What was the society that Jesus lived in like? What was life like for Jesus and the disciples?
Born in a Stable
Jesus’ parents were forced to stay in a stable because of the unavailability of housing, but with this, a prophecy was fulfilled by Micah the Prophet, who wrote, “But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Too little to be among the clans of Judah, From you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel His goings forth are from long ago, From the days of eternity” (5:2). Jesus once said of Himself, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head” (Luke 9:58), but did this mean Jesus was homeless? We know that Jesus had an earthly ministry and that His mission was to travel about Judea, seeking the lost sheep of Israel, but does this mean He always had to sleep outside? Not necessarily, because this verse (Luke 9:58) was in response to someone who said, “I will follow you wherever you go” (Luke 9:57), so Jesus may have been telling the person that this is not His home…He was looking forward to the coming kingdom of God, but in this world, He doesn’t even have a place to call home.
A Dry Shoot
The Apostle Paul, in referring to Jesus, wrote “The root of Jesse will come, even he who arises to rule the Gentiles; in him will the Gentiles hope” (Rom 15:12), and Isaiah the Prophet wrote of Jesus, “There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit” (Isaiah 11:1). Bible scholars agree that this is referring to Jesus Christ. In the “days to come Jacob shall take root, Israel shall blossom and put forth shoots and fill the whole world with fruit” (Isaiah 27:6), but why does it refer to Jesus as a “shoot?” In other places in Scripture, Jesus is referred to as the Branch, as in Isaiah 4:2 where it says of Him, “In that day the branch of the Lord shall be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the land shall be the pride and honor of the survivors of Israel.” This “root of Jesse” is from the line of David and this “root” appeared in the parched, dry ground that was in Judea at the time. In other words, Judea was a spiritual wilderness. It was a spiritual desert land where the people had been separated from God because the Jews had been replacing the law of God with their own traditions. Jesus rebuked the Jewish religious leaders at the time and said that their traditions are “making void the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And many such things you do” (Mark 7:13).
Roman Historian
Flavius Josephus was a first-century Jewish historian and scholar, who was hired by the Roman government to record the events of the Jew’s history, like “History of the Jewish War” and “Antiquities of the Jews,” both written in the first century, so Josephus can be referred to by what historians call, a primary source, or an eye-witness source of the first century. We’re so far removed from that century today that we must depend on those who experienced life in the first century in Judea, and historians and scholars agree that Flavius Josephus is considered the best non-Christian, near-contemporary source on Jesus that there was, so what Josephus wrote of Christ and the life of the first-century Jews can be regarded as highly accurate.
Under Rome’s Dominion
The Roman Empire allowed most of the people in the areas they conquered to live in the way that they previously lived and allowed them freedom to worship in the ways that they had before, so the Roman’s rarely interfered with the religious practices of those people they ruled over, but life in Jesus’ day was very harsh for those who didn’t have the means (which included most of the population). Of course most people had to travel by foot and it took long hours and days to move from one city or region to the next. Laboring in the agricultural fields or in the fishing trade was exceedingly hard work and even though the Romans were at times harsh dictators, most of the time they allowed the people to live as they had before. Although there was religious tolerance, they still had to remain within the parameters of Roman law, therefore some of the Jews who sought to have Jesus killed could not do so without the authority of the Roman authorities.
Judean Life in the First Century
There were no major forms of travel, so most people traveled by foot. If they had the money, they might use a donkey or camel, but for most, that was beyond their reach and so they depended on walking to go any place they wanted. Most of the jobs were either agricultural, fishing, or tending livestock, mostly sheep but some pigs (for the Gentiles). Since refrigeration was not available, most people had to salt down their foods in order to preserve them and they had to eat what they had almost immediately, so there was no ability to store food over long periods of time. Grain was the exception. The greatest source of income in Judea was agricultural production and the fishing trade. Just as in many cases today, taxation by the Romans was one of the reasons the Jews revolted (along with the desire to break free from the Roman rule), but it always ended in disaster, like in A.D. 70, when Titus’ marched into Jerusalem and destroyed much of the city, including the temple, because of a Jewish revolt or uprising. This was foretold by Jesus (Matt 24), but apparently, few have believed Him. The Jews still had a patriarchal society in which the father was still the head of the home and nothing could be done without his authority, but life centered on the temple because that was the identity of the Jewish people.
Conclusion
The first-century Jews, like the other Gentiles under Rome’s iron fist, could do no more than they were allowed to do and life was certainly harsh. The summers were brutally hot and often dry and the winters were wetter but could grow very cold. The greatest possessions one could have in that day were clothing and a place to live. Most lived day to day, hand-to-mouth, and most weren’t able to store enough food for the coming weeks or months. The labor was hard, the conditions were harsh, and the freedoms restricted, but the first-century church still thrived because the more they persecuted the church, the more the church spread. What they tried to destroy only served to strengthen it. Ironic that evil mankind cannot destroy a movement that started some 2,000 years ago by one Man, and then continued on with twelve men (disciples) who eventually took the gospel to the whole world through the written Word, and today the Word of God continues to spread throughout the world in order that all people might hear the gospel, that some might be saved.
Article by Jack Wellman
Jack Wellman is Pastor of the Mulvane Brethren Church in Mulvane Kansas. Jack is also the Senior Writer at What Christians Want To Know whose mission is to equip, encourage, and energize Christians and to address questions about the believer’s daily walk with God and the Bible. You can follow Jack on Google Plus or check out his book Teaching Children the Gospel available on Amazon.
