Participants: Alex Schlusser (Host), Rachael Hyman (Host), Sasha Bolotnikov
Series Code: BTOR
Program Code: BTOR000021
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00:01 Who was the first Christian?
00:04 When you think about that what comes to mind? 00:07 Today I am Back To Our Roots. 00:08 We're going to explore exactly that question. Stick around. 00:32 Welcome once again to Back to our Roots. 00:35 I am your host Alex Schlusser and this is my co-host-- 00:38 Rachel Hyman. 00:39 And we're so glad that you decided to join us today. 00:42 And we have a very interesting topic today, 00:45 Rachel. Yes. 00:46 We're going to be discussing, who was the first Christian. 00:51 I don't even know who the first Christian-- 00:52 We can say who were the first Christians? 00:54 When does that term appear? 00:58 When did Christianity begin? 01:01 Interesting thought. 01:02 You know, Rachel, if I was to ask you that, 01:05 how do you think most people would respond? 01:07 When did Christianity begin? 01:09 I guess maybe most people would respond, 01:11 you know, after Jesus died 01:14 or you know, when Jesus was here I guess. 01:16 And you know most people know how to answer, 01:18 you know, oh, the Jews were the first Christians. 01:21 But for some reason I think that's been difficult 01:23 for some people to embrace. 01:25 You know, I would really say that. 01:26 I think probably the average person 01:30 would not even associate Jews with Christianity. 01:32 Yeah, that's probably true. 01:33 You know, they would probably 01:35 think that well, this is Christianity. 01:37 And, you know, I think that one of the purposes 01:40 of our program all along the way has been to show 01:44 this connection between Hebrew mind, Jewish people, 01:51 those things Jewish, especially the first century and before 01:54 that and how that really was the foundation 01:58 of what we know now as Christianity. 02:00 That when Jesus came, 02:03 when Paul walked the face of the earth 02:05 was their intent to create a new religion 02:07 that would become called Christianity. 02:10 Interesting question. 02:11 So we're going to discuss those things today. 02:14 So hang with us. 02:15 It's going to be a very interesting 02:16 program today. 02:18 I'd like to invite out our resident scholar, 02:21 Alexander Bolotnikov. 02:23 Sasha, how are you doing or should I say, Dr. Sasha? 02:28 Good to see you, Alex. Good to see you, Rachel. 02:30 And doctors and professors 02:32 always need help with their clothing. 02:34 So it's good to see you again. 02:35 Rachel always watches around me. 02:39 Today, Sasha, we're talking about the first Christians. 02:43 And maybe as important, when did Christianity begin? 02:50 Who were the first Christians? 02:52 When did that term even come into play? 02:57 So let's go back and let's begin our discussion today with-- 03:03 when did Christianity begin? 03:05 Was it at the crucifixion? 03:08 Did Paul begin Christianity? What do you think, Sasha? 03:13 The first congregation of followers of the Messiah 03:20 started 50 days after the crucifixion. 03:23 Right. 03:24 That was the Feast of Pentecost. 03:28 And that was the best time when number of Jewish pilgrims 03:35 from all around the world would come to Jerusalem. 03:42 I have to notice, we got to notice the fact that, 03:46 you know, about only about 30% of Jewish people 03:52 lived in Judea during the first century. 03:56 70% of the Jews kind of moved away from Judea 04:02 just because it's so small economy, 04:04 all kinds of issues and they lived-- 04:07 was big community in Alexandria, Egypt. 04:10 There was a big community in Rome. 04:12 There was communities all across Asia Minor 04:16 which is today's Turkey. 04:18 There was community in the area 04:20 which is known as today as Iran and Iraq. 04:23 There was a community in Tarshish 04:26 known as today as Spain across Mediterranean. 04:30 So the Pentecost was-- that day when-- 04:35 basically parents would bring their children 04:39 to the Jerusalem to their birthplace. 04:42 You know, Alex, it's like, today it's like a Bar Mitzvah tours, 04:46 the Israel organize for American Jewish kids. 04:49 So what that is, is that for those of you 04:52 that may not know the-- 04:55 boy, I don't want to call it a ceremony but the celebration 04:58 that a 13 year old Jewish boy and a 12 year old Jewish girl 05:04 go through something called Bar Mitzvah or Bat Mitzvah 05:07 and it means sons or daughter of the commandment 05:09 and it really for them to signifying 05:13 that they have accepted responsibly 05:15 for their own spiritual growth. 