The Early Church was Jewish

[Kosherboy]

Evidence of the Jewish Background

of the Early Church

by Ron Moseley, PH.D.

Contrary to what some believe, the first fifteen bishops of the original Church at Jerusalem were Jewish. In his Ecclesiastical History, Eusebius tells us that "the church at Jerusalem, at first formed of the circumcision, came later to be formed of Gentile Christians, and the whole church under them, consisted of faithful Hebrews who continued from the time of the apostles, until the siege of Jerusalem." l
In his second-century historical work, Hegesippus describes the rivalry between a man named Thebouthis and others, seeking the position of bishop after the death of James, who was said to be the first pastor at Jerusalem.1213 According to Hegesippus, the Hebrew Christians finally chose Simeon, who was a cousin of the Lord, to succeed James. Epiphanius lists the remaining thirteen Jewish pastors of the Jerusalem Church as Justus, Zaccheus, Tobias, Benjamin, John, Mathias, Philip, Seneca, Justus, Levi, Ephrem, Joseph, and Jude, completing the historical record all the way up to the Bar Kochba Revolt (A.D. 132-135).1617 These Jewish relatives of Jesus who led the early Church were called Desposynoi, meaning "heirs," and were often persecuted because of their Davidic lineage and their relationship to the Messiah.
During the reign of Hadrian (A.D. 117-138), the Jewish nation was crushed in what came to be called the Second Jewish War. Jerusalem was renamed Aelia Capitolina by the Romans, and Jews were forbidden to enter the city for one hundred years. As these dramatic events were unfolding, many of the Hebrew Christians fled to the mountains of Pella, located in present-day Jordan, in obedience to Christ"™s instruction found in Matthew 24:16. This left only Gentile believers in control of the Church for the first time, and they quickly appointed a man named Mark as Jerusalem"™s first non-Jewish pastor.4, 5 According to Baring Gould"™s history, the community of believers in exile, led by James and Simeon, was still clinging tightly to the old traditions while crouched at Pella.6
The Influence of the Synagogue on the Organizational Structure of the Church
Since the Hebrew Christians were not completely removed from Jerusalem until well into the second century, for its first one hundred years the Church remained very much a part of first-century Judaism, and its leaders stayed involved in many Jewish affairs. There was no immediate split from the synagogue, as evidenced by Jesus"™ warning that some synagogues would punish His followers for preaching a different brand of Judaism (Matthew 10:17). We know that this scourging by synagogue leaders was not an abnormal part of normative Judaism since it is mentioned a number of times in early rabbinical literature.28[/size]29
The structure of the local synagogues was carried over directly into the structure of the early Church. A president, deacons, a preceptor (song leader), and teachers can all be found in both the synagogue and the early Church. We know from early sources that there were between 394 and 480 synagogues in Jerusalem during the first century, one being located within the precincts of the Temple itself.8 This is undoubtedly why the early pattern of the Church had its origins in the Jewish synagogue. Note the following similarities between the ancient synagogue and the early Church.
The principal leader of a synagogue was the nasi or president. In the Christian congregation, the leaders were still called president rather than pastor, as late as A.D. 150, by such non-Jewish writers as Justin Martyr.9 In the synagogue structure, three of these leaders would join together to form a tribunal for judging cases concerning money, theft, immorality, admission of proselytes, laying on of hands, and a host of other things mentioned in the Sanhedrin section of the Mishnah.
These men were known as the "rulers of the synagogue" because they took on the chief care of things, a title mentioned several times in the teachings of Jesus (Mark 5:3 and Luke 8:41). This practice was still in use among the Gentile congregations at Corinth under the apostleship of Paul, where he spoke of the court within the congregation (1 Corinthians 6:1-2).
