This is a common question that many people have when learning about the origins of Christianity. Jesus, the founder of Christianity, was ethnically Jewish. He was born into a Jewish family, raised in the Jewish traditions, and observed the Laws of Moses his entire life. All of Jesus’ early followers were Jews as well. So if the founder and earliest adherents of Christianity were Jewish, why aren’t Christians today also Jewish?
The short answer is that while Jesus was Jewish, he came to start a new spiritual movement that would include both Jews and non-Jews (Gentiles). This was very controversial in the first century. While Jesus never abandoned his Jewish identity and heritage, he revealed that God’s plan was to invite all nations into His family. The initial Jewish followers of Jesus still maintained their Jewish practices, but they also recognized that non-Jews were part of God’s people through faith in Jesus. This revolutionary shift led to debate and tension within the early church. But ultimately, Christians came to understand their identity in Jesus, apart from Jewish ethnicity or the Law of Moses.
To fully understand this issue, we need to explore several key topics:
- Jesus’ Jewish identity
- Salvation by grace (not Law)
- Inclusion of Gentiles into God’s people
- The Jerusalem Council decision (Acts 15)
- Paul’s letters on Jewish identity
- Jewish practices in the early church
Jesus’ Jewish Identity
There is no doubt that Jesus was ethnically Jewish. He was born in Bethlehem to Jewish parents Mary and Joseph (Luke 2:4-7). Both Mary and Joseph were descendants of King David, placing Jesus in the royal Davidic line (Matthew 1:1-17, Luke 3:23-38). Jesus was brought up in Nazareth, a small Jewish village in Galilee. As a child and young man, Jesus would have studied the Torah (Genesis to Deuteronomy), celebrated Jewish feasts and holy days, and attended synagogue regularly (Luke 2:39-52). Jesus’ family, friends, neighbors, and fellow villagers were all Jewish.
During his public ministry, Jesus lived as a faithful, Torah-observant Jew. He wore tzitzit ( tassels) on his garments (Matthew 9:20), observed the Sabbath properly (Luke 4:16), ate only clean foods (Mark 7:19), and celebrated Passover (Mark 14:12-26). Jesus clearly identified as being sent only to “the lost sheep of Israel” (Matthew 15:24). His twelve disciples were all Jewish men. He regularly taught in the synagogues and even in the Temple complex in Jerusalem (Luke 21:37, John 18:20). While controversial in some ways, Jesus practiced Judaism in accordance with his culture.
Jesus never rejected his Jewish heritage or abandoned the laws of Moses. However, he did have heated debates with Jewish religious leaders over the true meaning of the Law. Jesus criticized hypocrisy and empty ritualism, instead emphasizing loving God and neighbor (Matthew 22:34-40). He declared himself to be the long-awaited Messiah and “Son of Man” from Daniel’s prophecies (Mark 14:61-62). Yet this Messianic claim created conflict that led to his crucifixion. Despite intense opposition at times, Jesus lived and died as a faithful Jew.
Salvation by Grace (Not Law)
While Jesus lived as a practicing Jew under the Mosaic Law, a major part of his teaching focused on the offer of salvation by grace rather than Law. The apostle Paul explains that no one is justified (made righteous) through “works of the law” but only through faith in Jesus Christ (Galatians 2:16). Salvation is the free gift of God received when someone puts faith in Jesus and his atoning sacrifice.
While God gave the Law through Moses to guide Israel, the Law was never intended to be a means to earn salvation. As Paul declares: “For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin” (Romans 3:20). The purpose of the Law was to reveal God’s perfect standard (thus revealing human sin) and point people to their need for redemption.
Jesus revealed that he alone is the way to salvation, stating: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). Peter preached this conviction boldly after healing a lame man: “And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). Faith in Christ’s sacrificial death and resurrection is now the sole path to being made right with God.
This message of salvation by grace instead of meritorious works was radical in the ancient world. Most pagan religions taught that pleasing the gods through rituals and offerings was the way to blessing and prosperity. Even Judaism had developed traditions like praying, fasting, almsgiving and sacrifices as ways to gain favor from God. Jesus revealed that God’s acceptance is a gift received by faith, not something earned.
Inclusion of Gentiles into God’s People
Another stunning element of Jesus’ teaching was his declaration that God’s kingdom would include people from all nations on the earth. While Jews generally despised Gentiles (non-Jews) as unclean outsiders, Jesus indicated that even they could now become part of God’s family. This was demonstrated in several shocking ways:
- Jesus praised the faith of a Roman centurion, astonishing the Jews (Matthew 8:5-13).
- He conversed with and ministered to a Samaritan woman, crossing cultural barriers (John 4:1-42).
- He healed the daughter of a Canaanite woman, commending her persistent faith (Matthew 15:21-28).
- Jesus commissioned his disciples to “make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19).
The book of Acts records how the gospel quickly spread beyond just Jews to include Samaritans (Acts 8:5-25), an Ethiopian eunuch (Acts 8:26-40), Cornelius the Roman centurion (Acts 10), and many Gentiles across the Roman Empire. As the church took the gospel to the nations, fulfilling Jesus’ commission, it became increasingly Gentile in composition. The Jewish religious leaders were strongly opposed to this inclusion of Gentiles without requiring conversion to Judaism.
The Jerusalem Council Decision (Acts 15)
The inclusion of Gentiles into the early church directly led to the pivotal Jerusalem Council described in Acts 15. Here the apostles gathered to address a controversial question: Do Gentiles need to convert to Judaism and place themselves under the Mosaic Law in order to follow Jesus? Some Jewish believers were insisting that Gentiles must be circumcised and required to obey the Law of Moses (Acts 15:5).
