After a massive wave of persecution scattered the young church in Jerusalem, followers of Jesus continued to spread his teachings wherever they landed. Instead of squelching the movement, the stomp on Jerusalem scattered live coals over the surrounding regions. Dry hearts caught fire.

One such place was Antioch, where a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord. It was in Antioch (a city in present day Turkey, about 300 miles from Jerusalem) where the disciples of Jesus were first called Christians.

The locals meant Christian as a derisive term. They mocked the new believers. But the disciples of Jesus embraced the designation, much like early American colonists embraced Yankee Doodle Dandy, British slang turned into a proud nickname during the American revolution.

The term Christian gets drug through the mud today. Sometimes for wicked things done by those who claim to follow the ways of Jesus, but more often for adherence to the principles found in the Bible. The teachings of Jesus and Paul and the Prophets draw plenty of scorn in our cultural moment.

But the term, referring to a follower of Jesus the Christ, remains a welcome label. It points to a man or woman who chooses to submit to the direction and leadership of Jesus, who claims allegiance to the Christ above all else. Others proudly declare their status as Democrat or Republican, Socialist, Anarchist or Atheist. The disciple, however, inherits the moniker Christ-ian, one who seeks to embody the ways and teachings of Jesus.

Christian is not a term to wear loosely, but one to cinch on as part of your identity. Our world needs a lot of things, but for sure our world needs those who take the label Christian seriously, who soberly go about earning the appreciation, and at times the derision, that title bears.

Acts 11 in Through the Bible in 2024

Photo by Austin Kirk