Remember, in scripture, these are real people in real places in real situations at real
times. Historical context roots us in the historical setting of the day. It allows us to understand what’s going on in the world and why certain events are important.
Bible writers rarely provide us with lots of details. Usually, they simply make brief references expecting their audience to know the larger historical setting. While the political dimension of life could easily be placed within the cultural or even geographical lens, most of us naturally associate politics with history. Knowing who’s in charge, how they got there, and the details and circumstances surrounding their rule or reign is hugely important.
For example, when Luke, a biographer on Jesus’s life, begins talking about the circumstances surrounding Jesus’s birth, he opens with, “In the days of Caesar Augustus” (Luke 2:1).
Thus, when Luke mentions “Caesar Augustus,” he expects his audience to be intimately aware of the rise of the Roman Empire and its shift from a democracy to a dictator, the first of which was Caesar Augustus. Rome was sweeping up the known world with a power and vengeance virtually unseen in world history. Furthermore, it was proclaiming that their head, Caesar Augustus, was a “divine son of god,” who had a “gospel (good news) of peace” known as the Pax Romana for the “salvation of humanity” through the “remission of sins.” Sound familiar? When Jesus is birthed onto the scene, there will be a clash of kingdoms. And all Luke has to write is, “In the days of Caesar Augustus.”
Therefore, when reading scripture we need to ask ourselves some questions:
- What time period are we dealing with?
- What’s happening on the world stage?
- What’s happening at a regional level?
- What’s happening at the particular location of this story?
- What’s happened in the past that’s informing these present events?