I've Been Thinking

In answer to the title question, Warren Carter writes, in his commentary at Working Preacher:

The Gospel reflects its imperial world at this point. Roman imperial structures and practices were bad for people’s health. Some 70-90 percent of folks in Rome’s empire experienced varying degrees of poverty — from the very poorest to those who temporarily fell below subsistence levels. Understandings of hygiene were limited; social stresses were high; water quality poor, food insecurity was rife with low quality and limited quantities. Such factors resulted in widespread diseases associated with poor nutrition (blindness; muscle weakness etc.) and a lack of immunity (diarrhea; cholera etc.). These kinds of diseases were death-bringing in a world that required physical labor for survival.¹

This reminded me of Wretched of the Earth, by Frantz Fanon, in which he describes the maladies facing Algerians under their French colonizers. It’s a difficult, but enlightening, read. It’s interesting to read his book, then read the gospels through the lens of his descriptions. You appreciate Carter’s comments even more after being exposed to Fanon’s book.

¹ Warren Carter. Working Preacher. http://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=3138. January 21, 2017.