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The roman authorities should have been aware of the existence of a supposed Messiah for the jews


Oh yes your right, Pilate and Herod were made aware of Jesus and the fact that some called Him the king of the Jews.

Pilate (the Roman official who reluctantly ordered the execution) was certainly not aware of Jesus untill the Jews delivered Him. Pilate was not the least concerned with the "King of the Jews", as a matter of fact he thought it was a big joke, it was Pilate who ordered that the sign "King of the Jews" was placed above His head during His crucifixtion.

That is why Jesus was given a purple robe and a crown of thorns, like a royal robe and royal crown, because Pilate thought it was a big joke. They never thought Jesus was a threat to Roman military might. The Jews would have been squashed very quickly had there been an actual uprising.

Any important Roman official thought nothing Jesus of Nazareth, and that He was only a joke, they certainly did not take Him seriously or see Him as a threat. You should also remember that Jesus was born in a stable and was a carpenter's son, nobody thought He would amount to anything. He made friends with prostitutes, fishermen, tax collectors, lepers, and poor people. Why would anyone care about such a man? His followers were some of the most depraved in all of society. The Bible says that he was not even a particularly good looking guy, who really didnt think much of traditional Jewish religion. He had nothing to measure him high on society's scales.

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but I dont think they were used to people turning water into wine , walking on the water or multiplying fishes and breads


Herod, another Roman official, had heard about the miracles, and when he had Jesus in custody mocked Him and demanded that He do "a miracle". Jesus of course said nothing to him, and was not going to use the power of God to entertain Herod so Herod laughed at him and kicked him out.

There are miracles occuring today yet they are ignored and laughed at by the masses, historians, and leaders, why would you think that miracles in the time of Christ would be treated any different?

So you see the Roman officials in that small part of the Roman Empire had heard of Jesus, but he was just a joke to them, with a relatively small following. The Romans only cared about stability, and making sure their empire was stable. If the Jews presented no problems, then they were ignored mainly and allowed to do what they wanted.

You also must remember that the Roman Empire was huge, therefore what was happening in Palestine was of no major consequence. Historians of the time were more concerned with wars and Ceasar..much like they are today...

Last edited by NITRO777; 07/27/07 20:38.