The first Christian Church was Jewish

[Bootstrap]

All of the disciples were Jewish. When Jesus rose again, he told his disciples to go to Jerusalem and wait for the Holy Spirit there. The first leaders of the Church were all Jewish.

In Acts 10, Peter has a vision from God, who tells him to make room for the Gentiles. This is how the chapter ends:

Then Peter began to speak: “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right. You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, announcing the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all. You know what has happened throughout the province of Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached— how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.

“We are witnesses of everything he did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They killed him by hanging him on a cross, but God raised him from the dead on the third day and caused him to be seen. He was not seen by all the people, but by witnesses whom God had already chosen—by us who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead. All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”

While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message. The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on Gentiles. For they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God.

Then Peter said, “Surely no one can stand in the way of their being baptized with water. They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have.” So he ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked Peter to stay with them for a few days.

The first Church was so Jewish that they were astonished when God poured his Spirit out "even on Gentiles".

In Galatians, Romans, and Acts, we see that the church had to wrestle with that and make room for Gentiles to be equally welcome in the Kingdom of God. Praise God that they were able to do that.

[Josh]

Christianity essentially started as a Jewish sect. "To the Jew first, but then also to the Greek."

Eventually, it grew and grew in numbers and became a very major sub-sect of Judaism. In 70 A.D., large numbers of people who didn't accept Christianity died during their foolish showdown with the Romans, and the Christian sub-sect ended up predominating the Levant. There are people in Nazareth to this day who claim their families have been there for over 2,000 years.

[Bootstrap]

Ephesians 2:11-18

Therefore remember that previously you, the Gentiles in the flesh, who are called “uncircumcision” by the so-called “circumcision,” which is performed in the flesh by human hands—remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the people of Israel and strangers to the covenants of the promise, having no hope and without God in the world.

But now in Christ Jesus, you who previously were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall, by abolishing in his flesh the hostility, which is the law composed of commandments expressed in ordinances, so that in himself he might make the two one new person, in this way establishing peace. And that he might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by it having put to death the hostility.

And he came and preached peace to you who were far away, and peace to those who were near; for through him, we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father.

[Valerie]

Ephesians 2:11-18

Therefore remember that previously you, the Gentiles in the flesh, who are called “uncircumcision” by the so-called “circumcision,” which is performed in the flesh by human hands—remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the people of Israel and strangers to the covenants of the promise, having no hope and without God in the world.

But now in Christ Jesus, you who previously were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall, by abolishing in his flesh the hostility, which is the law composed of commandments expressed in ordinances, so that in himself he might make the two one new person, in this way establishing peace. And that he might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by it having put to death the hostility.

And he came and preached peace to you who were far away, and peace to those who were near; for through him, we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father.

Thanks and praise be to God!

[mike]

Speaking as an early Jewish Christian, Paul wrote about his people:

So what advantage does the Jew have? Or what is the benefit of circumcision? Considerable in every way. First, they were entrusted with the spoken words of God. What then? If some did not believe, will their unbelief cancel God’s faithfulness? Absolutely not!

[JohnHurt]

All of the disciples were Jewish. When Jesus rose again, he told his disciples to go to Jerusalem and wait for the Holy Spirit there. The first leaders of the Church were all Jewish.

As Voltaire said, "If you wish to converse with me, define your terms."

A "Jew" can mean:

1. A member of the Tribe of Judah.

2. A person living in Judea, who has adopted the local customs.

3. A person that follows the Talmud/Oral Law, or "Traditions of the Elders", which was created by the Pharisees.

Christ was #1 a member of the Tribe of Judah, He #2 lived in Judea, but He denounced the Talmud/Tradition of the Elders in Matthew 15:1-20 as being the "doctrines of men", so He was not #3.

Paul claimed to be of the tribe of Benjamin, so no to #1. He lived in Judea, but claimed Tarsus, so "maybe" on #2. And he claimed to be "all things to all men", but said, under oath in a court of Law before the High Priest that he was indeed a Pharisee. (Acts 23:6) So yes or "sometimes" to #3, at least when Paul was "all things to all Pharisees". So sometimes Paul was a Jew, and sometimes he wasn't, and he admits this deceptive practice in 1st Corinthians 9:20-22.

King Herod the Great, and all of his relatives that ruled Palestine were not only "not members of the Tribe of Judah". they weren't even Israelites. Herod the Great was born in Idumea, or "Edom", and was a descendant of Esau. He and his relatives were forcibly converted to Judaism by John Hyrcanus in 100 BC during the period of the Maccabees. People like Herod would claim Abraham as their father, but never Jacob/Israel as their father. So when you see the statements like "We be Abraham's seed, and were never in bondage to any man:" (john 8:33), it is talking about the Herodians, or Edomite Jews. The children of Jacob/Israel were in bondage to Pharaoh, but not the children of Esau. But both were the children of Abraham.

