Introduction
The New Testament (NT) documents the rise of Christianity, one of the largest world religions. 27 books, divided into four sections, describe the historical events that shaped early Christianity and some important figures. One historical leader playing a pivotal role in the New Testament narrative is Augustus, the first Roman Emperor.
His ruling period matches when the New Testament’s main character, Jesus Christ, and the Son of God, was born. Unlike his descendant, Constantine the Great, Augustus had never converted to Christianity. Nevertheless, his political decisions stimulated favorable conditions for the spread of New Testament books into new geographical areas, serving as the prophecy fulfillment factor of Christianity’s success.
Augustus’s Role in the New Testament
Emperor Augustus, born Gaius Octavius, is famous for his effective power consolidation over the Roman Empire. His birth is associated with “the beginning of the world of the glad tidings that have come to men through him” (Betham, 2021, p. 1189). The reason for such a vivid description is that his birthday brought world happiness and peace through his reign from 27 BC to 14 AD, connecting his nature to the sacred God. Like many other figures of the Roman elite, he had been taught all necessary disciplines, including rhetoric, philosophy, and literature.
Interestingly, some biographical parts of Augustus’s life seem unrelated to the religious study. For example, his mentorship was under Gaius Caesar’s rule, who taught him astronomical grounds in 46 BC (Lewis, 2023, p. 17). Cicero – a Roman orator – even stated that Augustus derived foresight from heavenly inspiration presented by some God. Although Christianity and the New Testament did not touch all this knowledge, his education quickly facilitated his engagement with Christians (Buchan, 2020, p. 32). Hence, such a delicate approach to Augustus’s upbringing shaped the historical and intellectual context in which early Christianity and its events developed.
The idea that Augustus did not preach Christianity or facilitate its spread does not mean that his historical presence was ignored in the New Testament. As an illustration, the events from the Gospel of Luke 2:1-5 describe how Augustus orders a decree for a census over the territories he ruled to register the entire population and modify taxation policies (The King James Bible, 2004, p. 592). The New Testament narrative mentions how Mary, Jesus’s mother, travels to Bethlehem for a census issued by Augustus and gives birth (Drane, 2019, p. 23). It justifies that Augustus’s internal political decisions symbolize the pre-determination of the most significant Christian figure’s birth.
Regarding Augustus’s political activism, it is known that his efforts to bring peace to the Roman Empire cannot be overstated. Without Augustus’s rule, it would never have been possible for Christianity to prosper and expand into new geographical areas (Captivating History, 2020, p. 54). His last words were: “I found Rome a city of bricks and left it a city of marble” (Captivating History, 2020, p. 51). It shows that he was remembered as a powerful emperor, military hero, and leader with high spirituality and love for his homeland.
Since solid internal politics also point to effective external political management, the Romans expanded into new areas without interfering with national balance. It allowed Apostle Paul to peacefully travel throughout the established Roman roads and enabled his missionaries to attract many people who had turned into Christians (Cook, 2022, p. 66). Overall, Augustus established a peaceful order, which allowed the Letters of Paul to spread.
The most impressive link between the NT and Augustus lies in examining the similarities between Jesus and Augustus. Kochenash (2018), in his paper, argues that both figures are comparable and that Jesus’s kingdom of God resembles Augustus’s Golden Age (p. 308). This speculation is Augustus’s experience of the divine sonship of the Julio-Claudian emperors. According to Luke, NT’s third gospel, both figures had a human and divine ancestry (Kochenash, 2018, p. 310). Luke’s references to the paternity of Jesus by Joseph are similar to Augustus’s fathering by Apollo.
Meanwhile, Jesus is documented as God’s son, and Augustus descends from Aeneas, a mythical figure. Apart from that, Augustus brings a limitless expanse to the Roman Empire, establishing peace simultaneously. This connects with Jesus’s savior role, as both figures are interested in bringing salvation to their people. Thus, Augustus’s biological descendants and peace-bringing role create a symbolic parallelism to Jesus’s nature.
