Were the Jewish believers in Jerusalem ever called Christians in the Bible?
No. The Bible never calls the Jewish believers at Jerusalem Christians. The passage states that the believers were first called Christians at Antioch, where Gentile Christianity began to flower, not among the Jewish believers in Jerusalem. That designation arose among the Gentile believers up at Antioch.
Les explains that after Saul returned from three years at Sinai and stopped at Jerusalem for two weeks with Peter, he was sent to Caesarea and then to Tarsus. Later, when the church at Antioch showed Gentile interest, Barnabas went to Cilicia and Tarsus to look for Saul, found him, and brought him back to Antioch. Les says that is where Gentile Christianity begins to flower. He then points out that Scripture says it was at Antioch that the believers were first called Christians, and he stresses that the Bible never calls the Jewish believers at Jerusalem Christians. They were first called Christians among the Gentile believers at Antioch.