Jesus’ Ministry and the Genesis of the Early Church

Jesus’ ministry, beginning around 4 BC or earlier, marked a pivotal moment in history. After a relatively quiet early life, his baptism by John the Baptist in the Jordan River signaled the start of his public work. This event was accompanied by a divine affirmation of his unique relationship with God. He began preaching the imminent “Kingdom of God,” calling for repentance and belief in the “good news” (Mark 1:15).

His ministry was characterized by powerful preaching, teaching through parables, and miraculous acts of healing and exorcism. He gathered a close circle of twelve disciples, who accompanied him and extended his work. His teachings, delivered with a unique authority that bypassed traditional interpretations, drew large crowds and sparked a variety of reactions.

Jesus’ growing popularity fueled hopes for God’s intervention in Jewish history, with many anticipating the overthrow of Roman rule. Peter, a leader among the disciples, confessed Jesus as the “Christ” or “Messiah” (Mark 8:29), the awaited deliverer of the Jewish people. This confession was met with acceptance, doubt, and fear, particularly among those in positions of power. His popularity provoked opposition from some Pharisees and concern among political leaders.

The claim to Messiahship implicitly carried a claim to kingship. On this charge, Jewish leaders in Jerusalem secured a death sentence from the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate. Jesus was crucified, a punishment reserved for criminals and those deemed politically dangerous. This event initially crushed the hopes of his followers.

The Resurrection: A Turning Point

The crucifixion was not the end. The unexpected discovery of an empty tomb by women who came to anoint Jesus’ body on Sunday morning marked a profound shift. An angel declared, “He is not here; he is risen, just as he said” (Matthew 28:6). Appearances of the resurrected Jesus to these women and other disciples transformed their despair into joy.

The resurrection was understood as God’s vindication of Jesus. It confirmed that his death was not merely the death of a righteous man, but had atoning significance. These two pillars – the atoning death of Jesus and his resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:3-5) – became the bedrock of the Christian faith. The resurrected Jesus commissioned his disciples to await the Holy Spirit in Jerusalem and then to proclaim his message to the world.

The Church in Jerusalem

The appearances of the resurrected Jesus reunited the disciples and solidified their faith. The experience of the Holy Spirit, described in Acts 2, launched the church as a distinct entity with a mission to proclaim Jesus as “both Lord and Christ” (Acts 2:36).

Initially, there was no sharp break with Jewish institutions. The early Jerusalem church frequented the temple and observed Jewish customs. It functioned as a “synagogue” with some unique rites and beliefs, similar to other groups within the broader spectrum of Judaism.

Core Jewish beliefs remained foundational: the one God revealed in the Hebrew Scriptures, God as creator and sustainer, a chosen people in covenant relationship with God, and the hope for end-time blessings. Added to this was the conviction that Jesus, rejected by Jewish leadership and crucified by Roman authorities, was the promised deliverer through whom these blessings were beginning to be realized, particularly forgiveness of sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit.

This new conviction, confirmed by the resurrection, and the rapid growth of the community, attracting both former followers of Jesus and those impressed by the movement’s lifestyle and miracles, soon brought the disciples into conflict with the Jerusalem authorities.

The church included diverse groups: Law-observant Jews, less strict Jews, Gentile proselytes, and Hellenized Jews. Tension arose between “Hebrews” (Hebraic Jews) and “Hellenists” (Grecian Jews).

Broadly, three groups emerged within the Jerusalem church:

1. Followers from Jesus’ Galilean ministry, led by Peter and the Twelve.
2. Judaean converts, who looked to James, Jesus’ brother, for leadership.
3. Those from the Greek Diaspora and others sympathetic to them, represented by Stephen.

These groups held differing views on the Law: interpreting it broadly, keeping it strictly, or prioritizing the tabernacle and universalist themes in the Old Testament over the temple. All three views influenced Paul’s later interpretation of the Law.

With the scattering of the Hellenists after Stephen’s execution and the killing of the apostle James (John’s brother), James, Jesus’ brother, rose to prominence in the Jerusalem church. His family ties and acceptance of Jesus as Lord gave him significant authority.

James, along with the elders, provided leadership as the Twelve moved to other areas. This model influenced the second-century church’s organization of a bishop assisted by elders. The letter of James in the New Testament reflects the wisdom literature of Judaism filtered through Jesus’ teachings.

James’s execution in AD 62 left the most conservative Jewish Christians without a strong leader. Jewish Christianity continued to look to him as an ideal.

