During the Roman Empire, a great divide existed between the upper and lower classes. It is hard to find its parallel, as nothing quite compares. There was not a blurring of lines between classes, such as is found in the American lower, middle, and upper classes. Either you were in the upper class or you were not, and the line was clearly defined.
There were a number of ways that someone could attain the recognition and reputation of being among the elite members of the Roman society. At the top of this list was being recognized as a Roman citizen. Primarily three ways existed to gain your citizenship. Either you were born as a Roman citizen, you bought your citizenship, or you earned it through a period of slavery.
Another way to be recognized as an upper-class member of the society would have been to have great amounts of wealth. Wealth by itself would not suffice. Rather, one needed to possess a wealth that was also used for the advancement of the Empire. Monuments and structures were frequently built for the furtherance and up-building of the Empire and for the people, and these were often backed financially by an individual. The individual could then put his name on the structure so people could know that he paid for it. This would be reminiscent of the way that names of individuals could be found on buildings or sidewalks in our modern era.
An example of this can be seen in Scripture when a group of Jewish elders who were representing a centurion approached Jesus and pleaded for the healing of the centurion’s son. Their words are telling. The Scripture says, “…he [the centurion] was worthy for whom he should do this: For he [the centurion] loveth our nation, and he [the centurion] has built us a synagogue” (Luke 7:4-5). Power, prestige, a reputation, a status, and a following were gained for this centurion through the financial support of building the Jews their synagogue.
However, wealth alone was not enough. At times, people would be deemed of a greater class simply by being a Roman citizen. It was in this higher rank of people that the civilization founds it direction and guidance. It was also among this higher rank of people that value was placed. A slave could be seen as a having a higher social status than a freed man as long as the slave was connected to an upper-class member.
The system was an odd one. If you were on the bottom, you felt the stigma. If you were on the top, you experienced the fame. It may have been somewhat similar to the caste system of the Hindu people, who look upon the lowly estate of the unfortunate and believe the lower class is right where they should be and provide no help as a result.
The divide between the classes was a colossal one of nearly unmeasurable proportions, and it was in this historical setting that Jesus came to the earth. However, how did Jesus deal with such a great divide?
Jesus came for the upper class
While the portion of Scripture this article focuses on doesn’t depict a scenario in which Jesus encounters people on opposite ends of the spectrum such as the Emperor and the lowest of the low, it does fit the cultural setting of the first-century readers perfectly. In this understanding, a greater understanding can be had of what John was seeking to convey to his initial readers – and to us.
The first chapter of significance is John chapter 3. In this chapter, a man by the name of Nicodemus sets out to meet Jesus Christ by night. It is possible that this man did not want anyone else to see him going to talk to Jesus. Jesus’ ministry was shrouded with controversy, and many people were persecuted for their allegiance to this man. Nevertheless, Nicodemus seeks out the Savior, and we find out that Nicodemus is confused about how he can be saved.
In the midst of the conversation that occurs between Nicodemus and Jesus, we read a startling Scripture. Jesus says this: “…Art thou a master of Israel…” (John 3:10). In this declaration, it seems that quite possibly Nicodemus was the leading teacher of the Jews. This leading teacher went to speak with Jesus, and from the Jews’ vantage point, there could not have been a higher figure among men to be esteemed than that of Nicodemus.
Jesus came for the lower class
While Jesus had an encounter with an elite member of the Jewish society, He also had an encounter with an outcast. This outcast was the Samaritan woman. Following Jesus’ encounter with Nicodemus, John strategically places the story with the Samaritan woman. This is no mere coincidence, but rather the placement of these stories has a purpose in John’s Gospel. In placing the story of the upper-class Jewish teacher next to the lower-class Samaritan woman, John reveals to us that Jesus came for all.
Seemingly there would have been no other group of people more despised by the Jews than the Samaritans were. They were the tainted bloodline of the Jewish people. Their blood was no longer pure and neither was their worship. There was even less animosity for the Gentiles than there was for the Samaritans. At least the Gentile was born a Gentile and born as a pagan. In the case of the Samaritans, these were a group of people who chose their lot and separated themselves from the true Jewish race while embracing idol worship.
The Jews hated the Samaritans so much that rather than walk through Samaria to travel from Judea to Galilee, they would walk around Samaria simply to avoid the location and the people. They burned with hatred for these people. John and James’ desire to call down fire from heaven to scorch them in Luke 9:54 would not have been far from the ongoing desire of their heart. Simply put, the Jews hated the Samaritans and looked down on them in disgust.
While the Jews looked down on them, Jesus came to save them. As Jesus encounters this Samaritan woman by the well, He ministers to her by pointing out her sin. In this, the woman believes that Jesus is the Savior, and she goes and tells her village about her encounter.
Application
So what can be taken away from these portions of Scripture? For starters, we know that both Nicodemus and the Samaritan woman became true believers from their encounters with Jesus. After Jesus had died, a man by the name of Joseph goes to collect Jesus’ body to give Him a proper burial. However, along with this, these words were written: “And there came also Nicodemus, which at the first came to Jesus by night, and brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about an hundred pound weight.” (John 19:39). Then the Scriptures tell us that both he and Joseph took Jesus’ body and gave Him a proper burial. Nicodemus, as an upper-class member of the Jewish race, truly believed in the Savior and made a public declaration of his faith in Christ after the Savior died.
The Scriptures also attest to the Samaritan woman’s coming to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ in John chapter 4. While it is not explicitly stated, it is the force of the chapter that the woman, along with many from her town, came to know Jesus as their Savior. In this, we can see that while Jesus comes for members of the upper class, He also comes for members of the lower class.
Jesus truly died for all. His heart embraces anyone who will come and bow before Him and declare Him to be Lord and Savior. In this, it can be seen that wherever you are at in life, Jesus wants you to know Him and that He died for you. He also wants to shatter the destructive thought patterns that divide the masses and create inequality.
Final prayer
Father, I thank You for Your grace, mercy, and love that You have shown me in Christ. Thank You for dying for all and for loving me in my present state. Help me to become more like Jesus and look upon others as You do. In Jesus’ name, Amen.