confused.  He sees something in him, even though he does not seem outwardly impressive.  He does not seem rich or kingly.  He preaches nonviolence and love, which is not what Daniel experiences in his everyday life.  In fact, after he leaves he is attacked by a Roman soldier.

We can see in Leah’s reaction to Simon that the people are afraid of anything out of the ordinary.  People are living in fear and disharmony.  It seems as if Jesus’s teachings of respect and love are needed, but have a long way to go in such an environment.  He is really up against a system of violence and harshness.  Simon is willing to risk breaking to law, even such a simple law as carrying a bundle on the Sabbath, because of the rumor that Jesus is speaking.  Clearly Jesus’s message means a lot to many people, but many people are also living in fear.  Daniel’s relationship with Simon is both a good and bad thing.  Daniel introduced him to Jesus’s message, which meant a lot to him even as it confused him, but at the same time got him into trouble and got him hurt.  He has a choice to make.

Daniel's overarching plan is to free his people from Roman captivity. However, in Chapter 18, Malthace tells Daniel that Joel was taken captive by the Romans. Malthace explains to Daniel that they are taking the prisoners east in the morning to the galleys, and Joel will be traveling with them. Daniel hikes up the mountain and hopes that Rosh will help save Joel, but much to Daniel's dismay, Rosh refuses to get involved. Daniel quits Rosh's gang and meets with the other boys in the watchtower to discuss how he plans to get Joel back. Daniel tells the boys that they cannot afford to fight the Romans, and explains that instead of fighting, they will travel south, beyond Magdala, and wait at the pass near Arbela. He says that they will spread out along the cliff and throw rocks down at the unsuspecting Roman caravan as it passes through the narrow valley. Daniel plans to slip out into the valley and free Joel from his shackles while the Romans are attempting to dodge the stones that the boys are throwing from the cliff. Daniel's plan does not go as expected, but thanks to Samson and Nathan, Joel is free, and Daniel escapes with his life.

After Daniel's father was brutally executed by the Romans, Daniel made a solemn vow. Though only eight years old at the time, he promised that he would pay back the Romans for what they'd done and with his whole life, too. From that day on, he vowed to hate them, fight them, and kill them.

It says a lot about the political situation in ancient Israel that a mere child should feel obliged to make such a blood-curdling oath, but Daniel is just one of many children who've taken this extraordinary step.

The Roman authorities seem neither to know nor care that meting out cruel treatment to the Jewish people will encourage a new generation of young men to join the Zealot cause and commit themselves to driving the Romans out of Israel once and for all, yet that's precisely what's happened in the case of Daniel. His father's execution has turned him into an implacable, lifelong foe of the Romans.

For most of the story Daniel remains completely faithful to his oath, but it's a sign of how remarkable his subsequent transformation is that he's able to abandon the path of violent vengeance and embrace the peaceful, loving message of Jesus Christ.

After his father is unjustly crucified by Roman authorities, the eight-year-old Daniel makes a solemn vow to fight the Romans even if it means his own death. Despite his youth, the boy is submerged in resentment, grief, and hatred due to his experiences. Throughout The Bronze Bow, Daniel is convinced that hatred and violence are the only ways to properly respond to the Romans. He believes that joining up with the rebel leader Rosh is the only way to fulfill his vow.

Daniel struggles to carry out his promise as he grapples with the message of Jesus of Nazareth, a carpenter turned preacher who argues that love of enemies is preferable to the path of hate. Daniel's anger is so strong that he is resistant to these ideas; however, Jesus's proclamation that those who "live by the sword will perish by the sword" proves true for Daniel. The part of his vow that states he is willing to die to avenge the Jewish people comes dangerously close to coming true several times because of Daniel's recklessness and self-destructive behavior. His hate even threatens his own family: for example, his callous dismissal of Leah's love for the Roman soldier Marcus mentally breaks her; however, by the end of the novel, Jesus's message of love and forgiveness overcomes Daniel's hard heart, and he abandons his earlier promise in order to live a life in accordance with Jesus's principles.