The Early Church
Why the most persecuted people in history refused to be silent.
01
The Christian worldview is very exclusive in its claims — unique to the point that since it began, anyone who held to them was considered an enemy of the state.
In first century Rome, all spiritual practices were welcome. You could worship whatever god you wanted. So what was it about Christianity that the authorities just wouldn't accept?
Why did they decide that of all the beliefs in the empire, Christianity was the one whose followers had to be stamped out?
02
One God. Creator of space, time, and matter. Sovereign over all creation. Every person made in His image — with inherent value, dignity, and worth.
Evil in this world is the result of mankind's natural rebellion against God's law. Everyone has broken it. As a result, humanity is separated from God and condemned to face His judgment.
Despite humanity's rebellion, God sent His Son to bear the full weight of that judgment in our place. Anyone who turns from destruction and puts their faith in Jesus will no longer face condemnation.
03
Everything in Christianity's worldview could be dismissed as one more fairytale — until you get to the person of Jesus of Nazareth. His very birth was considered a threat to governing authorities.
"Where is the One who has been born King of the Jews? We saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him."
— The Magi, Matthew 2:2Herod the King was so troubled that he ordered every male child in Bethlehem two years old and under put to death. The claim that Jesus is King has provoked violent reaction from governing authorities for 2,000 years.
04
In Acts 17, Paul and Silas preached that Jesus was the Messiah. Those who disagreed formed a mob, dragged their host Jason before the city officials, and made the charge explicit:
"These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also... they are all acting against the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus."
— Acts 17:6–7Saying Jesus is King was treason in 1st century Rome.
It still is in 21st century dictatorships.
Communist China knows what the words "Jesus is Lord" mean all too well. Pastor Wang Yi was sentenced to nine years in prison for openly declaring that the Chinese Communist Party is not the ultimate authority — that even those in government are subject to the Lordship of Jesus.
05
"The Christians were not killed because they worshipped Jesus. Nobody cared who worshipped whom so long as the worshipper did not disrupt the unity of the state, centred in the formal worship of Caesar. The reason the Christians were killed was because they were rebels."
"They worshipped Jesus as God and they worshipped the infinite-personal God only. The Caesars would not tolerate this. If they had worshipped Jesus and Caesar, they would have gone unharmed — but they rejected all forms of syncretism. All other gods were seen as false gods."
"No totalitarian authority can tolerate those who have an absolute by which to judge that state and its actions. The Christians had that absolute in God's revelation. Because of this, they were counted as enemies of totalitarian Rome and were thrown to the beasts."
— Francis Schaeffer06
This is why the Christian faith was targeted 2,000 years ago and is targeted today. The claim that Jesus is King is the single reason so many who professed Christianity were regarded as enemies of the state.
In 1st century Rome, all you had to do to survive was throw a pinch of incense into a fire — a simple act of homage to Caesar as ultimate authority. One sentence stood between life and death:
Those who complied
"Caesar estin Kyrios"
Caesar is Lord — they lived.
Those who refused
"Iesus estin Kyrios"
Jesus is Lord — they died.
07
It's effortless. Harmless. What was it that convinced these people to give up their lives rather than perform one simple act? What did they hear about Jesus that made them so persuaded, so convicted, that they had no fear of death?
This persecution isn't just history. It happens today. And the answer is the same — it's found in the person of Jesus of Nazareth and the life He called His followers to.
The 1st century Christians understood that the call of the Gospel was one of self-denial and surrender to everything Jesus commands. Not a cultural identity. Not a tradition. A living allegiance to a living King.
They didn't die for a religion.
They died for a person they had met.
2,000 years of blood.
The Church is still standing.
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