The Ides Of March

The Ides Of March

He died the way he hoped.

ONE EVENING at a gathering in his home, Julius Caesar was discussing the best way to die. He said that his preference was that his death be “a sudden one.”

The next morning was the Ides of March, March 15, 44 B.C. As Caesar was about to leave for the Senate, his wife begged him not to go, telling him that she had seen him in a dream, covered with blood. His friend Brutus urged Caesar to ignore his wife and go. Caesar went, and the rest is history. Once at the Senate, Brutus and his coconspirators ambushed and assassinated Julius Caesar.

Julius Caesar had designated his grandnephew, Gaius Octavian, born in 63 B.C., as his heir to the throne. Caesar had noticed Octavian in 49 B.C. because of his leadership in a series of Italian civil wars in which Caesar was victorious. Julius Caesar was so impressed with his grandnephew that he adopted him as his son and in his will made him his heir.

Following the death of Julius Caesar, Octavian succeeded him but over a period of years had to prove himself continually against challengers who aspired to the throne. The naval battle at Actium in 31 B.C. finally eliminated his opposition when his fleet defeated the fleet of Mark Antony and Cleopatra. The next year Octavian made Egypt part of the Roman Empire, and Mark Antony and Cleopatra committed suicide. To celebrate his accomplishment the Senate awarded Octavian the title of “Caesar Augustus.”

With all his brilliant accomplishments, Caesar Augustus never would have been able to predict how he would be remembered down through history. Perhaps the most familiar story of all time begins with the words “And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed” (Luke 2:1, KJV). It is ironic that the name of one of the most powerful emperors of all time is linked with that of a baby born far away in humble circumstances.

When the passage speaks of “all the world,” Luke is asserting Caesar’s sovereignty over the known world. Yet when God sends his Son into the world he does not announce it to Caesar but to shepherds watching their flocks. This is the God who “has taken princes from their thrones and exalted the lowly,” as Mary sang before Jesus’ birth (1:52).

During his lifetime, Caesar Augustus did not support the veneration of himself as divine. Yet he asserted the deity of Julius Caesar, his adoptive father, and as his son permitted himself to be called the “Son of God,” thus setting the stage for being deified after his death. Caesar Augustus also accepted the title of “Savior” and was honored for having brought peace to all the world. One inscription about him reads, “Divine Augustus Caesar, Son of God, Savior of all the world.”

Yet that little baby in the manger whose birth is linked with Caesar Augustus was the Prince of Peace, the Son of God, and the Savior.

Reflection

To whom do you look as your savior? Is it a politician, technology, the latest wonder drug? Or is it the baby in the manger? If it is Jesus, do you see him as an example to follow or as your Lord and Savior to trust?

For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. And the government will rest on his shoulders. These will be his royal titles: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. His ever expanding, peaceful government will never end. He will rule forever with fairness and justice from the throne of his ancestor David. The passionate commitment of the Lord Almighty will guarantee this!

Isaiah 9:6-7