Someone inquired, “Were there Christians before the Pentecost of Acts 2?” Probably most Bible students are aware that the name “Christian” appears three times in the New Testament. “And when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. So it was that for a whole year they assembled with the church and taught a great many people. And the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch” (Acts 11:26 NKJV). “Then Agrippa said to Paul, ‘You almost persuade me to become a Christian’” (Acts 26:28). “Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in this matter” (1 Peter 4:16).
From Acts 11:26, one can easily see that the words “disciples” and “Christians” are synonyms for the same group of people. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines the word “Christian” as “1 a: one who professes belief in the teachings of Jesus Christ, 1 b: disciple.” Even after the first recorded use of the name “Christian” (Acts 11:26), those wearing that name were still called “disciples” (Acts 11:29).
Many of the disciples of our Lord previous to the Pentecost of Acts 2 (Matthew 5:1) remained disciples of Jesus when the events of Acts 2 were about to unfold (Acts 1:15). The term “disciple” continued to be applied to members of the Lord’s church after its establishment and for about 10 years before the name “Christian” was used of them in Acts 11:26.
Disciples of Jesus were not called “Christians” until Acts 11:26, though even then, the terms “Christian” and “disciple” continued to be used interchangeably. Disciples of Jesus continued with Him throughout His ministry and persevered after our Lord’s sacrificial death on Calvary’s cross. They were the same group of people irrespective of when the name “Christian” was applied to them.
