Jerusalem: the First Church

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Jerusalem: the First Church

“And when the day of Pentecost was fully come…” (Acts 2:1). This was the fiftieth day after the day after the Sabbath of the Passover, which is better known as Pentecost (Leviticus 23:15-16). It was one of the three major feasts on the Jewish calendar, at which all male Jews were supposed to be present, in Jerusalem. The Pentecost mentioned in Acts 2 is the day upon which the “church of Christ” (Romans 16:16) was opened for business. It was the one and only church that Jesus promised to “build” (Matthew 16:18) and it is still the only institution in which a soul may find salvation (Acts 2:47). The very first congregation of the Lord’s church was established on that day, in the city of Jerusalem.

The church in Jerusalem began with only the apostles and at least 120 other disciples in its membership (Acts 1:15), but it experienced phenomenal growth. On that Pentecost day, about 3,000 people were “added” to that number (Acts 2:41). These were shortly followed by “multitudes” of men and women (Acts 5:14). That number was later “multiplied” and a great company of the priests became members (Acts 6:1,7). This spectacular growth was the product of a diligent evangelistic effort, which was led by the apostles, who preached and taught on a “daily” basis (Acts 5:42). Many, if not most, of the members of the church in Jerusalem were from out of town, and were converted while they were on a pilgrimage to the city for the feast day. They remained in Jerusalem and received a spiritual education directly from the apostles, until persecution forced them to leave.

After the Jewish authorities stoned to death a Christian named Stephen (Acts 7), they proceeded to persecute Christians throughout the city (Acts 8:3). But, those who fled the persecution spread Christianity throughout Judea and Galilee and other parts of the Roman Empire (Acts 8:4). Instead of crushing Christianity, the Jewish persecution served only to spread it further. There remained a church in the city of Jerusalem, until the city was destroyed, in A.D. 70. The twelve apostles remained a part of it, as did James, the brother of Jesus (Acts 15). The church in Jerusalem received aid from churches in other parts of the world, as its members suffered hardship. In A.D. 70, the Jews rebelled against the Romans and the city of Jerusalem was destroyed. According to uninspired accounts, the Christians in the city escaped and took the gospel with them to other places.

“…that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name …beginning at Jerusalem.” – Luke 24:47