Was Jerusalem (ie all of Israel?) under Roman occupation during the time of Christ?
We know that Miracles happen when the world is in dire situations. Ceratinly, the story of Christ is no acception
Thanks
PS- Scriptural Evidence is preferred, yet a common fact will do
The Romans occupied Israel during Jesus time on the earth. Just after Jesus resurrection of Lazarus and days before Jesus death, the religious leaders gathered at the Sanhedrin, saying: "What are we to do, because this man performs many signs? If we let him alone this way, they will all put faith in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.”(John 11:47, 48) Prior to Rome's control of the land of Israel, Greece had jurisdiction.
At Daniel 2, King Nebuchadnezzar had a dream of an "immense image" of a man, in which different body parts each represented world empires that directly affected God's people, who at the time, was the nation of fleshly Israel. It started with ancient Babylon as the "head of gold" in 617 B.C.E till 539 B.C.E, then next Medo-Persia as the "breast and arms of silver" for the next two hundred years, followed by Greece as the "belly and thighs of copper" in 331 B.C.E., and the Roman Empire as "the legs of iron in 30 B.C.E.", when the last of these four kingdoms—the Ptolemaic dynasty ruling in Egypt—finally fell to Rome.(Dan 2:32, 33)
At Matthew 8:5, it says that "when he (Jesus) entered into Ca·per´na·um, an army officer (Or, “centurion,” Greek,
ken·ty·ri´on, that is, one in command of 100 soldiers. Latin,
cen·tu´ri·o) came to him, entreating him." Pontius Pilate was the Roman governor of Judea (26 C.E. to 36 C.E.) at the time of Jesus death, with Jesus appearing before him.(Matt 27:11; Luke 23:1; John 18:28-38)
He resided at the palace built by Herod the Great. The palace of Herod at Jerusalem was situated in the northwest corner of the upper city, that is, of the southern part of the city. According to Josephus’ description, it was surrounded by a 30-cubit-high (13 m; 44 ft) wall equipped with evenly spaced towers. Within the walls there were porticoes, courts, and groves of trees. The rooms were luxuriously furnished with gold, silver, and marble objects. There were bedchambers for a hundred guests.(
Jewish Antiquities, XV, 318 [ix, 3];
The Jewish War, V, 173-182 [iv, 4] )
The Jews always felt a loathing toward the Roman government, and especially these having put a governor over them, along with a garrison of soldiers there in Jerusalem. Their animosity toward the Romans eventually led to rebellion. From 61 C.E. to 66 C.E., conditions in Jerusalem steadily deteriorated. Finally, in 66 C.E., the corrupt Roman Governor Florus seizes 17 talents in “tax arrears” from the sacred temple treasury. The Jews are incensed and rise up in revolt. Jewish rebels, or Zealots, swarm into Jerusalem and slaughter the Roman forces there. They then boldly declare Judea to be independent of Rome. Judea and Rome are now at war !
Within three months, the Roman governor of Syria, Cestius Gallus, marches south with 30,000 troops to suppress the Jewish rebellion. His army arrives at Jerusalem during the Festival of Booths and quickly penetrates the suburbs. The outnumbered Zealots seek refuge inside the temple fortress. Roman soldiers soon begin to undermine the temple wall. The Jews are horrified. Why, pagan soldiers are now defiling Judaism’s holiest site! The Christians in the city, though, recall Jesus’ words: ‘When you catch sight of the disgusting thing standing in a holy place, then let those in Judea begin fleeing to the mountains.’ (Matthew 24:15, 16)
Suddenly and for no apparent reason, Cestius Gallus withdraws his troops and retreats toward the coast with the Zealots in hot pursuit. Within months, a new Roman army is on the move. During 67 C.E., General Vespasian and his son Titus mobilize a vast force of 60,000 troops. For the next two years, this military juggernaut advances toward Jerusalem, crushing all resistance in its path. Meanwhile, inside Jerusalem, rival Jewish factions engage in vicious struggles. The city grain reserves are destroyed, the area surrounding the temple is leveled, and more than 20,000 Jews are killed. Vespasian delays his advance toward Jerusalem, declaring: ‘God acts as a Roman general better than I can do; our enemies are destroying one another with their own hands.’
When Roman Emperor Nero dies, Vespasian departs for Rome to secure the throne, leaving Titus to finish the Judean campaign. Titus advances on Jerusalem near Passover 70 C.E., trapping the residents and pilgrims inside the city. His forces strip the Judean countryside of trees to build a 4.5-mile-long [7 km] wall of pointed stakes around the beleaguered capital. This is just as Jesus foretold: “Your enemies will build around you a fortification with pointed stakes and will encircle you and distress you from every side.”(Luke 19:43)
Famine soon grips the city. Armed mobs plunder the homes of the dead and the dying. At least one desperate woman kills and eats her infant child, fulfilling the prediction: “You will have to eat the fruit of your belly, the flesh of your sons and your daughters . . . because of the tightness and stress with which your enemy will hem you in.”(Deuteronomy 28:53-57)
Finally, after a siege lasting five months, Jerusalem falls. The city and its grand temple are plundered and burned and then torn apart stone by stone. (Daniel 9:26) The dead total some 1,100,000; another 97,000 are sold into slavery. (Deuteronomy 28:68) Judea is virtually emptied of Jews. Truly, it is a national disaster without parallel, a watershed in Jewish political, religious, and cultural life.
