The Age of Martyrs and the Council of Jerusalem

Church History Timeline

C. 30 Jesus’ life, death, and

resurrection

Pentecost

Age of Martyrs 37-312

the age of martyrs37 AD - 312 AD

The Age of Martyrs

Martyr:Someone who dies for their faith.

St. Stephen (The 1st Christian martyr)

37 AD

St. Stephen (The 1st Christian martyr)

37 ADSt. Stephen

• First Christian Martyr

• Dies in 37 A.D.

• Saul (the man who would become known as St. Paul) was there and approved of Stephen being killed.

The Age of Martyrs

• “The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church.”

• The Age of Martyrs started with St. Stephen and ran until the year 312 A.D.

The Age of Martyrs

• Two big persecutions were Nero in 64 A.D. and. Diocletian in 302 A.D.

Conversion of Saul• Saul was a Pharisee who followed

the Law of Moses strictly • He saw Christianity as a great threat

to the tradition of the Jews • He zealously persecuted the Church • On his way to Damascus to arrest as

many Christians as he could, he experienced a light and heard the voice of Christ – “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute

me” – Read Acts 9:3-9 – Jesus identifies himself with the

Church

Paul the Apostle• Paul was very well educated in both Greek and Hebrew languages and

literature – Because of his extensive education he was able to communicate well

with both Jews and Gentiles • He was a Roman citizen and so had a unique status among both Jews

and Romans – Paul used this to his advantage on a number of occasions, e.g. Acts

22:25-29 • Avoided scourging • Was beheaded instead of crucified

• He also suffered a great deal in his missionary journeys – Almost killed several times, stoned, shipwrecked, betrayed, faced

long and hard journeys, failures, scourgings

Paul the Apostle

• Three missionary journeys from 46-57 AD; he traveled over 10,000 miles

• Read 2 Cor. 11:23-28 • Three great accomplishments

– Proclaimed the faith through the Mediterranean empire

– Trained the new Christian communities and new leaders

– Wrote letters to the new communities and leaders

Gentile Converts

• One of the first issues that the Church had to deal with was what to do with the Gentile converts

– “Do they have to follow the Mosaic Law?” • In the early days of Christianity, most Christians

saw themselves as a branch of Judaism and still followed Jewish laws and customs

– Circumcision, dietary laws, ceremonial laws

Gentile Converts

• Yet as more and more Gentiles converted to Christianity, this became a very important issue

– Peter converts Cornelius (Acts 10:25-49) – Paul gave the Gospel to Gentiles

• Two positions in regard to this issue of Gentile Converts

1. Anyone who converts to Christianity must take on all the laws and customs of Judaism

2. Christ freed us from the burden of the Old Law

Church History Timeline

C. 30 Jesus’ life, death, and

resurrection

Pentecost

Council Of

Jerusalem C. 50

Age of Martyrs 37-312

The Council of Jerusalem

The Council of Jerusalem• C. 50 A.D.

• Dealt with the question: What do you need to do to be a Christian.

The Council of Jerusalem• In the midst of debate Peter stands

and settles the question (Acts 15:4-12) – He reasoned that God gave the

Holy Spirit to the Gentiles even as he did to the first Jewish Christians

– He shows that it is the Holy Spirit’s choice that the Gentiles do not have to take on the burden of the Old Law

– Prior to his speech, Peter had a vision of the animals and God’s voice saying, "Rise, Peter; kill and eat." (Acts 10:13)

The Council of Jerusalem• The Church’s

decision was to be a Christian you need to have faith in Jesus Christ and be baptized.

The Council of Jerusalem• You can read

all about this in Acts of the Apostles Chapter 15.

The Age of Martyrs and the Council of Jerusalem