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Gaius Octavius was born in 63 BC. Born in Rome. When his maternal great-uncle Julius Caesar was murdered for undermining the Roman Republic, Octavian, then only 18 years old, became his heir. And although Julius is remembered as a great general and as the man who set things in motion Rome’s transition from republic to empireit was the young Octavian who actually oversaw this transition.
Octavian, initially working with Mark Antony and Marcus Lepidus, defeated his great-uncle’s assassins and divided the Republic into three parts. Then Octavian defeated his former allies and took over in about 31 BC. BC sole rule over the republic. Over the next three decades, Octavian issued a series of laws that turned Rome into an empire. Octavian idolized his great-uncle and renamed himself Augustus. He overthrew the largest republic in the ancient world and rebuilt it into an empire. Brilliant and ruthless, Octavian did so in a way that ensured stability and positioned the empire for growth – creating a 200-year period of unprecedented peace and strength known as the Pax Romana. The unified empire lasted more than 400 years, and its successor empire in the East lasted more than 1,000 years, finally collapsing in 1453 AD
Octavian is probably the most successful political leader in history. He was perhaps the richest and most powerful man in our world. And his legacy permeates everything from Europe’s modern political structure to our calendar, where the month of August bears his name. Despite all this, the best-known historical passage about Octavian regards him as little more than a footnote. This passage reads:
At that time, Emperor Augustus decreed that a census of the entire Roman world should be carried out. (This was the first census that took place when Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And each went to his own city to register. So Joseph also went from the city of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem, the city of David, because he belonged to the house and family of David. He went there to register with Maria, who wanted to marry him and was expecting a child. (Luke 2:1-5)
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This baby was born to an outcast teenager and her carpenter husband. He was born in a dirty stable in an unimportant province, without much fanfare or notice. Due to a prophecy, he would eventually be hunted by the king of this region – thousands were slaughtered in his pursuit – and live as a refugee in a foreign land. After his return, he grew up in obscurity and spent more than a decade practicing his father’s blue-collar job. While the minute details of Octavian’s life are recorded, this baby’s life remained largely undocumented except for his final three years as a priest.
Two of the greatest men in history lived at the same time. They took very different paths.
At 30, the Bethlehem-born boy began preaching to the poor and disenfranchised in small towns and forgotten places. He began to communicate with prostitutes, foreigners, workers and the sick. He would offer healing and hope to those rejected by the world and ultimately provoke envy and hatred among the religious and political elite of his time. Then he would be betrayed by one of his twelve closest friends executed on the cross under Octavian’s successor Tiberius. He would die penniless, homeless and a criminal, something completely unknown to the powerful emperors under whose rule he lived.
Jesus came into this world in a dirty stable in an unimportant province without much fanfare or notice. (Fred de Noyelle via Getty Images)
After his death, it was these same poor and outcasts who kept his memory alive, even as the Empire’s oligarchs ruled. The murdered man’s followers were persecuted but largely overlooked until their numbers grew so large that emperors such as Nero attempted to exterminate them. But in their persecution they thrived, for the poor and injured will always outnumber the rich and powerful.
This situation continued for 300 years until the Roman Emperor Constantine declared tolerance of Christianity in 313 AD official religion of Romethis belief flourished best among those “meek” people whom the murdered man once famously called the heirs of the world. It was a radical subversion of the traditional morality of power. Nietzsche declared it a “slave morality” – mocking the elevation of the weak over the strong. And almost every authoritarian for 2,000 years has tried to co-opt, corrupt or destroy this belief.
Although Julius is remembered as a great general and the man who initiated Rome’s transition from republic to empire, it was the young Octavian who actually oversaw this transition. (iStock)
But today, more than two millennia after Augustus forced that poor family on a journey to Bethlehem, billions of people around the world will sing not to Octavian but to that frail little boy the world simply cannot forget:
“Come, you have been waiting for Jesus for a long time
Born to deliver Your people;
Free us from our fears and sins,
Let us find our peace in you.
Israel’s strength and comfort,
You are the hope of all the earth;
Dear wish of every nation,
Joy of every longing heart.
Your people were born to liberate,
Born a child and yet a king,
Born to reign within us forever,
Now bring your merciful kingdom.
Augustus is still remembered. Scientists study him. The students read about him in the story. One of my favorite biographies is Adrian Goldsworthy’s excellent Augustus: The First Emperor of Rome. His empire, his political legacy and his military innovations have shaped the world. If a baby hadn’t been born during his reign, he might have been the most famous man of his time. But God and history had other plans. Augustus is now a supporting player in the greatest story ever told – the exact dates of his birth and death are linked to that night in the manger. Octavian’s name is forever associated in the popular imagination with a greater king.
I believe the timing was intentional. God raised up the greatest politician in history at the very moment he sent his counterpart into the world. One praised the strong, the other the meek. One ruled by force, the other by faith. One sought power, the other sought victim. One preached loyalty, the other preached love.
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Two billion of us now believe that the baby was made human by God – a message of hope and healing for all of us who are broken. Jesus is the assurance that Almighty God is not careless, hurtful, and malevolent like the gods of ancient Greece and Rome, but instead cares infinitely for every human heart.
The Nativity, 1892. A print from a supplement to Le Petit Journal, December 24, 1892. (Photo by Art Media/Print Collector/Getty Images)
But even for those who don’t believe in the divinity of this Jewish child, there is a message worth remembering. What is important in the world is often not what we think. True influence is not the violent exercise of power over others. It did not arise from armies or edicts or conquests or palace vaults. It is not determined by the tastes or loyalties of the rich and powerful. It is born of love. It comes from submission and sacrifice.
Octavian is now studying at universities. Jesus is worshiped in every corner of the world. And at this moment in December, presidents, prime ministers, shopkeepers and enslaved people alike gather to pray to and sing the praises of a God incarnate whose rule is based not on political power but on love. When Jesus was executed, he said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” When asked about a way of life, he said, “A new command that I give you: Love one another.” If His message, if lived well, would bring hope and peace to the world.
Even for those who do not believe in the divinity of this Jewish child Jesus, there is a message worth keeping in mind. What is important in the world is often not what we think. True influence is not the violent exercise of power over others.
Although there are many good people today, there is no shortage of those who would do anything for power. They may not be as talented as Octavian or as successful, but they will scream for wealth, fame and adoration. Many of them will hurt or kill others to get there. Some will enslave others. And some of these people will be “successful” for a while. You will Dictators and PresidentsCEOs or celebrities. And they will seek to be worshiped. But like Augustus, they and the morality they represent will ultimately disappear into history. And what will replace them will be the stories of those who sought not power but compassion, not domination but liberation.
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That’s that Message of Christmas. For believers, it is a reverent time of reflection on this special moment in history when the Almighty God of the universe humbled Himself to restore our relationship with Him. For all people, even those who have not come to this belief, it is an inspiring historical narrative. Two of the greatest men in history lived at the same time. They took very different paths. And contemporary observers would not have been able to tell which of the two was truly great.
Merry Christmas to everyone. May this redemptive message be the light of the world, hope for the hopeless and an encouragement to every human heart.
