What was it like living in Jesus' time?

Answer 1

The times were very hard for the people of Israel. There was the Roman occupation, which means that there were foreign soldiers in control of the country. They stole, raped, and terrorized the people. The rulers were Roman appointed which meant that you did not get justice because the rulers did not care about your people or your country. Taxes were very high and the collectors were brutal about collecting it.

Life under the Roman occupation meant that everything but religion was controlled by foreign people. This says that they didn't understand your culture or your religious obligations. Romans worshiped many gods and the Jewish God was just another one to add to the list which was very long. Caesar was even a god, and this made for much conflict in the population.

People like Caiphas were high priests, but they were political appointees. This is like having your preacher be appointed by the government. He might know about your denomination, but his heart was not in it. He was in it for the status, not the religion. High priests were appointed, not anointed by God. They served for a short time, then were replaced by another appointee. So the priestly system was controlled by the Romans. The religious system of justice was twisted by these men to suit the Roman occupiers. While the system was still in place, it was not what God had commanded.

As far as the general population's lives, it continued pretty much as it always had. People raised families, went to synagogue (church), farmed, traded, and traveled. Some things were seriously monitored like travel, but all in all, people adjust to the way life is. They prayed for Messiah and most seriously wanted Him to come to free them, but in the mean time...they just lived.

There were a few extremist groups during this time, most notably the Zealots. These people were radicals who actively fought to oust the Romans. They tried and tried to overcome the Romans but were unsuccessful. Josephus the historian was a former Zealot who participated in a campaign to overcome the Romans. He became a turncoat and went to Rome to avoid being ostracized in his own country. While in Rome, he wrote a history of the Jews..a very important document about the times.

The Messiah was Promised, but in all the times of the Jews, had never come. Over the centuries, many men had helped save the nation, but never the one Messiah who would bring lasting peace. In fact, the last messiah to save the people had been Judah Maccabee about 400 years before Jesus. But when he saved the country from paganism, he then turned to politics and his family became political not religious in later years. (See the link.)

The reason that Jesus was not accepted by all the people as Messiah was that He did not free the country, just souls. There is a big difference between eternal salvation and physical freedom. The Christians were still in bondage, but their souls were free. After centuries of bondage, the people couldn't really understand the difference so Jesus' life, death, and resurrection wasn't "real" to the general population at the time. They wanted the freedom promised in Zachariah 14 now, not at some future date. Jesus didn't do that...He saved people for eternity.

Answer 2

Living in Jesus' time was characterized by a predominantly agrarian society, with most people living as farmers or fishermen. Religion played a central role in daily life, and society was heavily influenced by Roman occupation and Jewish religious practices. People faced various challenges such as poverty, disease, and political unrest.