The nasi was the administrator of the synagogue, and we know that James, the half-brother of Jesus, was the nasi of the early Church at Jerusalem. Early documents such as the Didache suggest that the churches in Asia Minor and Greece treated the Church at Jerusalem with much the same authority as the synagogues did the Sanhedrin.10, 11
There also was a public minister of the synagogue called a chazen who prayed, preached behind a wooden pulpit, and took care of the general oversight of the reading of the Law and other congregational duties. He did not read the Law, but stood by the one who did, to correct and oversee, ensuring that it was done properly. He selected seven readers each week who were well-educated in the Hebrew Scriptures. The group consisted of one priest, one Levite, and five regular Israelites (Luke 4:16). The terms overseer of the congregation, angel of the church, and minister of the synagogue all referred to this position.4445
There were also three men known as almoners or parnasin who cared for the poor and distributed alms and were expected to be scholars of the Scriptures. Since they were also known as gabbay tzedikah, it may be from this function that we get the modern term deacon. Some scholars hold that it was from these seven, the president, the ruler, the overseer, the chazen, and the three parnas, that the idea of selecting "seven good men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom" came about (Acts 6:3). These men were appointed over the business affairs of the Church so the apostles would not have to be distracted from their study of the Scriptures and prayer.
In Jewish literature the question is asked, "Who is a scholar worthy of being appointed Parnas?" The answer is: "He who is asked about a law from any source, and is able to give an answer."4849 In modern times the Jews use this term to refer to a lay person, who is also called an elder.
Another function in the ancient synagogue was the shaliach, or announcer. From this position we get the term apostle, meaning one who is sent forth to announce the gospel, a role equivalent to that of our modern missionaries. There was also the maggid, a migratory evangelist of the first century who spoke to various congregations, and the batlanim, a scholarly teacher who was either independently wealthy or on some type of support so he would be available to provide the congregation with accurate academics and answers. There had to be at least ten batlanim in every congregation of one hundred and twenty members. There was even a tradition that a synagogue service could not commence without ten men present.5253 Jesus may have been referring to this tradition when He said, "Where two or three are gathered in My name, there am I in the midst of them" (Matthew 18:20). Next, there was the zakin, a word meaning "old," more in the since of maturity than age. This person provided counsel to the people and was similar to a modern-day pastor or elder. In Judaism, those who had reached the age of forty were considered to have attained understanding, and those who were over fifty were considered worthy to counsel the younger people.5657 The rabbi was a prophet after the manner of the post-exilic prophets of Judaism. He carried the responsibility of reading and preaching the Word and exhorting and edifying the people (1 Corinthians 14:3). There was also the interpreter, known as the meturganim. This was a person skilled in languages who stood by the one reading the Law or teaching in a Bet Midrash (a house of study) to interpret into the lingua franca of that day the Hebrew that was being spoken. The use of an interpreter goes back to the time of Ezra, when the interpreter was said to have added the meaning. The Talmud gives many details of the interpreter"™s duties in the synagogue.6061 It is from this concept that we understand Jesus"™ words, "What you hear in the ear, preach upon the housetops" (Matthew 10:27). This phrase was easily understood by those who were familiar with the system of study in the Bet Midrash, where the teacher would literally speak the message in the interpreter"™s ear, who would then shout it out to others, both inside the classroom and out.