The conversion of Saul of Tarsus (later Paul), a rabbinic student, introduced a dynamic new force. His conversion included a commission from the risen Jesus to be an apostle to the nations. He reached an agreement with Peter and Jerusalem leaders that his call was to the Gentiles, while Peter’s was to the circumcised (Galatians 2:7-9). An opening to Gentiles had already been made by scattered Hellenists (Acts 11:20) and sanctioned by Peter’s experience in Caesarea (Acts 10-11).

A major controversy arose concerning the terms of Gentile acceptance into the Christian community: Must they become full proselytes, undergoing circumcision and following the Law, or was faith in Jesus and baptism sufficient? Paul championed a Law-free gospel for Gentiles, while some in Jerusalem insisted on circumcision. Peter and James attempted to mediate (Acts 15).

The departure of other elements from Jerusalem left the more religiously and culturally conservative Jews as the dominant group. The Hellenizers found a center in Antioch of Syria.

The Church in Antioch

The church in Antioch began when believers from Jerusalem were scattered due to persecution following Stephen’s preaching. These Hellenized Christians brought the message to Greeks, leading to the use of the name “Christians” (Acts 11:26) to designate this new group that included both Jews and Gentiles.

The dropping of the circumcision requirement intensified the issue of table fellowship between Jewish and Gentile believers. This came to a head in Antioch, where Paul’s insistence on not binding Jewish food laws on Gentiles, in contrast to Peter and Barnabas’s willingness to compromise (Galatians 2:11-14), made Antioch the launching point for the Gentile mission.

Under the Spirit’s guidance, Paul and Barnabas embarked on missionary journeys, preaching first to Jews in synagogues and then to Gentile adherents of Judaism.

While Paul continued to respect Jerusalem as the mother church, Antioch became a more suitable base for his missionary travels.

Paul: Apostle to the Gentiles

Paul, sometimes called the “second founder” of Christianity (a title he would have rejected), plays a prominent role due to Luke’s account in Acts and the number of his letters in the New Testament. He was spiritually Jewish, legally Roman, and intellectually Greek – a powerful combination for a first-century missionary.

Paul was the apostle to the Gentiles par excellence, contributing to the church becoming predominantly Gentile by the end of the first century. His influence on the churches he founded and those nurtured by his associates was undeniable, even as the Twelve were remembered as the original witnesses.

Paul understood his apostolic calling in a missionary sense, traveling extensively across Asia Minor, Greece, and eventually to Rome (as a prisoner). Later reports suggest he also reached Spain.

He initially approached Jews in synagogues and then worked among Gentile sympathizers connected to the synagogues. Because his gospel did not require Gentiles to observe the Law of Moses, these believers often found it impossible to remain within established Jewish communities, leading Paul to form new communities. He worked with associates, leaving some to continue work with new believers and maintaining contact through messengers and letters.

Paul’s championing of his mission to the Gentiles involved him in the major issue of defining the terms of Gentile acceptance. His letters to the Galatians (where Judaizers insisted on circumcision) and Romans (where he sought to unify Christian groups) are key literary contributions to this struggle.

The Judaizers argued that entering into God’s covenant promises required incorporation into Abraham’s people and receiving the covenant sign of circumcision.

Paul countered that Abraham’s acceptance by God was based on his faith (Genesis 15:6) before he received circumcision. Therefore, those who share Abraham’s faith receive righteousness in the same way, becoming the nations blessed in him without needing circumcision.

Paul’s pastoral sensitivity and ability to draw on both Hebrew Scriptures and Greek moral philosophy are evident in his letters, especially to the Greek churches in Thessalonica, Corinth, and Philippi. His letters circulated among congregations, providing guidance for a distinctive Christian lifestyle.

Extra-canonical sources describe Paul’s execution by beheading in Rome under Nero in the mid-sixties. His death in Rome, along with Peter’s, symbolized the unity of the faith.

The Church in Rome: Peter’s Role and Martyrdom

Visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, were present at Jerusalem on the first Pentecost after the resurrection (Acts 2:10), and some may have carried the faith back to Rome.

There was a large number of Christians in Rome, both Jews and Gentiles, when Paul wrote his letter to the Romans in the mid-to-late fifties. The church was Greek-speaking.

A later tradition reported by Eusebius assigned Peter a twenty-five-year episcopate in Rome, placing his arrival in the early forties. However, the silence of Acts and Romans suggests a later arrival.