After much discussion, Peter reminded the Council that God showed his acceptance of the Gentiles by giving them the Holy Spirit, purifying their hearts by faith. James then declared that they should not trouble the Gentiles by placing on them the heavy yoke of the Mosaic Law. He supported inclusion of Gentiles based on the words of the prophets (Acts 15:13-18). The Council ruled that Gentiles were not required to convert to Judaism or take on the obligations of the Law. They were only asked to abstain from a few specific practices out of sensitivity to their Jewish brothers and sisters in the faith (Acts 15:19-21).
This landmark decision opened the door for exponentially more Gentile conversions in the decades that followed. Christianity became a predominantly Gentile movement within a few generations. The Jewish identity, heritage, and religious practices of the early Jewish Christians eventually gave way to expressions of faith adapted to Gentile cultures across the Roman world.
Paul’s Letters on Jewish Identity
The apostle Paul wrote extensively about issues of Law and Jewish identity in several New Testament letters. Paul was uniquely equipped to address these tensions. He described himself as “circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee” (Philippians 3:5). Yet Paul became the most outspoken advocate for inclusion of the Gentiles and freedom in Christ apart from the Law.
In Galatians, Paul forcefully declares that no one is justified by works of the Law, but only through faith in Jesus Christ (Galatians 2:16). He speaks of the Law as a guardian until the coming of Christ, after which “we are no longer under a guardian” (Galatians 3:25). All people, Jew and Gentile alike, are now considered sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus (Galatians 3:26).
Likewise in Romans, Paul argues that in Christ, “There is neither Jew nor Greek…for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Romans 10:12). Salvation comes the same way for all people, “to the Jew first and also to the Greek” (Romans 1:16). In Christ, it no longer matters if someone is physically circumcised or not (Romans 2:25-29). What counts is keeping God’s commandments through a spiritually transformed heart.
Paul tackles the issue of Jewish observances head on in 1 Corinthians. Regarding dietary laws, he declares: “Food will not commend us to God. We are no worse off if we do not eat, and no better off if we do” (1 Corinthians 8:8). Concerning the festivals, Paul states: “These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ” (Colossians 2:16-17). In Christ, the Jewish ceremonial laws and festivals have fulfilled their purpose.
For Paul, one’s identity is now found in Jesus Christ by faith, not ethnic background or observance of the Mosaic Law. Yet Paul still affirms the value of his Jewish heritage (Romans 3:1-2) and upholds the moral commandments of the Law (Romans 13:8-10). Through Jesus, both Jew and Gentile now have access to God by one Spirit (Ephesians 2:11-18).
Jewish Practices in the Early Church
While Gentiles were not required to take on the Jewish Law, the early church was at first predominantly Jewish. The initial followers of Jesus continued observing the Sabbath, reading the Torah, circumcising their children, attending the Jewish feasts, and going to the Temple. But they met also with other believers in Jesus to commemorate his death and resurrection through Communion, baptism, Scripture reading, prayers, and hymns.
The growing inclusion of Gentiles into this Jewish sect led to debates over identity and practice. Acts records that Paul circumcised Timothy, who was half Jewish, but resisted demands to circumcise Titus the Gentile (Acts 16:1-3; Galatians 2:3-5). James encouraged Paul to demonstrate his Jewish devotion in order to unite the Jewish and Gentile believers (Acts 21:20-25). Paul spread the message of salvation by grace alone, yet recognized that Jewish and Gentile believers had differing sensitivities that needed consideration, especially when assembling together.
Over the following decades, Christianity became predominantly Gentile as it spread rapidly across the Roman world. Most churches adapted their gatherings and cultural expressions of faith to their surrounding Gentile contexts instead of modeling Jewish synagogue traditions. The ceremonial aspects of the Mosaic Law were no longer observed. Sunday became the main gathering day to commemorate Jesus’ resurrection, rather than the Jewish Sabbath. Biblical practices like baptism and communion rituals took on deeper theological meaning.
The later complete destruction of the Jerusalem Temple in 70 AD by the Romans was a final severing of institutional ties to Judaism. This monumental disaster made it impossible for ceremonial requirements tied to the Temple to continue. Christianity emerged as a predominantly Gentile religion that could spread globally apart from its Jewish origin. As the church evolved, the Jewishness of Jesus faded into the background.
Conclusion: Universal Faith Centered on Jesus
In summary, while Jesus lived on earth as a faithful, Torah-observant Jew, he revealed that something new was happening in God’s plan of redemption. Through his life, death for sin, and resurrection, Jesus made salvation available to all people from every nation by grace through faith. This was a significant transition from Judaism’s focus on God’s covenant with the Jewish people through Moses.
The early church struggled to work through the implications of this major change. While still maintaining their Jewish identity, the initial Jewish believers recognized that Gentiles could be included in God’s family without conversion to Judaism. The Jerusalem Council affirmed that Gentile believers did not need to take on requirements of the Mosaic Law like circumcision. Paul’s letters provided significant theological insights on Law versus faith for both Jews and Gentiles in Christ.
While some Jewish practices continued in the decades after Jesus, Christianity increasingly took on its own Gentile identity and expressions as it spread across the Roman Empire. The doctrines and teachings focused on Jesus and salvation by faith alone rather than ethnic background or rules from the Law. This universality made it possible to share the gospel and plant churches among all nations.
Jesus’ Jewish identity reminds Christians of their historical roots in Judaism. Yet neither Jewish ethnicity and custom nor the Mosaic Law define who God’s people are today. Faith in Christ is now the central element of belonging to the family of God. Christianity has preserved its heritage from Judaism while adapting into a global faith centered on Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord of all.