Christian

The followers of Jesus Christ were first called Christians in Antioch in Syria (Acts 11:26). When the Christian message reached Antioch, believers preached the good news to Gentiles as well as to Jews. This showed that the movement was becoming more than a new form of Judaism.

The Gentiles in Antioch may have created the name “Christian” for this new group. The believers often spoke about Christ, so people called them Christians. The name may have meant “members of Christ’s household” or “supporters of Christ.”

The name may also have been intended as a joke or insult. For example, the “Augustinians” were an organized group that publicly praised the emperor Nero Augustus. The people of Antioch may have formed the name “Christian” in a similar Latin style. Another example was the Herodians, who were supporters of Herod.

The title “Christ” was unfamiliar to many gentiles and may not have had a clear meaning for them. However, Chrestos, which means “good” or “kind,” was a common name. For this reason, some non-Christians called the group “Chrestians.” The Roman writer Suetonius later wrote that Jews were expelled from Rome in AD 49 because of someone he called “Chrestus.”

The believers themselves may not have liked the name “Christian” at first. However, like many nicknames, the name continued to be used.

The word “Christian” appears only three times in the Greek New Testament. Acts 11:26 explains where the name began. In Acts 26:28, Herod Agrippa II says to Paul, “In such a short time, are you persuading me to become a Christian?” First Peter 4:16 instructs Christians not to feel ashamed if they suffer. This is because they "bear" the name of Christ.

The name does not appear again in surviving records until the second century. Ignatius of Antioch was one of the first Christian writers to use the name "Christians" for believers (Letter to the Ephesians 11:2). Pliny, a Roman governor in the region addressed by First Peter, also wrote to Emperor Trajan about people who were accused of being Christians.

After that time, Christians used the name more often. The name clearly showed that they belonged to Christ.