Peter’s journeys after leaving Jerusalem are difficult to trace, but Paul attests to his presence in Antioch, 1 Peter implies a ministry in parts of Asia Minor, and a “Peter party” in Corinth suggests his activity there.

Second-century sources strongly support the presence of both Paul and Peter in Rome and their martyrdom there. The reference to the church in “Babylon” in 1 Peter 5:13 is likely a veiled reference to Rome.

Clement of Rome (c. 96) and Ignatius of Antioch (c. 116) associated both Peter and Paul with the Roman church, and Clement implied their martyrdoms. Dionysius of Corinth (c. 170) is the earliest explicit declaration of Peter’s martyrdom in Rome, though his statement that Peter and Paul were martyred “at the same time” is inaccurate if pressed too strictly.

The Acts of Peter relates an eventful ministry of Peter in Rome and concludes with the story of his crucifixion head downward at his request (also mentioned by Origen).

Gaius of Rome, around 200, pointed to the “trophies [or memorials] of the apostles,” marking the sites of their martyrdoms – Paul on the Ostian Way and Peter on the Vatican.

Church fathers in the late second and early third centuries spoke of Peter and Paul as the “founders” of the church at Rome, not in the sense of first preaching the gospel there, but likely referring to their giving stability and organizational structure, and especially to the significance of their martyrdoms.

The earliest sources link Peter and Paul together, reflecting their involvement in Rome. The traditions that Paul was beheaded (a swifter death for citizens) and Peter was crucified agree with the punishments for their respective social ranks.

The evidence strongly suggests Peter, like Paul, was in Rome late in his ministry and was likely martyred there (less likely crucified upside down). It’s possible he held some official position in addition to his apostolic prestige (cf. 1 Peter 5:1, “fellow elder”). This provided the historical core for later claims made by the Roman church regarding Peter as its first bishop and its relationship to him.

While legends sometimes arose, claims usually had some basis in fact. In this case, Peter’s presence, martyrdom, and prestige (if not actual leadership position) formed the basis for later claims about the papacy. However, calling Peter “pope” or sole bishop is anachronistic.

By the end of the apostolic age, the Roman church was a large and important community, but the church in Ephesus appears to have been larger and in the center of the most influential Christian region.

The Church in Ephesus: The Influence of John

The beginning of the church in Ephesus is associated with Paul and his co-workers. Disciples of John the Baptist were already present. Apollos, an eloquent speaker and one of these disciples, became a powerful advocate of the faith in Ephesus and Corinth. Paul’s longest recorded stay at one locality – over two years – was in Ephesus in the early fifties. From there, he supervised the work of other evangelists throughout the province of Asia (western Turkey).

Acts shows Paul interacting (and often conflicting) with a cross-section of the Jewish and Gentile worlds in Ephesus: government officials, Greek intellectuals, Jews, exorcists, magicians, and worshippers of Artemis.

As Paul was the leading figure in the early history of the Ephesian church, the apostle John, according to church tradition, was the leading figure at the end of the first century. Ephesus became a center of Christian literary activity. Paul wrote 1 Corinthians from Ephesus.

Other New Testament books were written to Ephesus: Ephesians (possibly a circular letter), 1 and 2 Timothy (tradition made Timothy the first bishop of Ephesus), and the first of the seven letters in Revelation (2:1-7).

Early tradition associated the Johannine literature (the Gospel of John, the letters of John, and Revelation) with Ephesus. Early church writers identified the apostle John, son of Zebedee, as the source.

However, there was another report of a second John, “the elder,” buried at Ephesus, who may have been the source of some or most of the Johannine literature. A minority of ancient scholars and many modern scholars attribute Revelation to yet another person in the same circle.

These writings address variant teachings that were disturbing the churches. 1 Timothy mentions “different doctrine,” including myths and genealogies, a denial of law, asceticism, a claim to higher “knowledge,” and denial of a future resurrection.

The Johannine letters emphasize the original apostolic message and the union of deity and humanity in Jesus Christ, opposing those who denied Christ’s humanity and failed to practice brotherly love.

The seven letters at the beginning of Revelation address internal problems of compromise with pagan customs, including immorality. The book as a whole draws on Jewish apocalyptic themes to strengthen the churches against persecution from a pagan society allied with the imperial cult. Eschatological fervor endured longer in the interior of Asia Minor than elsewhere in the Greek church.

Based on John 19:26-27, later tradition reported that John brought Jesus’ mother, Mary, with him to Ephesus, and both died there, leading to strong cults of John and Mary in the region. It is likely that the apostle John, or someone confused with him, provided a connection between apostolic times and the church at Ephesus at the end of the first century.

