Jesus's Peaceful Resistance to Rome Based on Genesis 1

The Bible and Beyond

An Interview with John Dominic Crossan

John Dominic Crossan draws on his own Irish life experiences to create an image of Jesus living in an empire dominating the Jewish world of Jesus. The Roman Empire might have been perceived as “the world of civilization,” accomplishing great power and wealth. But this success came at the expense of its conquered nations. Jesus’s nonviolent opposition to Rome originated in his perception of Sabbath creation of Genesis 1, in other words, the divine means of distributive justice.