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Tiberius ruled from A.D. 14-37, and thus was the emperor when Jesus was scourged (whipped) and crucified, barbaric treatment that was prohibited against Roman citizens.  Tiberius had previously served a distinguished military career, and at first was a competent ruler extending the earlier policies of his stepfather Augustus.  But increasingly Tiberius became paranoid, and ruled more and more like a tyrant.  He oversaw many trials for treason and executions, and then left Rome itself in A.D. 26 to retire in Capri, where he was when Jesus was crucified.

Tiberius ruled from A.D. 14-37, and thus was the emperor when Jesus was scourged (whipped) and crucified, barbaric treatment that was prohibited against Roman citizens.  Tiberius had previously served a distinguished military career, and at first was a competent ruler extending the earlier policies of his stepfather Augustus.  But increasingly Tiberius became paranoid, and ruled more and more like a tyrant.  He oversaw many trials for treason and executions, and then left Rome itself in A.D. 26 to retire in Capri, where he was when Jesus was crucified.

The trial of Jesus revealed that while the Roman empire was tremendous in its military, there was much that it lacked in terms of understanding.  Pontius Pilate, like most Romans, had no understanding or appreciation of the concept of objective truth.  "Therefore Pilate said to Him, 'So You are a king?' Jesus answered, 'You say correctly that I am a king.  For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, '''to testify to the truth'''.  Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.'  Pilate said to Him, 'What is truth?'" (John 18:37-38 (NAS)).  Pilate then left without giving Jesus the opportunity to teach him about truth.  In the Roman empire, "truth" did not exist; it was merely whatever the emperor or Roman army said it was.  Intellectual progress in the Roman empire was small in comparison to the achievements of Ancient Greece.

The trial of Jesus revealed that while the Roman empire was tremendous in its military, there was much that it lacked in terms of understanding.  Pontius Pilate, like most Romans, had no understanding or appreciation of the concept of objective truth.  "Therefore Pilate said to Him, 'So You are a king?' Jesus answered, 'You say correctly that I am a king.  For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, '''to testify to the truth'''.  Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.'  Pilate said to Him, 'What is truth?'"<ref>John 18:37-38 (NAS)</ref>.  Pilate then left without giving Jesus the opportunity to teach him about truth.  In the Roman empire, "truth" did not exist; it was merely whatever the emperor or Roman army said it was.  Intellectual progress in the Roman empire was small in comparison to the achievements of Ancient Greece.

Roman leadership weakened immediately following Tiberius.  He was followed by Caligula (A.D. 37-41), who was a somewhat insane and highly immoral tyrant whose reign ended in assassination by his own guards, a fate that would greet many despotic Roman emperors.  His corrupt rule, which was one of the worst in all of history, can be best remembered as the first emperor to be installed after the crucifixion of Christ.  At one point Caligula made his favorite horse a consul.  In A.D. 39 he removed the consuls without even consulting with the Senate, because the Senate had not gone along with something he wanted to do.  Then he publicly humiliated senators by forcing several of them to trot beside his chariot in public while wearing their full robes.  Caligula even planned to impose and install a statue of himself as Zeus in the holiest part of the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem, which would have been the worst insult imaginable to the Jewish faith.  His reign of terror came to an end when he was assassinated by one of his own guards, fulfilling Jesus's teaching that "he who lives by the sword dies by the sword."  When news of Caligula's death reached the public, they were afraid to show their joy lest it only be a rumor invented by Caligula himself that he might punish anyone who dared celebrate upon his death.   

Roman leadership weakened immediately following Tiberius.  He was followed by Caligula (A.D. 37-41), who was a somewhat insane and highly immoral tyrant whose reign ended in assassination by his own guards, a fate that would greet many despotic Roman emperors.  His corrupt rule, which was one of the worst in all of history, can be best remembered as the first emperor to be installed after the crucifixion of Christ.  At one point Caligula made his favorite horse a consul.  In A.D. 39 he removed the consuls without even consulting with the Senate, because the Senate had not gone along with something he wanted to do.  Then he publicly humiliated senators by forcing several of them to trot beside his chariot in public while wearing their full robes.  Caligula even planned to impose and install a statue of himself as Zeus in the holiest part of the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem, which would have been the worst insult imaginable to the Jewish faith.  His reign of terror came to an end when he was assassinated by one of his own guards, fulfilling Jesus's teaching that "he who lives by the sword dies by the sword."  When news of Caligula's death reached the public, they were afraid to show their joy lest it only be a rumor invented by Caligula himself that he might punish anyone who dared celebrate upon his death.