How does a society lose its freedom? History can help us with this answer. We will look at the Bible and the process by which the nation of Israel lost its independence to the Roman Empire. It happened in only one generation. The Jewish population did not always agree in their response to foreign rule. Internal divisions and power struggles among various Jewish factions weakened their ability to present a unified resistance to Roman authority. Flavius Josephus, a Jewish historian who lived during the first century AD, provided detailed accounts of the Jewish-Roman War (66-73 AD) and the subsequent fall of Jerusalem and the Jewish state in his works “The Jewish War” and “Antiquities of the Jews.” While his writings are not unbiased and are influenced by his own experiences and perspectives, they do offer insights into the factors he believed contributed to the fall of Israel. Josephus is quick to point out that there were deep divisions within Jewish society during that time. Factions and power struggles among various Jewish groups, including religious sects like the Pharisees, Sadducees, and Zealots, weakened the ability of the Jewish population to present a united front against Roman forces.
First, one must understand who the Pharisees and Sadducees were. The Pharisees and Sadducees were the religious leaders of the Jewish people during Jesus’ day. Most of the Jewish people at that time, believed their religion should control almost every part of their lives. Therefore, the Pharisees and Sadducees each held a lot of power and influence. Their reach not only covered the practices of faith, but also their finances, their work habits, their family lives, and more. The Pharisees and Sadducees were not priests. They held appointed positions empowering them to be “experts in the law.” Their influence went beyond the Scriptures themselves. They were also experts on what it meant to interpret the laws of the Old Testament. Because it was their business to interpret human-made laws, they created hundreds of extra instructions and stipulations based on their interpretations of God’s Laws. Of course, both groups didn’t always agree on how the Scriptures should be interpreted. If we were to compare them to part of today’s society, they would be considered part of the unelected bureaucracy within a nation! Jesus did not have a high opinion of this group.
(Matthew 12:34-37)1NIV New International Version Translations – “You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of. A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. But I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.”
Keep in mind that Josephus is writing 70 or more years after Jesus was crucified. He is writing history. Josephus describes social and economic tensions within Jerusalem and the broader Jewish community, the kind that existed when Jesus was alive. Economic disparities, class conflicts, and disputes over critical resources contributed to internal strife and weakened the Jewish response to the Roman threat. Josephus acknowledges the military superiority of the Roman forces. The well-disciplined and organized Roman legions, along with their siege warfare techniques, posed a significant threat to the Jewish nation. Factions and power struggles also included those called Zealots, who instigated revolts and uprisings, contributing to the overall chaos. Most resistance had been launched prematurely or without sufficient coordination, resulting in Roman suppression and harsh consequences for the Jewish population. Tensions between the Jewish population and Roman authorities had been simmering for years. Josephus documents instances of resistance to Roman rule, including protests against Roman practices and taxes, which escalated over time and contributed to a climate of hostility.
(Luke 19:41-44) – “As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it and said, ‘If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes. The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God’s coming to you.’”
Jesus is recorded to have wept only two times in the New Testament. Once over the death of His friend Lazarus and the other over Jesus’s prophetic images of the destruction of Jerusalem by Titus years after His death (See Titus’ Siege of Jerusalem). The Roman siege of Jerusalem, which began in 70 AD, caused intense suffering for the population due to food shortages, infighting, and the destruction of vital infrastructure. The Second Temple in Jerusalem was also destroyed.
To draw a comparison to today’s chaotic political climate, there are approximately 23.7 million full-time and part-time employees of our nation’s government. There are about 258.3 million adult citizens. That is one unelected bureaucrat for every 11 of us.
- 4.0 million federal employees, of whom 8% (excluding armed forces) work part-time;
- 5 million state employees, of whom 29% work part-time; and
- 2 million local government employees, of whom 23% work part-time.
The vast majority have not been elected by the citizens. Their purpose is to monitor citizens and assure compliance with our growing number of executive orders and rules. Many have the power to convict anyone of numerous breaches of the “bureaucratic law.” The U.S. Federal Register2https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Register, which holds and documents our own rules, and houses all Washington regulations (34,000 pages), weighs more than 340 pounds. The changes are published daily and they are voluminous! Jesus, if arrested today, would still never have a chance at fair treatment. It is this dark bureaucratic world that weighs heavily on freedom, and most don’t even know it exists.
Today’s Problem Defined
The United Nations commits industrialized countries and economies to accept climate change as a fact. Not all member nations have responded to this commitment. Our nation has. The idea of “sustainable development” is now firmly adopted at the Federal and State levels. What does this mean? Belief drives behavior! Unfortunately, some lazy legislators enact laws but then do little else. If we want to understand the power of the unelected bureaucracy, understand that when our representatives relinquish their “rule-making authority” to bureaus and agencies, our nation loses its freedom. It is the unelected bureaucracy, the Pharisees, and Sadducees of modern times, who superimpose statutory authority over our society. They have no legitimate role other than to advise and never should override the will of the people’s representatives. That is why changing leaders seems to do very little for the people. The power is in the bureaucracy and there is rarely any accountability! The same was true in Jesus’ time.
Nothing could be more critical than Godly leadership and an accountable government to maintain a free nation. Our Bible history tells us this. God gives us a simple plan, written on a small stone, a covenant of redemption, grace, and forgiveness. Staying free requires us to be repentant and seek Him. Jesus called it correctly, beware of the brood of vipers that lurks about.
Contemplations
- Are you concerned about your freedom and the freedom of your family?
- Ideas to Explore: Freedom is never free and lost, one small chip at a time. Where do you see the chips?
- Where would you reduce the size of the “bureaucracy?”
- Ideas to Explore: Courts, property rights, education, taxes, immigration, etc.?
- What are your plans to gird up this nation?
- Ideas to Explore: Know who you are voting for, change where your news comes from, and fight the attack on our children.
- Where is the greatest abuse of the “bureaucracy coming from today?”
- Ideas to Explore: Can one political party simply keep the other party in court? How will civil discourse occur under the present threats to individual rights and freedoms?
- 1NIV New International Version Translations
- 2https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Register