The Origin of Christianity
The Late Geza Vermes on the transition from Jewish Christians to Gentiles
A turning point in the Jesus movement, Peter baptizes the Roman centurion Cornelius, the first non-Jewish Christian, in Jerusalem (Acts 10), as shown in one of five baptism scenes on a 12th-century baptismal font in St. Bartholomew’s Church in Liège, Belgium. Image: Jean-Pol Grandmont.
Today the concept of “Jewish Christians” may sound like a confusion of two religions. However, to understand the origin of Christianity, one must begin with the population of Jewish Christians who lived during Jesus’ lifetime. In the November/December 2012 issue of Biblical Archaeology Review, Dead Sea Scroll and early Christianity scholar Geza Vermes explored the origin of Christianity by examining the characteristics of the Jewish Jesus movement to see how it developed into a distinctly gentile religion.
In the New Testament, Jesus only preaches to a Jewish audience. Geza Vermes described the mission of the 11 apostles to preach to “all the nations” (Matthew 28:19) as a “‘post-Resurrection’ idea.” After the crucifixion, the apostles began to champion a new faith in Jesus and the ranks of the Jesus movement (known as “the Way” at the time) swelled to 3,000 Jewish converts. At first, these followers were distinctly Jewish, following Mosaic law, Temple traditions and dietary customs.
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In BAR, Geza Vermes wrote: “Acts identifies the demographic watershed regarding the composition of the Jesus movement. It began around 40 C.E. with the admission into the church of the family of the Roman centurion Cornelius in Caesarea (Acts 10). Later came the gentile members of the mixed Jewish-Greek church in Antioch (Acts 11:19–24; Galatians 2:11–14), as well as the many pagan converts of Paul in Syria, Asia Minor and Greece. With them the Jewish monopoly in the new movement came to an end. Jewish and gentile Christianity was born.”
As gentiles joined the Jesus movement, focus on Jewish law decreased and we start to see the origin of Christianity as a distinct religion. Jewish Christians in Jerusalem participated in separate Jewish services from the gentile Christian population, and while the two groups agreed on Jesus’ message and importance, the separate rites and communities led to increasing division between the groups.
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The early-second-century Epistle of Barnabas is one of the earliest expressions of gentile Christianity and describes Jesus as quasi-divine. Photo: ©The British Library.
Geza Vermes presents the late first century C.E. Jewish Christian Didache as an important text for understanding the Jewish Jesus movement. The Christian document focuses on Mosaic Law and the love of God and the neighbor, and describes the observance of Jewish traditions alongside baptism and the recitation of “Our Father.” The Didache treats Jesus as a charismatic prophet, referring to Jesus with the term pais, a word for servant or child that is also used for King David, rather than the “Son of God.”
By contrast, the early second century Epistle of Barnabas shows a distinctly gentile Christianity in its presentation of the Hebrew Bible as allegory instead of covenantal fact. The clearly divinized Jesus in this document is distanced from the Jewish Christians and the divide between the Christian communities continued to widen over time. Geza Vermes writes that after Hadrian’s suppression of the Second Jewish Revolt, the Jewish Christians quickly became a minority group in the newly established church. At this point we can see the origin of Christianity as a distinctly non-Jewish religion; late in the second century, the Jewish Christians either rejoined their Jewish peers or become part of the newly gentile Christian church.
For more on the origin of Christianity, read Geza Vermes’s “From Jewish to Gentile: How the Jesus Movement Became Christianity” as it appeared in Biblical Archaeology Review, November/December 2012.
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This Bible History Daily feature was originally published in November 2012.
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If scholars don’t wise up and realise there was never any such things as “Jewish Christians” then the question of Christianity’s origins can NEVER be answered factually. What makes Cornelius a Christian? Absolutely nothing. He was baptised into the Jewish sect of the Nazarenes. There isn’t a single Christian in the new testament or that period.
The history of the term Christian can be found in its latin definition and can be understood as such. When the history of the true followers of” the way”which were originally called nawtsar. (Which means shepherd or watcher and can be seen when
used properly with Yahushua
Nawtsarine not Nazarene. Referred to as the good
shepherd. ) the true followers who when were held up in the fortress at the dead sea conmitted mass suicide rather than be taken captive by the romans who would persecute torture and make them denounce their true way for the false ways of the romans. They would rather die than serve the romans. The romans in their disbelief of these peoples devotion to their
faith . Rather than submit to defeat and enslavement and or citizenship to the Roman nation. They were referred to as christians. ( stupid people) . The term used today is not what it appears to be but is a fabrication of lies and deceit. By grouos of people who share in spreading the false word . Which was hinted at in 2 thessolonians
I enjoyed this short article, and have been doing research on the roots of Christianity. Additionally, I attended seminary for a short while and realized it was very shallow and without the understanding that Yeshua was born a Jew, stated He came for the Jew first, and His “First” converts or followers were all Jews. I found the teachings misleading and when conducting my own research realized the true plan of God in Ephesians 2:11. I also found documents were the Roman Emperor Constantine actually changed the observance of Passover to the observance of Easter (after the goddess of fertility) and dictated how the “Trinity” would be accepted and understood. Also, most of the “Christian” holidays were changed to observe pagan traditions as Constantine himself worshipped the sun. This is why currently, Christians celebrate the birth of of Yeshua in December…when it was clearly during the Jewish holiday of Sukkoth, when jews set temporary huts outside their homes. Anyway, read Ephesians 2:11 and join the true family of God and follow, “the Way”.
Oh look, Joseph attended seminary ‘for a short while’ and discovered that learned people had nothing to show him. Funny how those of his ilk will use ancient ideas of paganism and holidays to determine all religions but his are wrong. God loves you despite your secularism, Joe.
No mention of the church of St. Thomas in India, which I understand continues a purely Aramaic Christian tradition, since it was founded separately from the tradition in Western Europe.
Liz
The term “Christian” is a pejorative and derogatory term. Jesus and his followers were called “Natsarims” or Nazarenes in modern terminology and never wore any crucifixes for their emblem was the “Fish” or Pisces, symbolic of the nature of work done by the apostles, as fishermen, therefore fishers of men. There were 12 names of the Apostles in the 12 pillars of the 2nd Temple of Solomon., and Paul is never written or mentioned there.
http://www.fossilizedcustoms.com/christian.html The ebiomites later became followers of Saul of Tarsus, who changed his name to Paul, and lied about seeing Jesus Christ on the way to Damascus.These were the Jews who was “Christianize d” by the Church of Ephesus that Paul had controlled of.
Paul, the false Apostle was the founder of Christianity not Jesus nor any of his foillowers!
Well.said armando u know ur history and I applaud you. The idea of nazareth as opposed to.the true term nawtsar which means shepherd is an apostacy
The ex Roman rev Vermes attended seminary in Hungary and Italy .but has mis-stated the case. “Christianity”, defined as a faith in Christ being the person of Jesus of Nazareth, was something new and unique in the culture. That “faith” was “born of a virgin” and opposed the religion of Judaism.. Pope Benedict XVI. has written a very interesting book of Jesus of Nazareth.Lets read it.As a christian with ardent and live faith in Christ wrote it not as a person who lost his faith in the Fathoer and Son Jesus and the Holy Spirit ,.that is the difference.