Bishop Arthur J. Serratelli

The Berlin Museum houses two stone tablets found in the marketplace in the ancient Greek city of Priene (present day Western Turkey). The inscription on these tablets reads: “The birthday of the god Augustus was the beginning of the good tidings for the world that came by reason of him. From his birth, a new reckoning of time must begin.” The 19th century discovery of this inscription unlocks the political implications of Jesus’ humble birth in Bethlehem.

The Priene stone inscription is actually a decree issued by Rome in 9 B.C. It ordered a new calendar for the Roman Empire. According to the decree, the New Year was to begin on Sept. 23, the birthday of Augustus Caesar. The reason given: his birth is “glad tidings.”

For the words “glad tidings,” the decree actually uses the Koine Greek term εὐαγγέλιον (gospel). Coming just a few years before the birth of Jesus, this inscription gives evidence that the word “gospel” was a political term in the Roman Empire. It signified the good news (gospel) that the reigning emperor had brought an end to war and had ushered in peace for all those who submitted to him. Thus, the Priene inscription was proclaiming the known ruler of the Roman world as the one able to guarantee his subjects’ freedom from destruction. On his good will depended the future of his subjects.

It is against this background that Luke records the birth of Jesus. It is not enough for him to tell us that he was born in Beth­lehem of Judea as foretold by the Hebrew prophet Micah 5:1-2. No! He widens our view and situates the birth of Jesus in its historical context of the Roman Empire. Jesus is born at the very moment when Caesar Augustus issues his order for a census of the whole world (Lk 2:1).

Augustus reigns supreme in Rome, surrounded by luxury. While he is displaying his power by numbering all the people of his realm, Jesus quietly enters the world in a manger in a far off corner of the Roman Empire. He comes to establish a kingdom wider than any earthly ruler. The Romans venerated Augustus as a god. But he was man. But, Jesus, who took on our human nature, was truly God. Augustus ushered in a temporal peace that would not last. But, Jesus “is our peace, he who made both one and broke down the dividing wall of enmity” (Eph 2:14). He reconciles us to one another and to God. His peace lasts forever.

In Luke’s gospel, an angel appears to the shepherds beneath the midnight skies. The angel says to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For today in the city of David a savior has been born for you who is Messiah and Lord” (Lk 2:11-12). In the Greek text, the angel’s words “I proclaim to you good news” can rightly be translated “I bring the gospel.” Jesus’ birth, not Augustus’, is the good news not just for the citizens of Rome or the people of Judea but for all people of all places and times.

Thus, in his infancy narrative, Luke does more than just announce the birth of the Savior of the world, Luke uses the very same extravagant language used in the Priene inscription to honor the Roman Emperor. He is making a political statement about the real nature of power. He is offering the humble, helpless child wrapped in swaddling clothes as the antithesis of the Emperor clothed in royal purple. Augustus Caesar ruled by conquering lands and subjugating people. Jesus reigns by conquering sin and the grave. By his dying and rising, he gifts us with eternal life even now.

In the end, who changed human history by his birth? Caesar or Jesus? The mortal whose kingdom is long buried beneath the dust of history or the immortal Son of God whose kingdom will last to the end of time? Who was more powerful? The king who smashed the heads of his enemies or the Crucified One who forgives his enemies? In the way Luke records the historical birth of Jesus, he is telling us that not in the fallible, political rulers of this world but in Jesus alone is found the power to transform the political empires we create into instruments of justice and peace!