The question is: what happened in the land of Israel and Judah in the few centuries leading up to the time of Jesus? Herod the Great, a military general and astute politician, was a complex man.

John 13:34-35 In-Context 32 If God is glorified in him, Many early manuscripts do not have "If God is glorified in him." God will glorify the Son in himself, and will glorify him at once. 33 "My ...