grew within the Roman Empire only to undermine it. But in the process, most
of Christianity itself became routinized and rationalized to the point where
the historical context of its messianic roots have become unrecognizable and
the original rebellious message has become inverted. Whereas the prophets
Moses and Jesus stood in opposition to power, they have come to be used
as legitimations of power.
Conclusion
In order to understand ancient Judaism and early Christianity, one needs to
place their emergence within historical context. One can only understand the
history of the ancient Jews when one looks at their relation to political power.
If the ancient Jews were, for a time, a people in slavery, then the exodus was
the consequence of a slave revolt. Yet the Promised Land, the land of milk
and honey, could only be secured through military conquest. The height of
the messianic ideal is that of David because he was king of a united Monarchy –
the height of power. The prophets did not have any problem with a Monarchy,
as long as it did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, and was their own.
The division of the monarchy and the subsequent conquest of the two king-
doms by the Assyrians and Babylonians represent a fall from power. After
the return out of the Babylonian exile, the Jerusalem priests established a
puppet theocracy under the Persians. The Greeks and the Romans tolerated
it. For a far greater period than it was independent and autonomous, Judea
was an occupied colony. However, it was subject to repeated revolts – most
notably the Maccabeean and the Zealot. The belief in the Messiah was a desire
for a return to an autonomous kingdom.
The central beliefs of both Judaism and Christianity arose in response to
concrete historical circumstances. The belief in freedom was a response to the
condition of slavery. The belief in the Messiah expressed the collective desire
of a political independence. The belief in equality before God was a response
to the condition of inequality on earth.
It is an irony that, for people who were opposed to slavery, who had a
belief in freedom, in equality before God and a hostility toward those in
wealth and power, the only way they could obtain their autonomy was mil-
itarily, through violence. Joshua, David, and Judas Maccabee killed innocent
civilians en mass and engaged in plunder. Solomon used forced labor to build
the temple. The paradox is that only when the military leaders of the Jews
Ancient Judaism and Early Christianity • 221