Love and Hate of the Jews in Rome
Dr. Eli Lizorkin-Eyzenberg
As is evident from Paul’s writings, the Apostle did not plant the
congregation in the imperial capital that he is addressing in the book known as
the Epistle to the Romans. This fact alone makes this letter to the Romans
different in approach and style to the one he sent earlier to the Galatians.
But the basic reason why the message of the book of Romans is so very different
to the book of Galatians is because the Romans found themselves in a completely
different context to that of the Galatians, and therefore challenges met by both
groups of Jewish Christ-following Gentiles were very different.
First of all, a few words about the numbers and strength of the Jewish
population in the Roman Empire as a whole. Most people are surprised to realize
that the Israelite movement in the Roman Empire consisted of anywhere between
6-10% of the entire population, which means there was a very formidable minority
present in every city, including the capital itself – Rome. This minority was
large and influential enough to cause a real headache to the Roman government.
Rome itself boasted at least eleven exquisite Jewish synagogues. Remember that
the synagogue, although a completely Jewish institution today, was not so in the
time of Paul. Synagogues, or the places of gathering, were Roman public
institutions that were heavily used by the Jewish community, but continued to be
open to the Roman public as well. This fact sets Acts 15:21 in its proper
historical context. When Jacob/Yakov/James announced that it was his opinion
that members of the Nations who follow the Jewish Christ needed to ensure they
observed the set of laws enjoined by the Torah upon the sojourners with Israel,
he explained his reasoning:
“For the Torah of Moses has been preached in
every city from the earliest times and is read in the synagogues on every
Sabbath.”
Opinions about the Jews
While Jewish influence in the Roman Empire and Rome itself was significant,
the opinions of the Roman power-brokers varied from adoration and great respect
for the Jews, to complete disgust and distrust.
Here are a few examples of positive, although confused, statements about the
Jews by the Greco-Roman authors:
Josephus writes that one Clearchus of Soli (ca. 300 B.C.E.) narrates a story
in which his teacher, Aristotle, had met a Judean. Aristotle was duly impressed
and finds the Judean to be “Greek in both language and soul” in spite of the
fact that Judeans are “descended from the Indian philosophers.” (Josephus,
Against Apion 1.180 = Stern no. 15).
Tacitus, a Roman senator and a historian and orator, famous for his surviving
works
Annals and Histories, writes: “As I am about to describe the last
days of a famous city, it seems proper for me to give some account of its
origin. It is said that the Jews were originally exiles from the island of Crete
who settled in the farthest parts of Libya at the time when Saturn had been
deposed and expelled by Jove. An argument in favor of this is derived from the
name; there is a famous mountain in Crete called Ida, and hence the inhabitants
were called the Idaei, which was later lengthened into the barbarous form
ludaei…” (Tacitus,
Histories 5.2)
Even the great Roman writer Varro, who was a Roman scholar and prolific
writer of hundreds of books on jurisprudence, astronomy, geography, education,
satires, poems and orations, when he argues that the gods of Rome must not have
pictures, pointing out to the Jews and their God.
He [Varro] also says that for more than 170 years the ancient Romans
worshipped the gods without an image. “If this usage had continued to our own
day,” he says, “our worship of the gods would be more devout. And in support of
his opinion he adduces, among other things, the testimony of the Jewish race.”
(Varro, Antiquities, c. 116-27 BCE, cited by Augustine, City of God 4.31, c.