The Gospel of John is the only New Testament book to preserve anecdotal references to Thomas, and shares with the sayings Gospel of Thomas an interest in the wisdom sayings of Jesus.

The Church in Syria and Thomas

Unless the list of peoples present on Pentecost in Acts 2 implies regions to which those persons carried the message, the New Testament is largely silent on the eastern spread of the church. Disciples were in Damascus at the time of Paul’s conversion, and he went to Arabia for a time, though he says nothing about preaching there.

From second-century sources, it’s evident that Christianity expanded east of Antioch as well as west. The classical church Syriac language developed in eastern Syria (Edessa, Nisibis) from Aramaic.

Syriac-speaking Christianity preserved traditions of an association with the apostle Thomas. These traditions, incorporated in the fifth-century Doctrina Addai, claimed the gospel was first preached in Edessa by Addai at Thomas’s encouragement.

Much early literature from the region bears Thomas’s name: the Gospel of Thomas (a collection of Jesus’ sayings), another Gospel of Thomas about Jesus’ infancy, and the Acts of Thomas.

The bilingual nature of the region is shown by dual language editions and uncertainty about the original language of some works, such as the Odes of Solomon and Tatian’s Diatessaron. Western writers reported a mission of Thomas to Persia or India (also in the Acts of Thomas). These traditions, if not entirely discounted, at least reflect the spread of the gospel to these regions from Syria by Christians who revered Thomas.

Syriac Christianity was wider than the Thomas tradition but, like it, preserved elements from the Semitic heritage of the early church, including a spirituality shaped by wisdom speculations. Another feature of early Syriac-speaking Christianity, notable in the Acts of Thomas, is a decided asceticism, especially in sexual matters.

Church Life in the Apostolic Age

The account of different regions and individuals highlights the variety of expressions in earliest Christianity.

While acknowledging this diversity, it’s important not to conclude that anything could be considered Christian. Alongside the variety of emphases and interpretations, there was a common faith in Jesus and a core of apostolic teachings that set limits. Frequent travel and communication by letters and messengers prevented most communities from developing in isolation.

Although the Old Testament Scriptures were treated differently, there was a common acceptance of them as the Word of God and a commitment to interpreting them in light of the new revelation in Jesus Christ.

Certain common practices also served as uniting factors from early times: baptism, the Lord’s Supper, Sunday assemblies, and moral emphases.

Entrance into the Christian community required faith in Jesus as Lord and Savior and baptism in his name. Acceptance of Jesus as the Messiah was the obvious doctrinal dividing line between Christians and Jews. Christian baptism followed John the Baptist’s practice (immersion, a one-time repentance baptism for forgiveness of sins, performed by an administrator) but was further distinguished by including confession of Jesus’ name and the promise of the Holy Spirit. Different theological emphases characterized the interpretation of baptism (e.g., Paul’s imagery of death and resurrection, John’s of rebirth), but the practice itself was essentially the same.

From the beginning, the disciples continued the practice of common meals they had known during Jesus’ ministry, but now with a difference. The breaking of bread and drinking of the cup, accompanied by a blessing, were a remembrance of Jesus’ last supper and his passion and resurrection. The setting of a common meal was preserved in the names “breaking of bread” and “Lord’s Supper.”

The special meaning of the breaking of bread and the cup, on occasions of community celebrations, was always distinct in theological significance from the meal itself, and in time was separated in practice from the meal, perhaps as a result of Paul’s instructions in 1 Corinthians 11:17-34 and certainly by the time Matthew (26:26-29) and Mark (12:22-25) recorded the institution.

The special meetings of Christians included observance of the “Lord’s Supper,” prayer, singing, reading from the Scriptures, and messages of instruction and exhortation. Christians might gather more frequently, even “daily”, but special services were observed at minimum on “the first day of the week”. Jewish Christians continued to observe the Sabbath as well as having Christian assemblies on the following day. Converts directly from paganism found no significance for themselves in the Jewish observance.

Although incorporating some traditional Jewish formulations, Christians related their daily observance of prayer to Jesus and his teachings. Generosity in giving for the poor, also with antecedents in Jewish practice, characterized Christian communities. Christians also continued the moral teachings developed in Judaism, applying them to matters of family, occupation, and social structure.

However, morality was approached differently. Relating all conduct to the commands to love God and love one’s neighbor, combined with the motivation of imitating God’s love shown in Jesus’ life, gave a distinctive organizing principle to Christian moral teaching.