Acts 11
There
is a short sentence in Acts 11:26 that says something interesting; “And in
Antioch the disciples were first called Christians.” Before this, those who believed in Jesus were
called, “followers of the Way,” or simply, “disciples.”
While this observation certainly has a
quality of Shakespeare’s, “a rose by any other name,” it is good to observe
that believers in Jesus were not always called, “Christians.”
Now, don’t get me wrong! “Christian” is a good name. The Lutheran Study Bible notes that this name
is from, “a Latin noun that indicates allegiance to Christ.” It was probably a name that was put on the
disciples by others who observed their loyalty to Jesus. Even today, it is still the outsider who
places this label on believers in Jesus, while Christians seem to prefer to go
by their denominational nom de guerre.
The nice thing about bearing the name
Christian is that, in so doing, we bear the name, “Christ.” When we confess that we are part of the
Christian church we name our Lord in the title.
We are saying, “I am a follower of Jesus Christ, God’s Son, who died and
rose from death for me. He is my savior,
my God, and the one who is faithful.”
That being said, it would be very nice
to recapture the name, “disciple.” To
say, “I am a Christian,” or, “I am Jesus’ disciple,” is perfectly synonymous. In Matthew 28, Jesus instructed, “As you are
going, make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father,
and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to hold on to all I have
commanded you.”
Being a Christian disciple means that we
were baptized. Jesus has commanded baptism
and attached many promises to it. We cherish
baptism as the moment we became Jesus disciples. But being a disciple does not end with
baptism. Jesus said that we are to hold
on to all He has commanded. We continue
to gather around the Word, receive the Lord’s Supper, love one another, etc.,
as forgiven followers of Christ.
Lord, I have not always proudly carried the
name Christian upon me. Help me to
remember that at the heart of this discipleship is Your forgiveness, and help me
to hold on to it and all of Your Word.
Amen.
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