ABSTRACT
According to Acts 11: 26, the disciples of the cruci ed Jesus of Nazareth were rst called ‘Christians’ at the church in Syrian Antioch. ‘Christianity’ was something believed and even lived, if imperfectly, by these rst-century Christians. The disciples at Antioch serve as an historical anchor for what has come to be called ‘Christianity.’ They were called ‘Christians,’ because they were followers of Jesus the ‘Christ,’ God’s ‘Messiah’ (the Hebrew term, meaning ‘specially anointed one,’ that underlies the Greek term ‘Christ’) for Israel and thereby for the world. If we want to understand ‘Christians’ and ‘Christianity,’ then we must consider Jesus of Nazareth, even though Christians and Christianity have moved somewhat beyond what the earthly Jesus himself taught. Jesus, according to Mark 1: 14-15, came preaching the good news of the kingdom of God, saying: the kingdom of God has come near; repent and believe (i.e., trust) in the good news. The ‘good news’ preached by Jesus was that God’s kingdom has come near to Israel. Controversy arose with Jesus’ suggestion that God’s kingdom has come near in himself, Jesus. Accordingly, Jesus announces: ‘If, by the nger of God, I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you’ (Luke 11: 20; cf. Matt. 12: 28). So, Jesus thought of himself as integral to the coming of God’s kingdom to Israel. New Testament scholars debate the ways in which Jesus deemed himself integral, but some features identi ed below seem clear. The more we understand Jesus, in any case, the better we understand the heart of Christianity. Indeed, understanding Jesus is necessary for understanding Christianity. He is its founder and sustainer.
