As near as historians can tell the first generation of the followers of Jesus called themselves “the Way.” Outsiders looking at them called them “Nazarenes,” after Jesus’ home town of Nazareth. When they were no longer limited to the territory of Palestine they were given a new name. It was in Antioch that the disciples were first called Christians. Apparently this was meant as an insult — something like “those whack jobs that believe in the end times.” But the Jesus movement accepted the name as an apt description of who they were. The concept of Christ reflect the history of salvation experienced by the Chosen People. And the Christ was the bringer of God’s ultimate triumph. “Christian” implies a glorious heritage and a blessed destiny.
MAY102022
By Church Staff
