Believers were first called Christians at Antioch because that is where the New Testament shows the new body of Jew and Gentile believers coming together under Paul's gospel of grace—not in Jewish Jerusalem.
Barnabas brought Saul to Antioch, and for a whole year they taught the mixed assembly of Jews and Gentiles. Acts 11:26 says those disciples were first called Christians in Antioch. Les Feldick explains that the Jerusalem believers had only believed in Jesus as Israel's Messiah, while the Antioch believers embraced His death for sin and resurrection. So the name 'Christian' belongs to the new Gentile-oriented church that emerged at Antioch.
Acts 11:26 — This is the exact verse where Scripture records that the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.
In Acts 11:26, the Scripture records: "And when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass, that a whole year they assembled themselves with the church, and taught much people. And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch." This verse places the first use of the name "Christians" in Antioch. The believers in Jerusalem are consistently called disciples or believers in the book of Acts, but they are never given the name "Christians" in Scripture. The title appears only when the church at Antioch, a mixed body of Jews and Gentiles under the teaching of Barnabas and Saul, comes into view. This is the biblical foundation for the question: the name "Christian" is first attached to the believers at Antioch, not to the earlier Jewish believers in Jerusalem.
Les Feldick is emphatic that the Bible never calls the Jewish believers in Jerusalem "Christians." He says, "The Bible never calls those Jewish believers from the time of John the Baptist all the way on up until Paul never calls them Christians." He traces the first use of the name to Antioch, after Barnabas finds Saul in Tarsus and brings him there. For a whole year they taught the mixed assembly, and those disciples—primarily Gentiles—were first called Christians. Les further explains what made Antioch different. The Jerusalem believers had only believed that Jesus was the Messiah of Israel, while the Antioch believers believed He died for their sins and was raised from the dead. This was Paul's gospel, a "secret held in the mind of God" until revealed. For Les, the appearance of the name "Christians" at Antioch marks the beginning of the church, the Body of Christ, when the gospel goes out to Jew and Gentile together.
Les points out that the New Testament never refers to the Jewish believers in Jerusalem as Christians. He says, "The Bible never calls those Jewish believers from the time of John the Baptist all the way on up until Paul never calls them Christians." In the book of Acts they are called disciples or believers. The Jerusalem church had held forth for about twelve years, but it remained under the Jewish religious system. Those believers had only believed that Jesus was the Messiah of Israel; they had not yet embraced the full message of death, burial, and resurrection for sin that Paul would bring.
At Antioch, Barnabas found Saul and brought him there. Together they taught many people for a whole year. Les emphasizes that these believers were primarily Gentiles and that Barnabas had already told Saul that God was opening the door to the Gentile world. The Antioch Christians believed that Christ died for their sins, that His blood had been shed for sin, and that He had been raised from the dead. This was Paul's gospel, a message that was new and different from what the Jerusalem believers had understood.
When the Jewish believers in Jerusalem heard that Gentiles were being brought into relationship with their God, they became unsettled. Men from Judea went up to Antioch and taught the believers, saying that except they were circumcised according to the custom of Moses, they could not be saved. Les uses this to show how different the two groups were: the Jerusalem church was still operating under Judaism, while the Antioch believers were being called Christians for the first time.
Why Paul's Gospel to Gentiles Is Different From Peter's
So after that three years has gone by, and he's come up, as he said in Galatians, to visit with Peter. He was come to Jerusalem, verse 26. He assayed, or he intended, to join himself to the disciples, that is the Jewish believers there at Jerusalem. But they were all afraid of him. Can you blame them? And they believed not that he was a disciple.
Barnabas Brings Saul to Antioch
Barnabas searches out Saul and brings him to Antioch, where the mixed congregation of Jews and Gentiles is taught for a year; these believers are the ones first called Christians.
Paul's Age of Grace
Les stresses that the Bible never calls the earlier Jewish believers Christians even after Pentecost; the name only appears when Paul begins expounding the age of grace.
Primarily Gentile Believers
Barnabas tells Saul that God is opening the door to the Gentile world, and the disciples at Antioch—primarily Gentiles—are the ones first called Christians.
Jerusalem Believers Not Called Christians
Les challenges readers to find the word 'Christians' applied to the Jerusalem believers, and the New Testament does not; the first recorded use is in Acts 11 at Antioch.
Jerusalem's Reaction
After Antioch believers are first called Christians, Jewish believers in Jerusalem are disturbed and send men who insist the Gentiles must be circumcised, showing the old Jewish framework.
Paul's Gospel vs. Messiah-Only Faith
The Jerusalem church believed Jesus was Israel's Messiah, but the Antioch Christians believed in His death for sin and resurrection; that distinction is why the name 'Christian' belongs to Antioch.
Body of Christ Begins with Gospel to All
Les teaches the body of Christ began when the gospel went out to Jew and Gentile together at Antioch, not at Jewish Pentecost; Acts 11 records they were first called Christians.
Acts 11:26: And when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass, that a whole year they assembled themselves with the church, and taught much people. And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.
This is the exact verse where Scripture first applies the name 'Christians' to the believers in Antioch.
Acts 15:1: And certain men which came down from Judaea taught the brethren, and said, Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved.
This verse records the pressure the Jerusalem believers brought upon the Antioch church, revealing their continued Jewish framework.
No, according to Les Feldick. The Bible calls the Jewish believers at Jerusalem and Judea believers or disciples. In Acts 11, the first place the Bible says people were called Christians is Antioch, not Jerusalem.
Les says Barnabas recognized that Saul was the one with the message for the Gentiles. God had opened the door to the Gentile world, and Barnabas went to Tarsus to find him and bring him back to Antioch.
They were still under the Judaistic umbrella and didn't yet see how Gentiles could be saved without becoming Jewish proselytes. They even taught that circumcision was necessary for salvation.
Watch the Teaching: Why Paul's Gospel to Gentiles Is Different From Peter's