 When the Romans under General Pompey conquer Judea in 63 BC, an era of despair and fear begins for the Jewish people. In the trials and persecutions that the Jews suffer under the Romans and under King Herod, they take hope in the promise that the Messiah someday would come. In the reign of Augustus, when Jesus is born in Bethlehem to Mary and Joseph, there are some who recognize him as the future king of the Jews. Later, when Jesus reaches adulthood and begins to appear in public, there are many different responses to his message, and there are also those who wish to use him for their own purposes.