UBCNews - Business - What Christmas Doesn’t Tell You About the World When Jesus Was Born

Episode Date: January 6, 2026

You know, every Christmas we hear about peace on earth, goodwill toward men. We see nativity scenes with this calm, quiet stable. But have you ever stopped to wonder what the world was actually like when Jesus was born? Wordsmith World City: Big Spring Address: Texas Website: https://bettyjohansen.com/

You know, every Christmas we hear about peace on earth, goodwill toward men. We see nativity scenes with this calm, quiet stable. But have you ever stopped to wonder what the world was actually like when Jesus was born? Right, and that's the thing most people don't realize. The world Jesus entered was anything but peaceful. We're talking about Roman military occupation, political violence, a paranoid tyrant on the throne. It was chaos. So let's paint that picture.

What was happening politically in first century Judea? Well, Rome had captured Jerusalem back in 63 BC under General Pompey. By the time Jesus was born, the so-called Pax Romana, the Roman peace, was really just propaganda. They maintained order through overwhelming military force and brutal suppression. Crucifixion was a common threat for anyone who challenged Roman authority. Mm-hmm, I see. And the taxes, right? I mean people were being squeezed financially. Absolutely. Heavy and oppressive taxation caused financial destitution in brigandry.

Roman soldiers and governors like Pontius Pilate were everywhere, and their presence only made tensions worse among the Jewish population. And then there's Herod the Great. That name sounds impressive, but the reality was pretty dark, wasn't it? Dark is putting it mildly. Herod was a paranoid tyrant who murdered several of his own family members. He killed his favorite wife, Mariamni, and three of his sons, Alexander, Aristobulus, and Antipater, because he feared plots against his throne.

The Roman Emperor Augustus even quipped that it was better to be Herod's pig than his son, since Herod wouldn't eat pork but had no problem killing his children. That's chilling. And, uh, this is the guy ruling when Jesus was born. Exactly. When foreign dignitaries showed up asking about a newborn king of the Jews, Matthew's Gospel tells us Herod ordered the killing of baby boys in Bethlehem. While secular historical sources don't record this event,

many scholars see it as consistent with Herod's known brutal character and willingness to commit terrible crimes to secure his throne. So we've got Rome occupying the land, a murderous king on the throne. What about the Jewish people themselves? Were they unified and how they responded to all this? Not at all. The Jewish people were deeply fractured. You had the Pharisees, Sadduceans, Zealots, and Herodians, all with different approaches.

The zealots were militant Jews who advocated armed resistance against Rome, believing God alone was their king. The Sadducees collaborated with Rome to maintain their wealth. The Ascens withdrew to the desert. Everyone had a different survival strategy. And people were looking for a Messiah, right? What were those expectations like? Messianic expectations were sky high. People were looking for a warrior king from the line of David who would liberate Israel from foreign rule and overthrow Rome. Some expected a priestly Messiah or a prophet,

but the common thread was this hope for someone who would restore Israel's sovereignty through military victory. Right, makes sense. And there were actual revolts happening, weren't there? Oh, definitely. In 4 BCE, a messianic revolt erupted in Judea. It was brutally crushed by Publius Quintilius Verus, who crucified 2,000 Jewish rebels. Later, Governor Jesius Flores ruled so unfairly and accepted so many bribes that he sparked the first Jewish Roman war. During that war, Roman soldiers killed around 4,000 Jews at the siege of Jotapata in 67 CE, and eventually destroyed the temple in Jerusalem in 70 AD. That point about Warrior King expectations sets up our next people.

What Jesus's birth amid all this chaos reveals about his mission. But first, a quick word from our sponsor. If you're looking to dig deeper into the historical and spiritual layers of your faith, check out Wordsmith World. It's the online platform of Betty Johansson, where Christian Insight meets engaging storytelling. You'll find thoughtful blogs on faith topics and clean, wholesome, cozy mystery novels without explicit content or gore. visit her work at the link in the description. Picking up on those warrior king expectations,

when Jesus finally began his public ministry, he didn't meet those expectations, did he? He disappointed almost everyone. He didn't rally an army. He didn't overthrow Rome. Instead, he talked about loving enemies, turning the other cheek, forgiving 70 times seven.

He welcomed tax collectors like Matthew and revolutionaries like Simon the zealot into the same inner circle. When people tried to make him king by force, he withdrew. So why would God choose that moment to send Jesus? Why not wait for a golden age of stability? That's the profound question. I think it reveals something essential about the kind of peace Jesus came to bring.

He didn't come to fix the externals first. He came to bring a peace that exists despite external chaos, a peace that Roman legions can't give, and paranoid kings can't take away. or to put it another way, Jesus brought a peace that doesn't depend on political stability or favorable circumstances. That's powerful.

So to everyone listening, think about this. What does it mean that God chose to send Jesus when people were in impossible situations? It means the people who most need saving are those in impossible situations. I remember years ago reading about the early church under Nero's persecution, and it struck me how they thrive spiritually

during the worst external conditions. That's when God shows up most clearly. He didn't wait for a golden age. He came in the middle of the storm. And his kingdom operates by completely different rules, doesn't it? Completely different. Rome conquered through military might. Herod ruled through fear,

but Jesus came as a baby, the ultimate picture of vulnerability. I mean, if you wanted to design a less impressive, entrance into history, you'd have a hard time. The angels announced his arrival to shepherds, not senators. He grew up in obscurity and launched his kingdom through sacrifice, not conquest, through dying, not killing. So what does this mean for us today? We're living in a time of political instability and anxiety ourselves. Have you ever felt like the world needs to be fixed before you can really live out your faith? It means God's kingdom doesn't depend on favorable political

The peace Jesus offers isn't the absence of conflict. It's the presence of God in the middle of conflict. We don't have to wait for political stability before we can experience or demonstrate the peace of Christ. We don't have to have power before we can be faithful. That really challenges the idea that we need to fix everything externally first. Right. Jesus was born under Roman occupation, fled a genocidal king, and grew up in a powder keg

of religious and nationalist tensions, and he brought peace anyway, his kingdom exists alongside and outlasts all earthly kingdoms. That promise is still true for us. So when the angels announced peace on earth, they weren't describing the immediate situation. They were making a promise. Exactly.

A declaration that God's peace would invade the world's chaos, that his kingdom would take root in hostile soil, and no amount of political instability could stop what he came to do, that peace doesn't depend on. on external circumstances, it depends on him. In what ways are you waiting for external circumstances to stabilize before you experience God's peace? What if his peace is meant to sustain you

during the instability? That's the question we're left with today. Thanks for joining us.