05:16 There's a lot of things that happened 05:17 but in essence that's what it is. 05:19 What Sasha is talking about 05:20 is this is very popular for people to, 05:24 parents to take their son or their daughter 05:26 in conjunction with their Bat Mitzvah or Bar Mitzvah 05:29 to go to Jerusalem, to Israel and to be able to celebrate it 05:33 especially at the Western Wall, big and popular thing. 05:37 So it was one of the things Sasha is saying that 05:41 during that time of Pentecost that the Jews would all travel, 05:46 no matter where they lived they would come to Jerusalem. 05:49 This is the reason why there are 05:50 so many people there, the streets would swell. 05:53 And of course we've talked previously this is the point 05:56 when the outpouring of the Holy Spirit happens 05:59 that Peter is preaching 06:01 and thousands are getting saved, right. 06:03 Three thousand people, what happen was, 06:06 you know, as we mentioned in our last program, 06:09 suddenly you know, during this temple ceremony 06:14 when they are about to embark on the reading of the story of 06:18 how God delivered Ten Commandments to Israel 06:23 you know, I'm following in Exodus 19:20. 06:26 Then suddenly that fire, like a little pillar, 06:31 little tongue of fire would rest 06:33 upon the disciples of Jesus making them a mini temples. 06:40 And this startles everybody. 06:44 These uneducated Galileans because that's what Galileans 06:49 were viewed in Jerusalem like uneducated, farmers, fishermen, 06:54 who didn't know how to speak Hebrew language. 06:58 They spoke simple Aramaic and then 07:01 and they needed to translate-- 07:02 that Jerusalemites would translate for them Torah. 07:05 They began to speak not only in Hebrew 07:07 but in all kinds of languages of this Diaspora people-- 07:13 Which Diaspora means anyone 07:14 that lived outside of Jerusalem or Judea. 07:16 Yeah, and that's why it was so important like, 07:20 when American Jews come to Israel 07:23 the majority of them speak English, 07:26 don't speak any Hebrew, 07:28 they need translation the same way. 07:30 You know, Alexandrian Jews spoke Greek. 07:32 You know, Persian Jews Spoke Persian. 07:34 So all of the sudden, you know, 07:36 the story of Pentecostals is when it say they heard tongues, 07:39 you know, what it was is that they were hearing 07:41 the presentation of the gospel in their languages. 07:45 So it's either they were hearing it 07:47 or they were speaking it, but either way 07:49 translation was happening somehow and they understood. 07:52 Yes, exactly. 07:53 That what was really moved and so Peter comes in 07:57 and gives that explanation, appeals to people to repent. 08:01 And you got 3,000 Jews basically, 08:05 they were not some kind of a tourist, they were not, 08:09 you know, anybody else they were Jews, 08:13 3,000 Jews that's what, 08:15 that's what the Book of Acts 2 tells. 08:18 Decide to dedicate their life to the Lord 08:21 and they formed that first community that followed 08:27 and accepted Jesus as their Messiah and Savior. 08:32 Now let me ask you something. 08:35 I know that in few places in the New Testament 08:39 there is a term that they were followers of the way. 08:44 At what point now that, you know, 08:47 that seems to be the early name of those 08:50 Jews that were following Messiah? 08:52 The way. Yeah, it was "the way." 08:54 That's cool. They were following-- 08:55 Oh, because exactly, because Jesus in Gospel of John-- 08:58 Said, I am the way. 08:59 I am the way, truth and the life. So-- 09:01 So that's really the earliest name. 09:04 Exactly, there was no-- there was no like Christian. 09:07 We'll get to it little later, but there was exactly, 09:13 there were followers of the way. 09:14 The reason why, Jewish-- 09:18 I mean this is within Jewish community. 09:21 It's within Jewish community. That's why, 09:23 you know, historians treat the first century Christians, 09:26 they call them straight forward Judea Christians, 09:30 for reason because, all of this was happened 09:33 inside Jewish community. 09:35 And so these people needed to be distinct 09:43 from a traditionally established sects within Judaism. 09:47 You had Pharisees, you had Sadducees, 09:50 you had Essenes, you had Zealots extremists. 09:54 These were the followers of the way. 09:57 That's how they distinguished themselves. 10:00 So let's define something. 10:02 You know, before we get too far, okay. 10:03 So we're used to hearing the term that Christian 10:08 to describe those that are followers of Jesus, right? 