Jewish Customs In the Early Church
Besides the organizational structure of the early Church having its roots in the synagogue, many of its customs were also Jewish. All of the initial Christians were either Jews by birth or by conversion, and apparently there were no Gentile members for at least the first ten years. This conclusion is implied by several texts, including Acts 10, where, approximately ten years after His ascension, the Lord had to instruct Peter three times to go into the house of a Gentile. This strongly suggests that the Jewish Church had been meeting house to house and breaking bread only in Jewish homes up to that time (Acts 2:42-46). Furthermore, when Peter entered the house of Cornelius, he explained to his household that he still understood it to be unlawful for a Jew to enter the house of a non-Jew (Acts 10:28).
Further evidence of the Jewishness of the early believers can be found in an incident recorded in Acts 21:20, an incident which occurred some twenty-five years after the Lord"™s ascension. When Paul returned to Jerusalem with some charitable contributions for the believers, he was told that during his absence many thousands of Jews had become believers, yet they continued to be staunch upholders of the Law.

Hebraic Names For the Early Church
Not only were the first fifteen elders of the Jerusalem Church Jewish, but so were the initial names applied to the early congregations. The term Minim, meaning "heretics" in Hebrew, was used by some in the Jewish community to describe the new believers. The Way, used in Acts 24:14 and 22, was a Messianic term taken from texts such as Isaiah 40:2, which refers to preparing "the way of the Lord." The Nazoraioi is Greek for Nazarenes (Acts 24:5) and is obviously derived from Jesus"™ Jewish hometown. The term Messianists is derived directly from the Hebrew word Messiah. Epiphanius"™ history says that before the believers were called Christians, they were for a short time known by the title Iessaioi, probably derived from the name Jesus,6465 a name saturated with the idea of salvation. Each of these names has an Hebraic background and is closely related to an Old Testament text.
The word Christian does not come from the Hebrew word for Anointed One but from a Greek word, and was not used by the Jerusalem Church at all. Christian was first used as a Gentile title for the believers at Antioch some forty to forty-five years into the first century (Acts 11:26). The term "were called" suggests that the name was coined by those outside the Church, perhaps to distinguish the disciples of Christ from unconverted Gentiles, as well as from other branches of Judaism. There is no evidence that the term was used extensively as a self-designation by the early Church, since it is only used three times in the New Testament and only once by a believer (Acts 11:26; 26:28; and 1 Peter 4:16).
The word Christian does not appear consistently as a self-designation until the Didache,68[size=3]69 and was used later by Ignatius during the late first or early second century.19 The reason this term was not used earlier may be explained by a letter from the Roman Governor Pliny the Younger to Emperor Trajan around the year A.D. 112. The letter indicates that those identifying with this name were killed.72[size=1]73
In examining the Jewish roots of the Church, it is important to differentiate between the Hebrew Christians, such as the Nazarenes and Messianists at the beginning, and the various groups of Ebionites with their Judaizing traits, which were active around the turn of the first century. The early Hebrew Church was composed of those who believed in justification by faith as well as those who stressed traditions that involved legalism. Although most Jewish believers continued to keep the Sabbath and the various laws that differentiated them from non-Jews, strictly as an identification code, they did not require it for their non-Jewish converts. This identification as a Jew had nothing to do with salvation, but was kept by Jews as a reminder of the special eternal Covenant that God had made with them as a chosen people. The Covenant reminded God"™s people that they were the guardians of the Holy Land and were obliged to maintain and preserve the Law (Genesis 15:18, 17:7-10, Deuteronomy 7:6, Psalms 105:45, Ezekiel 16:6, Isaiah 44:1 and Romans 3:1-2).
After an investigation of all Scripture relating to Israel, it appears that the chosen people status was not awarded as a special privilege, but because the people of Israel could be trusted to preserve the Law of God (Psalms 105:45). Although some 170 of the 613 Laws of the Torah apply to moral and ethical matters, few Christians recognize them as a part of modern theology and it has fallen to the Jewish people to preserve this aspect of God"™s Law until the present.
[hr]

1 Isaac Boyle, trans., Eusebius"™ Ecclesiastical History, H.E. 5, (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1974), pp. 4-6.
2 Ibid., H.E.3,32,6.
3 Ibid., H.E.IV.5.
4 Eus. H.E.III 5,3; Epiph.paw.29:7,7; 30:2,7.
5 Ibid., H.E. 4,6.
6 Baring Gould, "Schonfield"™s History," Lost and Hostile History, (London: Duckworth Publications, 1936), p. 35.
7 Rabbi Isidore Epstein, ea., Soncino Talmud, Sanh. 9:6; Yev. 90 (London: Soncino Press, 1948).
8 Jerusalem Talmud, Meg. 3:1; Ket. 105a; Sot. 7:7,8; Yoma 7:1 (London: Soncino Press, 1948).
9 Alexander Roberts, ea., Anti-Nicene Fathers, Vol. l (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans Publishing Company), p. 186.
10 Roswell Hitchcock, ea., Didache 8, (Willits, CA: Eastern Orthodox Publishers, 1989), chapters 11-15.
11 Isaac Boyle, trans., Eusebius"™ Ecclesiastical History 3.25.4 (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1974).
12 John Lightfoot, "Commentary on the New Testament from the Talmud and Hebraica," Hebraica, Vol. 11., Rev. 3:1, 7, 14 (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publications, 1979), pp.89-99.
13 Rabbi Isidore Epstein, ea., Soncino Talmud, Shab. 114a (London: Soncino Press, 1948).
14 Lightfoot, op. cit., p.89.
15 Philip Blackman, ea., Mishnah, I Pet. 5:5; I Tim. 5:1; Avot 5:21 (New York: Judaica Press, 1983).
16 Rabbi Isidore Epstein, ea., Soncino Talmud, Meg. 4; Maimon. Tephillah, 12; Massecheth Soph. 10 (London: Soncino Press, 1948).
17 Ray Pritz, Nazarene Jewish Christianity (Jerusalem: Magnes Press, Hebrew University, 1992), p.l3.
18 Roswell Hitchcock, ea., Didache, 12:4 (Willits, CA: Eastern Orthodox Publishers, 1989).
19 David Freedman, ea., Anchor Bible Dictionary, Vol. l, (New York: Doubleday, 1992), pp.925-26.
20 David Freedman, ea., "Pliny Letters 10:96," Anchor Bible Dictionary, Vol. I (New York: Doubleday), p.926.

