DID YOU KNOW: The First Global Post Office Was Key to Spreading the Gospel of Jesus
Timing is everything in a lot of endeavors. Buy a stock the day before it triples in value and your timing is great. Buying the day before the CEO of the stock is indicted for fraud in federal court and your timing is not so good, right?
And what does timing have to do with the Gospel of Jesus Christ? A great deal, as coldcasechristianity.org’s J. Warner Wallace explains in his latest book, “Person of Interest: Why Jesus Still Matters in a World That Rejects the Bible.”
Wallace points out that Jesus came into history at exactly the right time. Had He been born in 1,000 BC rather than around 4-6 BC, spreading His message would have been immensely more difficult, if not all but impossible, because of constant political turmoil, bad roads that greatly inhibited the spread of new ideas and commerce, and multiple other practical factors.
One of those other practical factors was the absence of an effective postal system to encourage world-wide communication. In 1,000 BC, there was no such thing that you and I would recognize as a global postal system. But there was when Jesus was born.
Ever hear of the Cursus Publicus, created by the Roman Emperor Augustus around about 30 years before Christ was born. The Cursus Publicus was the culmination of a process that began several millennia before the Roman Empire, Wallace explains:
“According to historical references, the ancient Egyptians may have had a postal service (of sorts) as early as 2,000 BC, but the Persians are typically credited with the first true mail carriers.
“From around 1,700 BC, the ancient Persian kings needed a way to communicate their decisions, and their relatively primitive courier systems later (under the leadership of King Cyrus the Great in 550 BC and King Darius I in 521 BC) became a network of roads and couriers connecting what is now Western Iran to Western Burma.
“In China, a system for delivering mail emerged early during the Zhou Dynasty (1122 – 221 BC), but this system was limited regionally and was used primarily by the government to deliver official mail. In a similar way, India during the Mauryan Empire (322 – 185 BC) developed a mail system to transmit political and military intelligence. Greece, during the Hellenistic Period (323 – 30 BC) developed a system like other ancient empires, but relied heavily on private couriers.
Jesus was born into the world shortly after the advent of the first global mail system. Coincidence? Photo by Liam Truong on Unsplash
“If Jesus had appeared during the period of history in which these empires reigned (2,000 to 30 BC), none of these systems would have benefitted Him (or His followers) beyond the limited regions each nation occupied. Once again, Rome would provide a more sophisticated solution.
“Augustus created a service called the Cursus Publicus from 30 – 25 BC. At the time of its creation, it was the most advanced system on the planet. It did more than deliver messages; it also transported officials and tax revenues from distant provinces to Rome.
“The network relied heavily on Rome’s superior transportation system (nearly 47,000 miles of new roads were built by Augustus and his successors) and the security and strength the Roman Empire offered. Using the Persian system of ‘relays,” the Romans built forts and stations on their exceptional roads, each positioned about one day’s ride apart.
“The Cursus Publicus was fast and reliable, especially compared with its predecessors. More importantly, the system was built to circulate information across the geographically expansive Roman Empire, with the ability to reach beyond its borders.”
Think it was coincidental that Jesus just happened to be born into the world during this period? A period when for the first time ever, it was possible to send a letter across the known world with reasonable confidence it would actually arrive? Maybe you should think about the possibility that’s when He came because that’s when He planned it?
He Changed History. He Can Change Your Life, Too!
Here’s Three Big Things You Can Do To Help HillFaith
“From around 1,700 BC, the ancient Persian kings needed a way to communicate their decisions, and their relatively primitive courier systems later (under the leadership of King Cyrus the Great in 550 BC and King Darius I in 521 BC) became a network of roads and couriers connecting what is now Western Iran to Western Burma.”
Are you sure about that? If one wrote “connecting what is now Western Iran to Western Turkey,” I’d buy it.
Burma, not so much.
That is how it appears in Wallace’s book, but you have a point and I will check it out. Thanks for the comment.
I am pretty sure that the Cursus Publicus was only for official government mail. Private citizens would not be able to use it. Obviously the organization of the Roman world, the stability and trade it created and yes the roads helped promote the private spread of information.
Pugnacious atheist Christopher Hitchens, during his extended promotional book tour for “God is not Great; How Religion Poisons Everything,” harped on this point. If homo sapiens have been around for, say, 100,000 years, [Hitchens asked] why did God stand there with his arms folded, observing human suffering for for 98% of that time before appearing on Earth in the form of his only begotten son to save us. Now we know!
I approve of the edit.
FYI: I never met him in person, but I talked to him on the phone concerning an oped that he submitted when I was editorial page editor of the Washington Examiner. I found him to be a friendly and agreeable author, which is more than I could say for some others I’ve had occasion to deal with along the way.