Interestingly, Augustus’s political and social reforms can be connected to one of the primary New Testament teachings. His reign initiated Pax Romana, a historical period of successful cooperation and negotiation among all nationalities existing under the Roman Empire’s territory. Augustus could effectively manage cultural diversity in his lands, lasting another 200 years after his death (Captivating History, 2020, p. 48). The relation of this significant period to other peoples’ acknowledgment of the NT narratives is that Augustus promoted religious syncretism, characterized by religious acceptance and tolerance of different beliefs. The religious blending of several Roman, Greek, and Eastern perspectives allowed Christianity to enter a diverse environment and set a new order without severe opposition.
However, several factors could have interfered with New Testament events and their escalating importance for the world. Roman emperors imposed their regime’s values upon all conquered territories as the dominating empire at that time. Augustus’s imperial cult and deism were in a gentle controversy with Jesus’s teachings. Considering that Jesus introduced an ethical and religious code concentrating on God instead of the emperor’s worship, it could have caused critical cultural and social dissonance (Puppo, 2022, p. 17).
Augustus favored people who believed in his divine origins and accepted sacrifices from them. Sometimes, it results in humans’ inability to determine the true Son of God – Caesar and his descendants or Jesus. A theological belief that expanded into political and social confrontation might have interfered with Roman stability and the New Testament’s acknowledgment.
The New Testament resolved the ramifications caused by differences in Jesus’s teachings and the Roman emperors’ perspectives. Luke mentions that Christians and the Church should accept the status quo (King James Bible, 2010, p. 593). In this sense, Christians must comply with Biblical morality while following local rules of executive power that honor specific actions as just and unjust.
Since Augustus ruled only until Jesus turned 15, the newly established religion did not severely affect his imperial cult. Although Luke tries to develop a soft manner of depicting Jesus’s dominance over political figures, Luke 1:32 highlights that Jesus “will be very great, and he will be called the Son of the Most High,” but not Caesar (King James Bible, 2010, p. 591). Due to monotheistic beliefs, Augustus’s divine figure should have been challenged after his death.
Conclusion
To conclude, Augustus or Caius Octavius was a brilliant emperor and military leader who used practical tools to protect and expand the Roman Empire and influence individuals. His reign is prominent due to Pax Romana, which established peace within the empire, facilitated by cultural and urban innovations, which helped the New Testament narrative to spread beyond its original terrain. This pattern of bringing harmony to his people resembled Jesus Christ’s savior and redeemer role.
The more Augustus became educated in philosophy, the more he embraced new beliefs. However, the problem that remained crucial for the New Testament’s popularity was Augustus’s worship of pagan gods and promoting his cult of personality. Augustus’s importance should be acknowledged since his political and social decisions allowed Jesus Christ to be born in Bethlehem, marking the beginning of Christianity.
References
Betham, A. C. (2021). The concise new international dictionary of New Testament theology and exegesis. Zondervan Academic.
Buchan, J. (2020). Augustus. Read Books Ltd.
Captivating History. (2020). Roman emperors: A captivating guide to Augustus, Tiberius, Nero, Constantine the Great, and Justinian I.
Cook, W. F. (2022). Journey through the New Testament. Tyndale House Publishers.
Drane, J. (2019). Introducing the New Testament (4th ed). Lion Hudson Ltd.
Kochenash, M. (2018). ‘Adam, Son of God’(Luke 3.38): Another Jesus–Augustus Parallel in Luke’s Gospel. New Testament Studies, 64(3), 307–325. Web.
King James Bible. (2004). Holy Books. Web.
Lewis, A. (2023). Celestial inclinations: A life of Augustus. Oxford University Press.
Puppo, G. (2022). Chapter 2: The shalom-making leader and organizational justice: An Analysis of Luke 10. In J. Henson (Ed.), Biblical organizational spirituality: New Testament foundations for leaders and organizations (p. 9–29). Palgrave Macmillan.