Is Christianity Jewish?
By Pinchas Shir
Doesn’t everyone know that some things are Jewish and other things are Christian and these are mutually exclusive categories? Indeed, it may be so for many people today. But Χριστός – “Christ” is a purely Jewish concept. And even the origin of the term Χριστιᾱνός - “Christian” or Christ-follower came to be because of some diaspora Jews.
Some Jews from Cyrene and Cyprus were proclaiming the good news of Christ in the city of Antioch among the non-Jews there (Acts 11:20). To their amazement, their message was received. The apostles sent Barnabas to help with these new believers. He, in turn, found Paul of Tarsus, who taught for a whole year in the assembly of these new Jesus-followers in Antioch (Acts 11:22-26). The book of Acts says, “…and the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch” (Acts 11:26).
First-century Jews did not see the term “Christian” in any sort of negative or oppositional sense. It was a politically-charged term which proclaimed loyalty to the Jewish Christ and not to Rome. Jews who followed Jesus were already known as “The Way” but their non-Jewish disciples became known as “Christians”. The apostle Peter wrote, "...If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed...if anyone suffers as a Christian, he is not to be ashamed, but is to glorify God in this name." (1 Peter 4:14–16).
Being Christian in the book of Acts meant being associated with the Messiah of Israel and that even for a non-Jew, is a very Jewish thing to do.
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