Helen Bond

I mean, nobody wants to love the Romans.

So yeah, that would have seemed a bit strange to people.

But this idea of the end of the world coming, this is actually very common in the first century.

Lots of people around about this time, probably because it's turbulent political times.

You've got a lot of change at the time.

You've got Rome very much encroaching on the East.

Yeah.

Even though Galilee is ruled by a Jewish king, it can't have looked like it was going to be very long until, you know, Rome just sort of took them over too.

So I think in this sort of troubled times, people are looking for some way out, you know.

And also people, Jewish people are thinking, how come, you know, how come the Roman gods seem to be doing so well?

When is our God going to start sort of doing a bit of smiting?

It's a fair question that, isn't it?

It's what people wanted.

You know, when is God going to come and just get rid of these Romans?

We've had enough.

Chuck them out.

Yeah.

So these are very, very popular things.

types of preachers.

And we get a whole line of them, not just John the Baptist and Jesus, but a lot of other ones too.