Dr Paul Allen

Duccio di Buoninsegna - Christ Accused by the Pharisees - WGA06801 (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) The Sadducees and Pharisees were no dummies. They just weren’t as smart as their enemy. As we read through the gospel accounts, it seems their strategy was simple: they would put an end to Jesus by forcing Him to destroy Himself.  They would silence Him by forcing Him to put His own foot in His own mouth. They posed trick questions: Should we pay taxes to Caesar ? At the resurrection, who will be the husband of a woman who went through six levirate husbands after her first husband? In the first instance, they wanted Jesus to run afoul of the Romans; in the second, to run afoul of His own people. In both instances, Jesus escaped the trap. He who is the Word, who spoke the world into existence, is never at a loss. It may well be that the most challenging question Jesus received, however, came neither from the Sadducees nor the Pharisees but from Pontius Pilate . Having been de...

English: Bust of Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Octavius, first Roman Emperor. 27 BC - 14 AD, Marble. cm 42 From Rome, Via Merulana Capitoline Museum, Rome. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) On the outskirts of ancient Rome stands what remains of the villa owned by Livia Drusilla , wife to Caesar Augustus , Rome's first and greatest Emperor . Though the villa was discovered and explored as far back as the 16th century, serious excavations did not begin until the 1860's. In 1863 these excavations uncovered a remarkable work of art, the statue that would come to be known as Augustus of Prima Porta . Livia kept this marble statue of her husband, itself a copy of a bronze commissioned in 20 B.C. to celebrate Augustus' great triumph over the Parthians. This statue is the first of the twenty-five objects through which we will explore the history of Christianity. Born Gaius Octavius, Augustus was the great-nephew and eventual heir of Julius Caesar . Following his uncle’s murder, Aug...

English: Modern bronze statue of Julius Caesar, Rimini, Italy. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God , and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves (Rom. 13:2). “Must Caesar always be obeyed?” Paul argues that such submission is appropriate for everyone, but especially for Christians , because all human authorities are established by God, and to disobey them is, at least in a sense, to rebel against God and risk His judgment. However, we are all aware that power tends to corrupt, so that the men and women who form our governments sometimes act in very ungodly ways. What then? Are there no conditions under which rebellion against the existing authority is justified? Or demanded? Suppose the state is tyrannical. Suppose it is violating human rights . And what about obedience itself? Must obedience be absolute, or are there limits? Can we obey in some areas and not others?” These are not easy questions to answer. P...

Dispute of Jesus and the Pharisees over tribute money (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Matthew 22:15–22 “‘Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.’ When they heard it, they marveled. And they left him and went away” ( vv. 21–22 ). Pompey, a famous general during the last years of the Roman republic , brought the territory of Palestine under Rome ’s control in 63 b.c. when his support allowed one side in a Jewish civil war to gain victory. From that point on, Israel ceased to be an independent kingdom and was ruled by client kings — like Herod the Great — who were loyal to the caesar. In 6 a.d., Rome began to rule directly that part of Palestine known as Judea through governors, or procurators. With this rule came also a yearly poll tax of one denarius, the normal daily wage, which was levied on every adult from puberty to age sixty-five. Most Jews loathed the poll tax because it symbolized Rome’s control of Judea. This background sets t...