354-430 CE)
Here are a few examples of negative statements (these are some that I did not
mention in previous sections) about the Jews by Greco-Roman authors, some
surviving only in much later sources as quotations:
Joseph relates a common Roman myth as used by Apion about the Jews: “kidnap a
Greek foreigner, fatten him up for a year, and then convey him to a wood, where
they slew him, sacrificed his body with their customary ritual, partook of his
flesh, and, while immolating the Greek, swore an oath of hostility to the
Greeks.” (Josephus,
Against Apion 2.94-96)
Or consider this: “…the Judeans then took up residence in Jerusalem and its
environs and “made their hatred of people into a tradition” and “introduced
outlandish laws: not to break bread, with any other race, nor to show them any
good will at all.” (Photius,
Bibliotheca 244.379)
When speaking of the Jews, Seneca, a Roman Stoic philosopher, statesman, and
dramatist, says: “Meanwhile the customs of this accursed race have gained such
influence that they are now received throughout all the world. The vanquished
have given laws to their victors.” (Seneca quoted by Augustine,
City of
God, c. 5 BCE–65 CE)
As we can see, the attitudes of the Greco-Roman authors were varied and no
doubt in some way represented the situation on the ground among the citizens of
Rome as well. It was difficult because when the Roman God-fearers first joined
the Jesus movement in Rome, they did so just like others - in connection with
the Jewish community. As far as they were concerned they were now in some way
part of the Jewish-friendly community that, in a sense, acted as a political
buffer zone between the Jews and the Nations residing in the confines of the
Roman Empire. However, at some point Emperor Claudius expelled all the Jews from
the city of Rome. This is how Ancient Roman history relates it: "Since the Jews
constantly made disturbances at the instigation of Chrestos [misspelling of
Christ?], he [the Emperor Claudius] expelled them from Rome." (Divius Claudius
25)
This is the same Emperor who executed several members of his own family for
conversion to Judaism, seeking to show himself as the true protector of the
honor and service of the Roman gods. The New Testament decisively confirms this
account: “After this, Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. There he met a Jew
named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife
Priscilla, because Claudius had ordered all Jews to leave Rome.” (Acts
18:1-2)
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Political pressure on Roman Christ-followers
Now, taking all of these things into consideration, imagine yourself a
follower of the Jewish Christ in Rome. Can you see yourself and others like you
being under tremendous pressure from your family and other
governmental/patriotic forces that would naturally push you to disassociate from
the Jews? I think the answer must be given in the affirmative - but that is not
all!
Not only were the Roman Gentile Christ-followers pressured to disassociate
from the “Jewish community”, but the mainstream Jewish community also, were not
happy with their allegiance to Jesus and there was a very important political
and social reason for that – the Roman Godfearers served as a buffer zone
between Jews and Romans for decades. They were the most powerful advocates for
religious freedom for the Jews within the Roman Empire – they were indeed the
buffer zone the Jews badly needed. But now things were changing rapidly. Gentile
Roman citizens were now joining this new Jesus Jewish movement by the thousands,
and that threatened to change the slowly dripping
status quo in
Roman-Jewish relationships, putting into grave danger the otherwise comfortable
political climate achieved between Jewish leadership and the Roman authorities.
The Roman Empire-wide Gentile Jewish Jesus movement was politically unacceptable
to both the Roman gover nment and the Jewish leadership that lived under its
firm, but more or less benevolent, reign. Both opponents hated it for the same
reason - it was bound to change the
status quo.
As you continue to place yourself, through the medium of God given human
imagination, into the shoes of the first century Roman followers of Jesus, you
can now see that both Jewish and Roman opposition would pose some real
challenges to your faith and practice. The close connection with Israel and the
Jews in Rome, unlike in Galatia, simply did not make sense. “It was wildly
counter-intuitive and fully unproductive”, thought the Roman Christ-followers.
Apostle Paul, however, sought to advocate for his people according to the flesh
(Israel/Jews) and convince the Roman Christ-followers that, in spite of
governmental opposition to the Jews in general, and in spite of Jewish
leadership that was able to influence the majority of other Jews in opposition
to the Messiahship of Jesus, their participation in this spiritual “Jewish
coalition” was very well justified.
Next article
Next time we will explore the idea of "who is real Jew according to Paul"?
Here is a snippet from the next article:
"The upshot of this quote (Rom. 2:25-29) is quite simple: A
true Jew,
according to Apostle Paul,
is one who has both the circumcision of the
flesh and the circumcision of the heart - not of the flesh only and conversely
not of the heart only! A member of the Nations, if obedient to all the Torah
requirements for non-Israelites, is considered as righteous before God. Why is
it important not to claim that, in Christ, “Gentiles become spiritual Jews”?
Simply because this is not what happens - the Nations in Christ become
circumcised in the heart. They become spiritual Nations who worship Israel’s God
along with the Jews! This is a high calling indeed. There is non that can be
higher."
To consider ordering books by Dr. Eli, click
HERE.
To express interest in Nov. 2016 tour in Israel with Dr. Eli, click
HERE.
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