Jews of the First Century were seeking a religious military leader who would finally overthrow their Roman oppressors through a bloody armed rebellion and establish a king who would vanquish the enemies of God forever. Jesus of Nazareth, in contrast, never supported violence or open military conflict against the government. In fact, Jesus' "rebellion" was only against the hypocritical and erroneous *teachings* of the Jewish leaders of his time; Jesus never supported open conflict with the Jewish elite or Rome. Ironically, Jesus' message caused great divisions within the Jewish community and even led to widespread riots that caused the Jews to be briefly expelled from Rome in 49 AD. Worried these events could quickly spiral out of control, Paul commanded Christians to submit to government authorities and give Rome no reason to fear/attack them: Christians should pay their taxes, respect their leaders, and clearly show the government that they were NOT a threat.