There was a time when the greatest and most powerful empire of all time sat astride the known world and ruled with an iron fist, but that empire’s rule was different that those that had gone before it, because they allowed a kind of home rule.  In this arrangement, local people were allowed self government to a certain extent, for as long as the Peoples of a conquered land didn’t revolt against their conquerors and maintained public order and paid their taxes, their foreign masters would leave the alone for the most part, and this enabled that great empire to continue to grow and expand. 

The empire in question was the Roman Empire, and the locality in question was Judea, where the local Jewish authorities ruled the day to day lives of the people of Judea.  Their established order was simple: Follow the customs of their fathers as they had been interpreted by their local authorities, don’t anger the Roman governor and you will be fine. Cross the Jewish leaders or the Romans and you will die. As you might imagine, this arrangement actually moved the people far from the traditions and teachings of their forefathers, and even farther away from their God.

In the fullness of time, a movement came along which had as its object moving the people back into their proper relationship with God, a movement that promised them forgiveness of their sins and eternal life, but of course this was not popular with their local rulers because it threatened their lofty position within the Roman world.  So, in the fullness of time, their local leaders determined to put a stop to all of this and to kill the leader of this inconvenient movement.  The problem was that even when they killed this man, called Jesus of Nazareth, his movement didn’t die out, rather it spread, and with this spread began discord, and with discord the Romans got involved.

In due course, the Romans, for a variety of reasons dealt with the Jewish home rule, crushing it.  Meanwhile, the followers of Jesus of Nazareth continued to take his movement far and wide throughout the Roman world with an approach to God and to life that was quite in opposition to the pagan ways of the Empire itself. Yet, despite its best efforts, the might and power of the world’s greatest and mightiest empire, the followers of Jesus continued to spread and grow until the Empire itself formally accepted Christianity.  Yes, it’s true; an unprecidented revolution!

This revolution did not begin with a shot heard round the world, or with a riot or with a great battle, it began with a baby… go figure. It’s triumph was not one of strength, but of weakness.  It was not a victory of power, but a victory of faith, and it continues to overturn the hearts of men to this very day.