The Natsariym and the Besorah

The History

In order to understand who the Natsarim were, it helps to understand the culture, politics, and religious environment they navigated. When Yahusha began his ministry, Judaism had long co-existed within the Roman Empire relatively peacefully. There was the occasional skirmish, sometimes even rebellion, but essentially they were allowed to practice their faith unencumbered by Roman laws. These Yahudim kept Torah, attended synagogue, and observed the feasts of Yahuah. As a result, they were viewed by Rome as ‘Religio Licita’ - a ‘permissible’ religion. Rome had respect for any culture with ancient religious traditions, e.g., the Egyptian and Greek civilizations; and due to its own ancient history of polytheism and emperor worship, saw the Yahudiym  as non-threatening to its system of Imperial Cult. Rome viewed the Natsariym as a weird sect within the Jewish population 

During the years from Tiberius (14-37 AD) to Nero: (54-68 AD), Rome viewed the Natsariym as a weird sect within the Yahudiym. They fit within the category of Religio Licita because their practices were basically the same as ‘traditional’ Jewish practices, they went to the 2nd temple on their holy days, kept the feast days, sacrificed to their only god; and because they did not stir up strife with Rome, and their history dated back to antiquity, the Natsariym pretty much were left alone. Until they weren’t. 

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