This article is taken from Dr. Moseley"™s new book, Yeshua, A Guide to the Real Jesus and the Original Church, published by Ebed Publications. Used by permission of the publisher.

[cr422]

Didn't really read it so don't know how much is historical fact and how much is opinion.

But there is no question really, that Christianity is a Jewish sect.

[Venator1]

Some other facts from what I believe to be a decent source for those interested.

From this Coenaculum the first Christian bishops ruled the Church of Jerusalem. They were all converts from Judaism, as were their flocks. Eusebius (Hist. Eccl., IV, v) gives the list of these bishops. According to a universal tradition the first was the Apostle St. James the Less, the "brother of the Lord". His predominant place and residence in the city are implied by Gal., i, 19. Eusebius says he was appointed bishop by Peter, James (the Greater), and John (II, i). Naturally the other Apostles when they were at Jerusalem shared the government with him (Acts 15:6, etc.; Eus., "Hist. Ecclesiastes", II, 23). He was thrown from a rock, then stoned to death by the Jews about the year 63 (Eus., ib.; Josephus, "Antiq. Jud.", XX, ix, 1; ed. cit., p. 786). After his death the surviving Apostles and other disciples who were at Jerusalem chose Simeon, son of Cleophas (also called Our Lord's brother, Matthew 13:55), to succeed him. He was bishop at the time of the destruction (70) and probably then went to Pella with the others. About the year 106 or 107 he was crucified under Trajan (Eus., "Hist. Eccl.", III, xxxii). The line of bishops of Jerusalem was then continued as follows:
Judas (Justus), 107-113;
Zachaeus or Zacharias;
Tobias;
Benjamin;
John;
Matthias (d. 120);
Philip (died c. 124);
Seneca;
Justus;
Levi;
Ephraim;
Joseph;
Judas Quiriacus (d. between 134-148).

[Snooky]

Should we be suprised that the New Testament church, which started in Jerusalem, would be predominately, but not totally Jewish in its infant state? The birth of the New Testament church records new, born again members as these: Partians, Medes, Elamites, dwellers in Mesopotamia, , in Judaea, Cappadocia, Pontus, Asia, Phrygia, Pamphylia in Egypt, parts of Libya, Cyrene, strangers of Rome, Jews, and proselytes, Cretes, and Arabians. The percentage of Jewish believers added to the church that day isn't recorded in the only book that counts, the Bible. It was only a short time until the church at Rome, Corinth, churches of Galatia,Ephesus, Philippi, Colosse, Thessalonia, Berea, and those scattered abroad, out numbered the Jewish brethern.
Eph 1:21-23 Far above all principality and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: V22 And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, V23 Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.
In spite of all the Bishops and overseers' appointed by man, Jesus was always the head of the church, and remains the head unto this day.
The children of Abraham are children of faith, whereby we cry Abba, Father. Grafted into and partaking of the root and fatness of the olive tree, adpoted into sonship, for by grace are ye saved through faith.

[Kosherboy]

ORIGINAL: Venator1

Some other facts from what I believe to be a decent source for those interested.

From this Coenaculum the first Christian bishops ruled the Church of Jerusalem. They were all converts from Judaism, as were their flocks. Eusebius (Hist. Eccl., IV, v) gives the list of these bishops. According to a universal tradition the first was the Apostle St. James the Less, the "brother of the Lord". His predominant place and residence in the city are implied by Gal., i, 19. Eusebius says he was appointed bishop by Peter, James (the Greater), and John (II, i). Naturally the other Apostles when they were at Jerusalem shared the government with him (Acts 15:6, etc.; Eus., "Hist. Ecclesiastes", II, 23). He was thrown from a rock, then stoned to death by the Jews about the year 63 (Eus., ib.; Josephus, "Antiq. Jud.", XX, ix, 1; ed. cit., p. 786). After his death the surviving Apostles and other disciples who were at Jerusalem chose Simeon, son of Cleophas (also called Our Lord's brother, Matthew 13:55), to succeed him. He was bishop at the time of the destruction (70) and probably then went to Pella with the others. About the year 106 or 107 he was crucified under Trajan (Eus., "Hist. Eccl.", III, xxxii). The line of bishops of Jerusalem was then continued as follows:
Judas (Justus), 107-113;
Zachaeus or Zacharias;
Tobias;
Benjamin;
John;
Matthias (d. 120);
Philip (died c. 124);
Seneca;
Justus;
Levi;
Ephraim;
Joseph;
Judas Quiriacus (d. between 134-148).