So no to #1 on Herod, yes to #2 as the Herod family did live in Judea and adopted "Judaism", and yes to #3 as they would have adopted the Talmud/Oral Law if it benefitted them politically, so probably they did.

So what about the Jews of today? There are Ashkenazi Jews, Sephardic Jews, Ethiopian Jews, Oriental or Mizrahi Jews, and many other converts to Judaism. The full list is here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_c ... to_Judaism

Are they all of the Tribe of Judah? No. That is impossible.

Do they live in Judea? Some do.

Do they follow the Talmud / Oral Law? Yes. Definitely yes!

The Talmud is what binds the religion of Judaism together today, and defines Modern Judaism. This is the same Talmud or "Traditions of the Elders" that Christ cursed in Matthew 15 as being the doctrines of men.

So to say that "All of the disciples of Christ were Jewish" is deceptive. The disciples of Christ were not Talmud followers, like the Jews of today. The followers of Christ kept the Torah, which is the Laws of God, but not the Talmud, which is the doctrines of men. Christ told His followers that the Torah or God's Laws would be here in effect as long as heaven and earth are here. (Matthew 5:17-20). Modern Churchianity does not follow what Christ said on God's Law lasting forever, but lean more to the doctrines of men, so they are closer to Judaism than they are to True Christianity.

As far as the Gentiles entering the True Christian Church, here is what Christ said:

Mark 11:17 - My house shall be called of all nations the house of prayer.

Christ was quoting Isaiah 56, which describes how the Gentiles will be added to the True Christian Church in the time of Christ:

Isaiah 56:(6) Also the sons of the stranger, that join themselves to the LORD, to serve him, and to love the name of the LORD, to be his servants, every one that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it, and taketh hold of my covenant;

(7) Even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer: their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine altar; for mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all people.

(8) The Lord GOD which gathereth the outcasts of Israel saith, Yet will I gather others to him, beside those that are gathered unto him.

Keeping the Sabbath Day and the Covenant is how Gentiles are added to the church. (Acts 13:42-44, Acts 15:21) This is why Constantine had to destroy the Sabbath day, to keep the Gentiles from entering the True Christian Church. The Anabaptists Andreas Fischer and Oswald Glaidt understood the importance of the Sabbath Day. The modern Anabaptists do not.

So don't tell people that "Jesus was a Jew", or that He and His followers were "Jewish" as they will think you are saying that Christ followed the Talmud. That is not true. Judaism is a false religion. That is why they don't make Jews like Jesus anymore. These are two separate religions.

And that anyone was "astonished" that the Gentile received the Holy Spirit" - well then they should have studied Isaiah 56, as Christ did. God had this in mind all along.

[Josh]

Did the Talmud even exist in the first century?

[Swiss Bro]

Yes and no. It was handed down orally until around 70 AD, when they began to write it down.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talmud

[Ken]

All of the disciples were Jewish. When Jesus rose again, he told his disciples to go to Jerusalem and wait for the Holy Spirit there. The first leaders of the Church were all Jewish.

As Voltaire said, "If you wish to converse with me, define your terms."

A "Jew" can mean:

1. A member of the Tribe of Judah.

2. A person living in Judea, who has adopted the local customs.

3. A person that follows the Talmud/Oral Law, or "Traditions of the Elders", which was created by the Pharisees.

Christ was #1 a member of the Tribe of Judah, He #2 lived in Judea, but He denounced the Talmud/Tradition of the Elders in Matthew 15:1-20 as being the "doctrines of men", so He was not #3.

Yes and no. In Matthew 15, Jesus is criticizing Pharisees, not Judaism in general. Obviously Jesus established a new universal religion to replace Judaism. But he was also a Jewish scholar. He frequently cited Jewish law and teachings in his sermons. And to my knowledge, never renounced his Jewish identity. For that matter, the Pharisees did not compile the Talmud until about 200 AD or two centuries after the life of Jesus.

Also recall:

Luke 2: 41-49

41Every year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the Festival of the Passover. 42When he was twelve years old, they went up to the festival, according to the custom. 43After the festival was over, while his parents were returning home, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but they were unaware of it. 44Thinking he was in their company, they traveled on for a day. Then they began looking for him among their relatives and friends. 45When they did not find him, they went back to Jerusalem to look for him. 46After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. 47Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers. 48When his parents saw him, they were astonished. His mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you.”

49“Why were you searching for me?” he asked. “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?” f 50But they did not understand what he was saying to them.

[Bootstrap]

All of the disciples were Jewish. When Jesus rose again, he told his disciples to go to Jerusalem and wait for the Holy Spirit there. The first leaders of the Church were all Jewish.

As Voltaire said, "If you wish to converse with me, define your terms."

I am quoting the Bible. So the real question is this: who was the Bible referring to in each of these passages. And I think almost all of these passages use "Jew" to refer to people who (1) Are ethnic Jews, children Abraham through Isaac and Jacob and the Twelve Tribes of Israel, who (2) follow Jewish laws and customs.

Do any of the passages in this thread use a different definition?