In 700 B.C., Rome was a small city in Italy that controlled only the area close around it. By 508 B.C. it had developed the form of government known as a republic in which the people chose the leaders they wanted to represent them. By the later second century B.C. Rome had conquered large parts of Greece and Asia Minor, as well as sections of North Africa, France, Spain, and many of the islands in the Mediterranean Sea. In 63 B.C., Roman troops led by the general Pompey (106-48 B.C.) took over Palestine. After Julius Caesar, the first Roman emperor, died in 44 B.C., his successor, Augustus, extended the empire to include Egypt, most of Asia Minor, England, and parts of Germany.

The top layer of Roman society was a group of 600 senators, who had to have a huge amount of money to hold this office. Below them were the knights, who needed considerably less money for their office. The population included citizens who had certain privileges and official protection, former slaves called "freedmen," and large numbers of slaves. The status of women was based on the social status of their fathers or husbands. Women from the upper classes enjoyed many legal rights and privileges not available to men or women of lower classes. Each region of the empire was ruled by a governor. Those governors who were appointed by the senate were called "proconsuls," and those chosen by the emperor were called "procurators."

Money to support the Roman government came from taxes. Taxes were placed on goods being transported, on inheritances, on farm products, and on personal property. Taxes were collected by tax collectors called "publicans," who signed a contract to bring in a specific amount of money each year.

Anyone who broke Roman laws could be called before the judges and forced to pay or be put in prison. They could even be put to death, if what they did was considered to be a threat to the peace and order of the empire. Jesus' message about the coming kingdom of God was judged to be a political uprising, so Pilate, the procurator of the province of Judea, had him put to death.

In the early years after the time of Jesus, the Romans considered Christians to be one of the many Jewish sects. Jews were allowed to worship according to their ancient traditions, so Christians could also gather together in meetings without any interference from the Roman authorities. Later in the first century A.D., the Roman leaders no longer regarded Christianity as a protected official religion and began to persecute the followers of Christ. Even earlier, Emperor Nero, who ruled from A.D. 54 to 68, had sentenced some Christians to be killed as enemies of the empire. By the first part of the second century A.D., this kind of persecution became more widespread, especially when Christians refused to take part in ceremonies that honored the emperor as a god. Christians who suffered for their faith in this manner became known as "martyrs" (from the Greek word for "witness"). Roman persecution of Christians continued off and on until the time of Constantine the Great (emperor from A.D. 306 to 377).