10:13 So what literally, see, that the interesting thing is, 10:17 Christian is really the description of exactly that, 10:20 right? Yes. 10:21 The followers of the Christ or the Messiah. Yes. 10:26 Yet that at some point sticks as only the name of this sect. 10:31 I guess it takes over 10:33 even those that are using the term the way. 10:36 Now is that and maybe 10:37 I am getting ahead of ourselves here. 10:40 But is that the result of the growing separation 10:43 between those that believe in Jesus 10:45 and those that were in the Jewish community? 10:49 Does that have anything to do with the fact 10:51 that the name the way falls out of favor versus Christian? 10:54 What do you think? 10:55 What happened is this. 10:58 When we talk about the first century, 11:00 we do have definitely a strong opposition. 11:03 Strong opposition to the followers of Jesus 11:08 from amongst the rabbis and the priest. 11:11 And we have to remember also that even in the Bible 11:15 in the Book of Acts especially like in Chapter 11. 11:18 I mean, it pretty much makes it clear 11:20 that all of the believers at first, they are Jewish. 11:23 Yeah, exactly. 11:24 I mean, you know, when we say the "Body of Christ" 11:27 that we want to use that term to describe 11:31 the whole entirety of those who followed. 11:33 Well, the "body" in that large portion of time 11:38 in the first century especially early first century after Jesus, 11:42 it's exclusively Jewish. 11:45 You know, Alex, I was-- 11:47 I had this experiences all the time. 11:50 When I do public lectures 11:53 many Jewish people come to me-- 11:56 I have these lectures on Judaism and Christianity 11:58 and they are startled with the question. 12:01 You know, explain to us how come first Christians, 12:08 we read in history they were all Jewish 12:11 and now Christianity is so anti-Jewish in many ways. 12:16 That's how Jews-- that's how the secular Jews see it. 12:21 And what happens is I believe the rift began 12:27 in the middle of the second century 12:29 and I have to tell you the main problem became 12:33 that it was actually Christianity 12:36 started to severing the ties with Judaism, 12:41 with Jewish community by accepting the-- 12:45 by rejecting the Sabbath and the Torah. 12:47 So let's jump over to this, okay. 12:52 I think another common thing that I've heard, 12:56 Sasha, is that Paul really is the one who-- 13:01 if you are going to say "a Christian" 13:04 because maybe his mission to the Gentiles. 13:08 But was Paul the first true Christian? 13:12 Absolutely not. 13:15 That's the other extreme and that's often 13:18 what the rabbis today teach. 13:20 So in the Book of Acts 18, 13:23 there's specifically some things 13:25 that I think speak to that situation. 13:28 Oh, absolutely, when you look at the Book of Acts 18. 13:32 Well, maybe we have to go back to the Book of Acts 11, 13:38 where we have to see how the term Christians emerged 13:45 and the text says that, you know, 13:48 of what happened was 13:50 one of the leaders of the community in Jerusalem, 13:53 Steven was stoned 13:55 and that prompted a strong persecution 14:00 and as a result of persecution 14:02 many leaders of the community of followers of the way 14:08 and Judea had to go away but they went to Cyprus, 14:12 they went to the Tyre and other adjacent areas 14:16 and it says there that they preached the gospel 14:20 to nobody else but the Jews. 14:23 Right. 14:24 What happens next? Which Jews that it refers to? 14:30 It refers to the Jews of the Diaspora. 14:33 Again, remember, Diaspora means 14:35 the Jews that are outside of Judea. 14:37 Right. 14:38 So Jews of the Diaspora 14:40 were more receptive to the message 14:44 such of Messiah than the Jews of Jerusalem. 14:49 So why do you think that was-- 14:50 do you think that there was less influenced by the temple, 14:55 by the Pharisees, by the Sadducees, 14:56 the further they moved away from Judea. 14:58 Yes, yes. 14:59 There was less political issues. 15:03 There was less you know-- 15:05 Maybe people felt freer 15:07 to explore things that were outside 15:09 what was being taught by the established leaders-- 15:11 Oh, yes, oh yes, oh yes. 15:12 That's why even the Pharisees in the Diaspora 15:15 would be more receptive. 15:16 Although it's interesting that Acts 15 15:20 points to us that the community, 15:22 the church in Jerusalem 15:25 did have number of former Pharisees. 15:28 And by the way Steven was stoned 15:31 if you look at the Book of Acts 7. 15:35 Steven was stoned because he preached the message 15:39 so fervently that even the priests 15:45 were accepting Jesus. 15:46 And that's what cause, you know. 15:49 I mean, look at Barnabas, who was Barnabas? 