Jesus and the Romans

I agree with Jim Davila that equating the ancient Romans with the Nazis is over the top, but you don't need to rely on silly rhetoric to find support for the idea that Jesus was critical of the Roman Empire. I certainly don't read the Caesar text of Mk 12:13-17/Mt 22:15-22/Lk 20:20-26 like Shmuley Boteach, who thinks it's an "incredible statement". Jesus was telling people to throw money back in Caesar's face (or alternatively, avoid money altogether) as part of the tribulation drama which anticipated God's imminent triumph. He wasn't exactly a rebel (he had no reason to be, with God on the way), but neither did he endorse tyranny. As I said here, the "Render to Caesar" saying

"...isn't a call to pay taxes but to expel the coins from the Jewish land; to give the Romans their money as an act of resistance; or, if you like, to pay taxes 'with contempt'. By implying that Caesar's taxes are immoral and illegitimate, but in such a way that his adversaries are 'unable to trap him', Jesus has bested his foes while at the same time shaming the Herodians as idolaters who do not give God his due. On top of this, he has manipulated the Pharisees by making them unwitting allies who now look like fools for their contradictory position."

That's not such an incredible statement, after all, Mr. Boteach.