Why were the Jewish believers in Jerusalem not called Christians?
The Jerusalem believers were not called Christians because they remained under the Judaistic umbrella, having only believed Jesus was the Messiah of Israel. The name Christian was first used at Antioch for disciples, primarily Gentiles, who believed Paul’s gospel: that Christ died for their sin, shed His blood, and was raised from the dead.
Les explains that the Jerusalem church had already been holding forth for 12 years, yet Scripture never calls the Jewish believers at Jerusalem and Judea Christians. They were under the Judaistic umbrella and had only believed that Jesus was the Messiah of Israel. At Antioch, however, Barnabas brought Saul, and for a whole year they assembled with the church and taught much people. The disciples there, primarily Gentiles, were called Christians first, because Antioch was being presented with Paul’s Gospel—the message that Christ had died for them, His blood had been shed for their sin, and He had been raised from the dead. Les says this differentiated it from everything that had gone before, a secret held in the mind of God until it was revealed, as God was now doing something totally different.