rom. 8:29-30; Phil. 1:6).
F. Their very existence communicates the wisdom of God to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly (spiritual) places (Eph. 3:10).
G. They are charged with responsibility to oppose the powers (Rom. 8:31-39; Phil. 1:29-30; 1 Thess. 3:3; Eph. 6:10ff) and because He has all authority they are commission to conquer the world by making disciples of all nations (Matt. 28:18-19). And so, they went out preaching the kingdom of God.
Conclusion:
1. N. T. Wright says, “Paul’s stories are all God-stories, confronting and subverting the stories of other gods; they all focus on Jesus and the Spirit, and on the new exodus, itself the unveiling of God’s sovereign power over the gods.” 2. Indeed as we consider the language of Paul and the rest of the N.T. (have not even considered the relevance of this as it may relate to Revelation) the Roman Imperial cult is confronted, challenged and defeated by the dominion of the almighty, one and only sovereign, the God of heaven and earth. 3. “Many walk as enemies of the cross of Christ, whose end is destruction, whose god is their appetite, and whose glory is in their shame, who set their minds on earthly things. For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself" (Phil. 3:18-21).
