The Church in Jerusalem

Pentecost: the birthday of the church

Our main source for the first years of Christianity is the book of Acts, written by the author of Luke's Gospel, probably in the AD 80s. Like any ancient history it has its own themes and emphases. Historians debate its details. But it is the only connected narrative we have, and much of it fits well with Paul's letters and other evidence.

Acts tells how Jesus' followers, about 120 people, were gathered in Jerusalem after his final appearances. On the Jewish harvest festival of Pentecost (from the Greek for "fiftieth," fifty days after Passover) they had a powerful experience. They felt that God's Spirit, the Holy Spirit, had come upon them "like a rushing wind" and "tongues of fire." They poured into the streets speaking in many languages to the crowds of Jewish pilgrims from across the world.

Peter stood up and preached the first Christian sermon. Its message was simple and bold. Jesus, whom you crucified, God has raised from the dead. He is the Messiah and Lord. Repent and be baptized in his name. According to Acts, about three thousand people responded that day. Christians have traditionally seen Pentecost as the birthday of the church.

Life in the first community

Acts gives an idealized but striking picture of the earliest believers. They:

• devoted themselves to "the apostles' teaching," that is, the memories and interpretation of Jesus;
• shared "the breaking of bread," common meals that included the Lord's Supper;
• prayed together, both in the Temple and in homes;
• held possessions in common, selling property to provide for anyone in need.

These believers did not think of themselves as members of a new religion. They were Jews who believed the Messiah had come. They kept the Sabbath, the food laws and circumcision. They worshiped daily in the Temple courts. Their name for themselves was simply "the Way," or "the saints" (holy ones). Outsiders sometimes called them "Nazarenes."

What made them distinctive was their conviction about Jesus. They baptized new members "in the name of Jesus." They met on Sunday, the day of resurrection. They prayed in Aramaic, Maranatha, "Our Lord, come!", expecting Jesus to return soon in glory. Many expected to see that return in their own lifetime.

“...in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth”

Leaders: Peter, John and James

In the early chapters of Acts, Peter (Simon Peter) is the leader and spokesman, often alongside John the Apostle, son of Zebedee. They preached in the Temple, healed the sick, and were arrested and flogged by the Temple authorities. Peter's leadership mattered later. The Roman church would claim that its bishops were Peter's successors, which became the basis of the Papacy.

Over time, leadership of the Jerusalem church passed to James the Just, "the brother of the Lord." (Catholic and Orthodox Christians, who believe Mary remained a virgin, understand "brother" as a cousin or step-brother.) James had not followed Jesus during his ministry, but Paul says the risen Jesus appeared to him. He was known for his strict Jewish piety and earned the nickname "James the Just." He presided over the church's first great debate (see Paul and the Gentiles). In AD 62 he was executed by the high priest, an event recorded by the Jewish historian Josephus.

The Twelve apostles ("those sent out") had special status as witnesses of Jesus. Later legends would send them across the world: Thomas to India, Andrew to Greece, Mark to Alexandria. Most of these traditions cannot be verified, though some, like the link between Thomas and the ancient Christians of southern India, are taken seriously by some scholars.

Hellenists and the first martyr

Very early there was tension inside the Jerusalem community. Acts mentions two groups: "Hebrews" (Aramaic-speaking Jews from Judea) and "Hellenists" (Greek-speaking Jews from the diaspora). When the Hellenists complained that their widows were being neglected in the daily food distribution, the apostles appointed seven men to manage it. This is traditionally seen as the origin of the office of Deacon ("servant").

One of the seven, Stephen, was a powerful preacher. He apparently criticized the Temple and suggested that God was not confined to it. Enraged opponents dragged him out of the city and stoned him, around AD 34. He became the first Christian Martyr, a Greek word meaning "witness." Watching and approving was a young Pharisee named Saul of Tarsus, the future apostle Paul of Tarsus.

Scattered, and spreading

Stephen's death set off a persecution, mainly of the Greek-speaking believers. They fled Jerusalem, and, as Acts puts it, they preached wherever they went. Persecution, intended to stamp the movement out, spread it instead. This pattern would recur throughout Christian history.

• Philip, another of the seven, preached in Samaria, among people most Jews despised. He also baptized an Ethiopian court official, an early sign of the faith reaching Africa.
• Peter baptized a Roman centurion, Cornelius, after a vision taught him not to call any person "unclean." It was a breakthrough. A Gentile had received the Spirit without first becoming a Jew.
• Refugees reached Antioch in Syria, the third-largest city of the empire. There, some began preaching directly to Greeks. A church of Jews and Gentiles together grew up, led by Barnabas and later Paul. "It was in Antioch," says Acts, "that the disciples were first called Christians." The nickname was probably coined by outsiders and meant something like "Christ's people."

Antioch, not Jerusalem, would be the launching pad for the mission to the wider world.

Women in the first church

Women were prominent from the start. Women were the first witnesses of the empty tomb. Jesus' mother, Mary, mother of Jesus, was among the believers praying before Pentecost. Acts and Paul's letters mention women who hosted house churches (such as Mary, the mother of John Mark, in Jerusalem, and Lydia in Philippi) and women who worked as co-workers in the mission. Since the church met in homes, the household, often run by women, was its basic unit. Later centuries would restrict women's roles more tightly, a tension explored in Bishops and Church Order.

Opposition at home

The Jerusalem church faced repeated pressure. Around AD 44, King Herod Agrippa I executed James, son of Zebedee, the first of the Twelve to die, and imprisoned Peter. Peter escaped and left Jerusalem, later traveling to Antioch and eventually, according to strong early tradition, to Rome. James the brother of Jesus was killed in 62. A few years later the great Jewish revolt against Rome began. Its outcome would change the Jerusalem church forever (see The Fall of Jerusalem).

What did the first Christians believe?

We sometimes imagine the first believers as having a fully formed theology. They did not. But even the earliest sermons in Acts and the oldest formulas Paul quotes show some core convictions:

• Jesus is Lord and Messiah. The Aramaic prayer Maranatha, "Our Lord, come!", preserved even in Greek-speaking churches, shows that the earliest believers prayed to Jesus.
• God raised him from the dead, proving that his death was not a defeat.
• His death was "for our sins", in fulfillment of the Scriptures.
• The Spirit has been poured out, a sign that the "last days" foretold by the prophet Joel have begun.
• He will return to judge and to complete God's kingdom.

These convictions sat inside a fully Jewish framework: one God, the Scriptures of Israel, and the hope of Israel's restoration. Working out how they fit together would occupy the church for centuries.