I take issue with the statement , that they were "converts", a Jew does not convert, he simply adds faith in the messiah to his already knowledge of God.The atriarchs of the church continue to be Jews involved in the Jewish Community and keeping the Laws , Including Paul.
This is where non-jews are in error, trying to convert will not be very succesful, Jews will not dissobey God's commandments.
"Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for Salvation is of the Jews" (Jesus)
(John 4:22).

[Ought_Six]

You are splitting hairs, Kosher. Christianity is the completion of God's promise to the Jewish people. Of course salvation was offered to the Jewish people first. It doesnt take a rocket scientist to figure out from the book of Acts that many of the early church members were Jews.

[Kosherboy]

ORIGINAL: Ought_Six

You are splitting hairs, Kosher. Christianity is the completion of God's promise to the Jewish people. Of course salvation was offered to the Jewish people first. It doesnt take a rocket scientist to figure out from the book of Acts that many of the early church members were Jews.

Thanks but you'll be surprise how many don't know that.
But splitting hairs again , I would say Not only was it offer to the Jew First and then the Gentile, but Jews In Fact are the salvation of the World.

[blockquote](John 4:22 KJV) Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews.[/blockquote]

God called Abraham to bring forth a nation that would be peculiarly His, and Paul's letter to the Romans describes what Jesus meant in John 4:22:


[blockquote](Rom 9:3-5 KJV) For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh: {4} Who are Israelites; to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises; {5} Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen.[/blockquote]

Everything God wanted to tell the world concerning His salvation He told through the Jews, first in shadow and then in reality by sending His Son in the flesh. But when God called Paul, He told him something that He had kept hidden throughout the millennia. Paul told the Church that God had revealed to him a mystery that he would now explain to them so they would understand why he was calling the Gentiles to be reconciled to God. Paul called natural Israel his brothers "according to the flesh." He speaks of himself as a Jew, yet as somehow different in position from his former relation to his fellow Jews. What had changed was that he was no longer a minister under the Old Covenant, but under the new one. To the Corinthians, Paul said :


[blockquote](2 Cor 3:5-8 KJV) Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God; {6} Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life. [/blockquote]

What Paul was speaking of here was the New Covenant that was promised to Israel to supersede the Old Covenant, the comfort of which he now rejoiced in:


[blockquote](Jer 31:31-34 KJV) Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: {32} Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD: {33} But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. {34} And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.[/blockquote]

On Calvary, the Lord Jesus shed his blood and died for the sin of all in Israel, putting into effect the New Covenant God had spoken to Jeremiah and forgiving the nation its sin. Christ's death, resurrection, ascension, and glorification culminated in the sending of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost when He indwelt the Jews who believed in Jesus. Pentecost was God putting His "law in their inward parts," and writing "it in their hearts," saying "I will be their God, and they shall be my people." All who believed in Jesus were given the promised Holy Spirit.

[FroMan]

When the Jewish people rejected Christ his mercy and grace was opened up for the Gentiles (ie. me). Salvation is of the Jews because Jesus Christ himself, is salvation, and he is also Jewish.

However, if you wanna split hairs, no one has salvation until the time they face judgment. No one, alive on earth is saved. We can have faith in Christ that we will be saved...but until we are judged, we are not "saved".

[Kosherboy]

ORIGINAL: FroMan

When the Jewish people rejected Christ his mercy and grace was opened up for the Gentiles (ie. me). Salvation is of the Jews because Jesus Christ himself, is salvation, and he is also Jewish.

However, if you wanna split hairs, no one has salvation until the time they face judgment. No one, alive on earth is saved. We can have faith in Christ that we will be saved...but until we are judged, we are not "saved".

That you will need to show me in scripture, if you are going to be saved because of Judgement, then Christ came in vain.
"There is no condemnation to those who are in Messiah"

[Ought_Six]

But splitting hairs again , I would say Not only was it offer to the Jew First and then the Gentile, but Jews In Fact are the salvation of the World.

Salvation is OF the Jews, not by the Jews. (Yes, I love splitting hairs too)

However, if you wanna split hairs, no one has salvation until the time they face judgment. No one, alive on earth is saved. We can have faith in Christ that we will be saved...but until we are judged, we are not "saved".

Chapter and verse, please. While I believe Christians will face Judgement, I trust that Christ was not a liar.

When the Jewish people rejected Christ his mercy and grace was opened up for the Gentiles (ie. me). Salvation is of the Jews because Jesus Christ himself, is salvation, and he is also Jewish.

Who was it that Paul preached to in Acts chapter 2?