Birth Of Christianity

Christianity began with the birth of a Jewish boy about two thousand years ago. This baby boy was miraculously created by God inside His mother's womb. His name was Jesus. This boy lived for over 30 years. His earthy father was Joseph, a carpenter and His mother Mary was a virgin. Jesus lived at Nazareth in Galilee which was a Jewish colony of the Romans. He was brought up to worship God in the Jewish way. The sacred books used were the ones now called Old Testament.

When Jesus was about 30 years old He began to preach in the synagogue. He could heal sick persons and He performed many miracles. He could also raise the dead to life again. Jesus had a special interest in children as He thought children were an example of how everyone should live.

To assist Him with His activities, He gathered twelve men from different social backgrounds. These men He called His disciples and they would follow and assit Him in His ministry. What He said and did angered many leading Jews. So He was cruelly and shamefully executed. The Jews were angry because to them, He seemed to be claiming He was God or the Son of God. The Roman rulers were irritated by His behaviour as well and feared He was leading a Jewish rebellion against their rule. He was captured after one of His disciples, Judas, had turned traitor. He however, did not fight back. He was beaten and then His execution was carried out by crucifixion. Roman soldiers nailed Him to a cross and let Him hang there until He died.

After Jesus' death and resurrection, His disciples convinced He was alive again, met in Jerusalem about AD 30. There one of them, Peter, addressed a crowd of pilgrims. Peter spoke about the good things Jesus had done through mighty works and wonders by God who had sent Him. He also rebuked the Romans for having killed Him. He assured them that Jesus was alive again and promised that anyone who repented and was baptised would receive the gift of God's spirit. Three thousand people went forward and were baptised.

The early Christian church was born. However, the religion was not always called Christianity. It was once called 'The Way' which was a movement followed by persons who believed in Jesus Christ. It included Jews as well as Gentiles (non-Jews). Today, there are more than over two billion Christians throughout the world. These Christians often differ from each other in some of their practices, beliefs and the ways they behave. They are roughly divided into different categories called denominations.


Vinton Samms
http://www.metrojamenterprise.com