15:52 It says in the Book of Acts, you know, 15:54 famous apostle but in the Book of Acts he was a Levite. 15:58 So at the stoning of Steven, 16:01 that's when we first learn about Paul, right, 16:05 that he's there when that's happening. 16:09 Yet, by the time we jump ahead now 16:12 and even further into Acts 18. 16:15 Paul is-- scripture says that he's occupied with the word, 16:18 he's testifying to the Jews, right? 16:22 That the Christ, that the Messiah was indeed 16:25 Jesus, right. 16:28 It says that they opposed and reviled him. 16:31 Now this is his Jewish contemporary. 16:35 The ones that he had walked with, you know, 16:37 I don't know what the time period was 16:39 from the time that Steven is stoned 16:41 that he experiences that, 16:43 that he's the one pursuing the Jews 16:45 that believed calling them the heretics 16:47 and then he becomes a "heretic" himself following the Messiah. 16:53 Now there's a key scripture that 16:56 I want to spent at least a few minutes 16:58 and maybe have you give your thoughts 17:00 because this is so controversial, all right. 17:04 In terms of how this affected the relationship 17:07 that the Jews had and the God had with the Jews 17:09 because I've heard people use this, okay, 17:12 and it's simply this. 17:13 So Paul is testifying, he's talking about the Jews, 17:16 they opposed and they reviled him. 17:18 He shook out his garments, scripture says, 17:20 and he said, your blood be upon your own heads, 17:24 I am innocent, now I am going to go to the Gentiles. 17:29 I've heard people used that in the context of 17:33 here's one more proof-- 17:35 That the Jews rejected Jesus. 17:37 That they rejected and that-- They made their decision. 17:40 Paul even affirms that and moves on, okay. 17:45 Well-- 17:46 And then they take that as an example for today. 17:48 Now, you know, just forget about the Jews, 17:49 they already made their decision, let's just do it. 17:51 Exactly. 17:52 The problem is that they don't read 17:54 what these words mean in context. 17:57 Paul goes across the road to the different location 18:03 and with Paul he takes the-- 18:08 Crispus the ruler of the synagogue, 18:10 it says, believed in the Lord together was entire household 18:14 and many of the Corinthians hearing Paul believed 18:16 and were baptized. 18:18 Exactly. So all these words, you know, 18:21 what we always have to remember, 18:24 Jews are loud people, isn't it so? 18:26 Just a little. 18:29 And so Paul was no less loud than the Jews today 18:33 and the discussions get heated, 18:35 but in every community 18:38 you have people who accept Jesus, 18:40 you have people who reject Jesus. 18:42 We have-- when we read about 18:45 the missionary journeys of Paul, 18:47 time after time we will see one pattern, 18:51 Paul goes into synagogue-- 18:53 First. First. Yeah. 18:56 Because there was no other-- 18:58 this place for Paul to preach the gospel to the people. 19:03 Paul once attempted to go in Athens to the Areopagus, 19:10 the place where philosophers meet. 19:14 And, you know, he was really, really killed there. 19:18 Philosophers just didn't get anything, 19:21 it was so foreign to them. 19:23 There was one fellow whom he convert 19:25 but Paul would go into synagogue, 19:27 the synagogue would split 19:30 and the split of part of the synagogue, 19:34 it's that's what the-- 19:36 that's what becomes a new Christian church. 19:40 You know, what I find interesting today, 19:42 there's been this reaction in the Jewish community 19:44 for those who accept Jesus 19:46 and instead of even calling themselves Christian. 19:48 There's a lot Jews that feel much more comfortable 19:50 with saying, "I am a believer" just to, 19:53 you know, make the point that 19:54 they are not leaving all of their Judaism behind. 19:57 And in a way they are basically saying, 19:59 I am not in a new religion, 20:00 I just feel in some sense completed 20:03 because I've accepted Messiah. 20:04 It's like a new phrase today. 20:05 Well, I think also Rachel, that's a great point. 20:08 And I think that the tendency 20:10 also is to look at from a Jewish perspective. 20:15 All the baggage that they would perceive 20:17 goes along with the term-- 20:18 Christian, exactly. 20:19 Because from a Jewish perspective 20:22 you would look at "Christian" 20:23 and it's everything oppose to everything that Jewish is. 20:27 Right. Right? 20:28 From the holidays that are celebrated 20:30 to the total approach. 20:33 I think it's one of the things that makes 20:36 Seventh-day Adventist poise to reach the Jewish people. 20:39 Yeah, exactly. 