Honest question?

Question

I'm not a bible scholar by any means, but wasn't Jesus jewish?
If so then there where no christians untill after he was crucified.
Why are his disciples refered to as early christians?
Any thoughts on this?

If anyone is offended by this I sincerly apologize.

Answer 1

They are referred to as 'early christians' by followers of a faith already founded.

Any use of terminology that wouldn't have made any sense then is only man's latter reflection on them.

So indeed if what we know is true- they were indeed EARLY christians even if that is not what they used to call themselves.

Answer 2

This isn't offensive. Yes Jesus was Jewish, as were his disciples. They are occasionally referred to as early Christians, although that term wasn't used by the church for quite some time after Jesus ascended to heaven. The term just means, followers of Christ, and the disciples were that, so to impose that label on them is just a convenience, it is not a term they would have recognized. Now these terms have all become very politicized, and have different nuances than they would have years ago.

Answer 3

Not bad!
Jesus was Jewish, he was of the king line of David.

There were no Christians until the disciples converted some of the Jews after Christ died and resurrected, and spent some time with the disciples before his ascension to heaven.

For more on this read
Matthew
Mark
Luke
John

Answer 4

Jesus was jewish. Many jews became Christians during Jesus' lifetime, many did not. Ultimately the jews in charge of the church believed that Jesus teachings would take away their power and wealth and so whether they believed that he was the messiah or not they had him killed for blasphemy, he claimed to be the son of God. His disciples were the first Christians, they learned directly from Christ.

Answer 5

If Jesus actually existed and had followers, it's doubtful they would have referred to themselves as Christians. That's what we call them.

But also if Jesus actually existed, it's highly unlikely he was Jewish. The NT was written in Greek, not Hebrew, and Jesus shows some familiarity with the Jewish scriptures, but not enough to be Jewish. He taught heresies from a Jewish perspective, which is one of the reasons Jews do not consider him to be the messiah. He might have been Essene if he existed, but there are strong reasons to doubt that as well.

Answer 6

Yes, Jesus was a Jew. His disciples were early Christians, because they were the first followers of him. He gave the disciples instructions to "go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." (Matthew 28:19-20)

Answer 7

The "Early Church" was entirely Jewish; including the Apostles & Jesus Himself. It was NOT a church, as Christians think of it. It was a Synagogue. Pretty much everything Christians do today is taken from Judaism.
Good question!

Answer 8

I think the disciples were referred to as early Christians because they had accepted Jesus as their Christ - even before he rose from the dead.

Answer 9

They are referred to as that because they were among the first to believe that Jesus was God (Christ - the Annointed One - the Messiah) and to follow him. For quite a while, all believers in Jesus were Jews. The evangelists went to the Gentiles later.

Answer 10

yes, Jesus was jewish, but not 100% by any means.
According to geneology kept by the jews, he has some moabite in him and probably many other races as well.

As for his diciples, they were among the first to believe that he was the messiah, rather than just a prophet.
They didn't think of themselves as christian, but they taught that Jesus was the son of God and part of the Holy Trinity.