The Jews Make a Choice

3. Who was trying to maintain international peace and security in Jesus’ day, and why could this never succeed completely?

³ In Jesus’ day, the Roman Empire ruled much of the earth and had its own ideas about peace and security. It had, by means of its legions, enforced the Pax Romana (Roman Peace) throughout much of the known world. But the Pax Romana could never be a permanent peace, because pagan Rome and its legions could never bring about a reconciliation between man and God. Hence, the Kingdom that Jesus announced was far superior.

4. How did most Jews react to Jesus’ preaching? Nevertheless, what gradually developed in the first century?

⁴ Nevertheless, the majority of Jesus’ fellow countrymen rejected God’s Kingdom. (John 1:11; 7:47, 48; 9:22) Their rulers, viewing Jesus as a threat to national security, handed him over to be executed, insisting: “We have no king but Caesar.” (John 11:48; 19:14, 15) Some Jews, however, and later many Gentiles, gladly recognized Jesus as God’s chosen King. (Colossians 1:13-20) They preached about him in many lands, and Jerusalem became the center of an international association of Christians.​—Acts 15:2; 1 Peter 5:9.

5, 6. (a) How did the relationship between the Jews and Rome develop? (b) What warning did Jesus give, and how did it save the lives of Christians in 70 C.E.?

⁵ Despite the fact that the Jews had chosen Caesar over Christ, relations between Jerusalem and Rome soon deteriorated. Jewish Zealots conducted guerrilla campaigns against the empire until finally, in 66 C.E., open warfare erupted. Roman troops tried to restore Pax Romana, and soon Jerusalem was under siege. For Christians this was significant. Many years before, Jesus had warned: “When you see Jerusalem surrounded by encamped armies, then know that the desolating of her has drawn near. Then let those in Judea begin fleeing to the mountains, and let those in the midst of her withdraw.” (Luke 21:20, 21) Jerusalem was now surrounded, and the Christians waited for an opportunity to flee.

⁶ This came quickly. The Romans were undermining the temple wall, and many Jews were ready to surrender when the Roman commander, Cestius Gallus, unexpectedly withdrew his troops and left. The Zealots seized the opportunity to reorganize their defenses, but the Christians abandoned the doomed city. In 70 C.E., Roman legions were back, encamped around the walls of Jerusalem, and this time the city perished.

In Matthew the besieging troops are described as “the disgusting thing that causes desolation, as spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in a holy place.” (Matthew 24:15) In Mark’s account “the disgusting thing” stands “where it ought not.” (Mark 13:14) Matthew’s account says that “the disgusting thing” was also mentioned in the book of Daniel. In fact, the expression “disgusting thing” appears three times in that book: once (in the plural) in Daniel 9:27 where it is part of a prophecy fulfilled when Jerusalem was destroyed in 70 C.E., and then, in Daniel 11:31 and Daniel 12:11.

Flee to the Mountains

18. What should meekhearted ones do when they discern that “the disgusting thing” is in place?

¹⁸ In the first century, after “the disgusting thing” appeared, Christians had the opportunity to flee. Jesus counseled them to do so instantly because they did not know how long that opportunity would last. (Mark 13:15, 16)

19, 20. (a) What did first-century Christians do when they saw Jerusalem surrounded by Roman armies? (b) What is represented today by “the mountains,” and what should prompt meekhearted ones today to flee there?

¹⁹ Luke’s gospel warned Christians of his day to flee when they saw “Jerusalem surrounded by encamped armies.” As already noted, those armies came in 66 C.E., and the opportunity to flee arose that same year when Cestius Gallus withdrew his troops. After the Christians fled, war continued between the Jews and the Romans​—although not around Jerusalem. Vespasian was sent by Emperor Nero to Palestine, and successful campaigns were conducted there in 67 and 68. Then Nero died, and Vespasian got involved in the Imperial succession. But after he was made emperor in 69 C.E., he sent his son Titus to finish the Judean war. In 70 C.E., Jerusalem was destroyed.