The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch.
Acts 11:26b NIV
The very first followers of Jesus were all Jewish. They understood themselves to be Jews who were following the long-promised Messiah. The people around them saw those who followed Jesus as a sect of Judaism, not a separate religion. It was only when Jesus’ followers began to reach Gentiles that any question arose about the Jewishness of this faith. And that is what happened in Antioch.
The church there was started by Jewish believers. But they were telling the good news of Jesus to the Gentiles. Large numbers of people were turning to the Lord. And the church became primarily composed of Gentiles. So what do you call a group of Gentiles who adhere to a Jewish Messiah and study the Jewish Scriptures?
The name adopted for them was Christian or Christ-follower. It is unclear if that is a name the believers adopted for themselves or if it was given to them by the unbelievers in Antioch. Many see it as a term of derision that the unbelievers applied to the followers of Jesus. But whatever the source for the name, it was ultimately adopted by the followers of Jesus. A name they took with them wherever they went. And still today we call ourselves Christians, followers of Christ.
I wonder; if we did not already have an identifying label today, what would our communities call us? Or would they even recognize that we were different?
