In Matthew 28:19–20, Jesus of Nazareth commands His Disciples,
"Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
They obeyed their Master, and the followers of the Jesus movement began sharing the good news of the resurrected Messiah (the Christ, Gr.)—along with Jesus’ earlier ethical admonishments of perfect love of God and neighbor. As Roger Olsen writes, “The apostles were men and women of early Christianity with tremendous prestige and power.”
Although the Pharisees and Jewish leaders considered the dangerous influence of Jesus to be quelled with his execution (especially with the threat/warning of crucifixion for embracing such beliefs), the Christian message continued to be as appealing and inviting as ever, and the movement grew, exponentially. Moreover, whereas oppressive and politically controlling leaders of Judaism continued in their reactionary ways, the early Christians offered inclusivity and freedom to those who wished to join in “The Way” (as the movement was sometimes called).
In this period of great economic and social hardship, the Gospel writer, Luke, records in his church history work, the Acts of the Apostles,
"All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved" (Acts 2:44–47).
Not surprisingly, as the number of Jesus disciples rose, the Jewish leaders who had earlier been threatened by Jesus’ message and influence upon a society which they wanted full hegemony, worried the Jesus movement could reignite, and turned their criticisms and persecutions upon Jesus’ disciples and followers, many of whom fled the area to safer, more receptive areas (at least, initially). N. T. Wright states, “The motivating force behind the early Christian mission, as revealed in the stories that fan out across the spectrum of first-century Christianity, is found in the central belief and hope of Judaism interpreted in the light of Jesus.”
Still, many early Christian leaders bravely stayed in Jerusalem and Judea to speak their message of Christian love and salvation, leading to public abuse by authorities determined to extinguish this dangerous sect of Messianic Judaism. The Apostle Luke records,
"They called the Apostles in and had them flogged. Then they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. . . Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Messiah" (Acts 5: 40, 42).
The idea and understanding of the Messiah, the “Anointed One” or “Christos,” is found in the Hebrew and Greek scriptures as well as in the Apocrypha. Although many “messiah” stories were presented in the scriptures (Moses, David, Elijah), only one character, “The Messiah,” was depicted as the absolute, eternal deliverer from Jewish/human persecutions and threats. Over three hundred prophecies in the Old Testament point to this divine figure, suggesting (among other things) that he would have priestly and kingly roles, he would come out of Judah, that he would be a “Latter-day Moses,” and that he would battle with Satan (the Serpent) and win. Ultimately, what was made wrong by human agency would be made perfectly right by God’s ordained divine servant.
More specifically, in the books of prophetical writers, the Messiah is said to be the final Judge at the end of human existence (Psalms); he would be born miraculously to a virgin or young woman (Isaiah); he would come out of Egypt (Hosea); he would bring salvation to the Gentiles and the Jews (Joel); he would bring peace to believers, but a sword to nonbelievers (Psalms); he would bear the sins of many and/or the world (Zechariah); he would redeem the people of God (Job); he would usher in an eternal era of peace and tranquility (Daniel); and that he would reign on David’s throne forever (Ezekiel).
Perhaps no other Hebrew scripture presents a clearer picture of the Messiah than Isaiah 49, with at least fifteen references to the divine “Servant of the Lord” (v. 5). More importantly, these verses (and the hundreds of others in the Old Testament) seem to be fulfilled numerous times in Greek scriptures like 1 Timothy 2:4–6, Matthew 1:20–21, Luke 1:30–31, John 5;22–29, Acts 13:47–48, and Revelation 2:12–16 (among others). Devout Jews, upset and hopeless with the Roman oppression upon and around them, read and saw in the prophecies impossible connections to a simple carpenter from Nazareth. Many others could not help but see in Jesus deliverance that they so desperately needed. As the Disciple Peter says in Matthew 16:16, “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.”
A movement began of first-century Jews who saw direct and convincing evidence in Jesus’ amazing words, actions, and sacrificial life that he was the promised Messiah who would “bring Jacob back to him and gather Israel to himself” (v. 6). More than that, Jesus was the Christ, the Deliverer, who would open the door even for the Gentiles, so that God’s great loving offer of salvation would reach to every corner of the earth. As D. A. Carson notes, “This Son-centered revelation is found not only in the person of Jesus but also in his deeds. Not only in his teaching, preaching, and healing, but supremely in the cross of resurrection Jesus reveals God and accomplishes the divine plan of redemption.” Thus, Jesus is the Savior of all and the sole Source of our salvation (Soteriology) because only God can rescue humanity from the wrath of our sins—past, present, and future.
Once a small, Messianic Jewish sect, by the fourth century, CE, Christianity dominated all other religions in Greco-Roman society and spread throughout the Roman Empire—even as far north as ancient Britain and possibly as far east as India. Unlike other Gnostic movements of the era, the Christian message was meant to be openly and honestly shared to anyone who would hear it—regardless of race, gender, economic, or social status.