20:40 I'm not sure everybody totally realizes 20:43 how much the Seventh-day Adventist 20:45 denomination really has with Jews compared to, you know, 20:47 everyday simple denomination. 20:50 Right, there are so many similarities. 20:51 But, Sasha, let's, I feel like 20:54 we kind of strayed a little bit 20:55 and I do want to go back to Acts Chapter 11, okay. 20:59 Why don't you pick it up there because 21:01 we wanting to look at when this term Christian 21:04 really popped on to the scene. 21:06 Well, if you look at Chapter 11, 21:09 you have this sequence of statements. 21:12 Statement number one. 21:13 After the stoning of Steven, 21:18 number of believers went away from Judea, 21:23 they came in as we said into Diaspora, 21:25 preached the word to the Jews of the Diaspora. 21:28 Number of the Jews in the Diaspora 21:31 accepted the word 21:33 and somehow they made their way into the Antioch. 21:37 Antioch, if you look geographically, 21:40 it's on the north, close in the Mediterranean Coast 21:45 and it's in today's Syria. 21:47 So it's kind of close to Judea. 21:49 So they made their way and it says, 21:51 the disciples of Antioch begin to be called Christians. 21:57 So they made these Jews of Diaspora 22:02 who became convicted that Jesus was their Messiah 22:10 kind of founded that community in Antioch 22:15 and that community was called Christians. 22:18 Actually, well, if we talk about Christians, 22:20 you know, Christós Christ in Greek means Messiah, Masia?, 22:27 The anointed one. 22:28 So there, you know, basically 22:31 there is a term today in English, Messianic. 22:34 So in Hebrew they would be called like Messianic believers. 22:39 Right, you know, isn't that crazy thing 22:41 there was that anyone 22:42 who believes that Jesus is Messiah 22:44 can rightly be called Messianic. 22:46 Exactly, 'cause they believe in Messiah. 22:47 Right. 22:49 So it's funny how it's just been 22:50 pigeonholed into this one idea. 22:53 Oh, you are Messianic. 22:54 Well, you are not Messianic, right? 22:57 Yeah. 23:01 When Paul, when we get this idea 23:05 that Paul is the first Christian, all right. 23:09 I would like to propose that like you said, that's erroneous. 23:12 Paul was not the first Christian. No. 23:15 I don't think that, well past the first century 23:21 that those believers thought they were anything 23:24 but Jewish following the Jewish Messiah. 23:26 Absolutely. Totally. 23:27 Even though--I have to make this understand our viewers 23:31 that those people who accepted the message of Jesus, 23:36 they were not of a Jewish descent, 23:39 but Paul found most of them in the synagogue. 23:44 You have to understand that in those period, 23:48 the synagogue was the only place where people of all nations 23:53 and cultures could find the faith in one God. 23:57 And this is why they were coming for teaching. 24:00 People a lot of times I think get confused 24:03 with the idea of the temple and the synagogue. 24:07 Two completely different places, two complete-- 24:09 as were in the later show, 24:11 we're going to go in detail about the temple. 24:14 But, you know, to speak to this 24:16 we mentioned Acts 19, specifically verse 8. 24:21 Listen to this. 24:23 "And he entered the synagogue," 24:25 he is Paul, right? 24:26 "He entered the synagogue 24:28 and for three months spoke boldly, 24:30 reasoning and persuading them about the Kingdom of God." 24:34 So once again, we have very clear evidence 24:37 and proof that to think that the body of Messiah 24:44 in its earliest form was anything 24:46 but the natural outgrowth 24:49 of what God had planned from the beginning, 24:51 the followers of Messiah. 24:54 I think, it's totally missing on so many levels the point. 24:59 Yeah, the Book of Acts is absolutely clear on that. 25:03 So, Rachel, and I are going to sing a song here 25:07 and Sasha, if you tell our friends about it. 25:09 Hodu, give thanks to the Lord, Psalm 136. 25:18 ( singing in foreign language ) 26:15 Give thanks to the Lord He is good 26:22 He is mercy forever endures 26:29 Give thanks to the Lord He is good 26:36 His mercy forever endures 26:41 So we give thanks. 26:43 Oh, give thanks, give thanks, give thanks, give thanks 26:50 Oh, give thanks to the Lord He is good 26:57 Oh, give thanks, give thanks, give thanks, give thanks 27:04 Give thanks to the Lord He is good 27:11 (singing in foreign language) 27:42 Give thanks to the Lord, He is so good. 27:45 And may the Lord bless you and may He keep you 27:48 and may the Lord make his face to shine upon you 27:51 and be gracious to you. 27:53 May the Lord lift His countenance upon you 27:55 and bring you His peace. 27:56 Join us once again on Back to our Roots. |
Revised 2014-12-17