Thatcher argues that we must take account not just of tensions arising within the synagogue or between factions of believers in Christ but also attend to the Johannine portrayal of figures representing Roman rule in order to understand the Gospel's origin and message.Greater than Caesar examines the Fourth Gospel's characterizations of Jesus' opponents and its depictions of Jesus' authority and power in his confrontations with agents of imperial power, including Pilate and Jewish authorities. Thatcher argues that the Gospel is a thorough repudiation of the Roman Empire's claims on human allegiance. The one who speaks from the "dying machine" of the cross shows that he is in fact "greater than Caesar."

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