Person of Interest: Why Jesus Still Matters in a World that Rejects the Bible

by J. Warner Wallace

They made an exception for the Jewish community, however. The Romans conquered Judea in 63 BCE but later allowed the Jews to retain their monotheism, recognizing Judaism as a legal religion. The Romans allowed the Jews to coexist among the conquered people groups, even though they would not worship the Roman gods. Rome tolerated Judaism, even if it didn’t trust it. In the earliest days of Christianity, Rome did little or nothing to stop its growth, in part because Roman authorities initially saw Christianity as simply a branch of Judaism, partly because of Roman tolerance for local gods in general, and partly because the Christian community was still relatively small. As Christianity grew in the first two decades, Rome may also have tolerated the sect because they hoped it would weaken Judaism.13 In any case, a thirty-year window of opportunity opened to spread the message of Jesus (prior to Emperor Nero’s maltreatment of Christians in 64 CE).14 And even though some Roman emperors in the years ahead would persecute Christians, others returned to a version of Roman tolerance, allowing Christianity to flourish in every region under Rome’s control.