Occasionally the Romans conducted a census of their subject lands to determine the taxable resources of these peoples. The Zealots had a different view of serving God (1). Though on occasion they became the object of brutal repression for their stubborn refusal to accept any of the pagan practices of the emperor, they seem to have been reluctant to use violence to advance their cause (at least until after Jesus' time). The Pharisees, passionately devoted to God, were apparently content to condemn idolatry and strive to separate themselves from all religious contamination. The Roman masters of Jesus' time were less oppressive, but the lack of status of a free nation and the frequent conflict over the pagan values of these foreigners led people to remember the heroes of the past whose trust in God and readiness with the sword had become God's instruments of deliverance. Only 150 years earlier, the deeply religious supporters of the Hasmonaeans (Maccabees) called the Hasidim (meaning "pious ones") had gladly taken up swords against the pagan oppression of the Seleucid Greeks to defend their right to worship God. The history of impassioned defense of freedom and the right to serve God alone was vivid in the collective memory of the people of Jesus' day.
0 kommentar(er)
