Like other Jewish sects, early Christians referred to the Hebrew Bible for
legitimacy. They reinterpreted the notion of a “new covenant” referred to in
Jeremiah 31; and the notion of a “cornerstone rejected by the builders” in Psalm
118 as the Jewish rejection of Jesus. They personified the suffering servant in
Isaiah 53 – originally a reference to the people of Israel in exile – as the suffer-
ing of Jesus himself; and they based the claim of Jesus’ divinity by
reinterpreting Daniel 7:13. In retrospect, each of these Christological interpre-
tations is problematic from an exegetical point of view, and the Christological
interpretation of Isaiah 7:14 as presaging the Virgin Birth is an outright mis-
reading. Yet for those who began with the premise that Jesus was the Messiah
and the Son of God, each of these interpretations was tenable and plausible.
Five factors helped the spread of Christianity during the first three cen-
turies. First, Christianity claimed to be the true heir of Judaism, which was
highly respected in the Hellenistic world as a cult of piety and moral values.
Second, Christianity’s apocalyptic and sectarian organization facilitated
intense commitment from its membership. Third, the general mobility of
peoples in the Hellenistic world aided Christian missionaries in their efforts
to spread the teachings of Jesus and win adherents.
Fourth, Jesus’ message appealed to the large population of economically
viable but low-status people. Skilled artisans, for example, at times had above
average economic security, but low status. The workshop was a good place to
proselytize. Conversations between customers and tradesmen or between
masters and apprentices could attract new followers.
Similarly, tax collectors and prostitutes, who were considered disrep-
utable by Pharisees and Sadducees, found Christians to be more welcoming.
“God-fearing” Gentiles who were interested in Judaism and attended syna-
gogue but were unwilling to become fully Jewish – generally because of
circumcision – chose Christianity as an alternative. Also, accomplished
women could overcome their secondary status in Pharisaic or Sadducean
society by becoming Christian.
Finally, Christian missionaries, beginning with Paul, were able to attract
not only Jews but also pagans. Paul, in particular, was a major catalyst in the
spread of Christianity. In 60 C.E., Christianity was still largely centered on the
Land of Israel, and most converts had either once belonged or still belonged
to one or another Jewish sect. It is useful in this regard to compare Paul’s path
to Christian belief with that of James. James came to Christianity as an exten-
sion of his Jewish beliefs. Paul, born Saul of Tarsus, was a Hellenized diaspora
Jew who converted to Pharisaic Judaism, then later to Christianity. He never
knew Jesus personally. According to the Gospel of Luke, Paul had a vision of
Jesus while on the road to Damascus to preach Pharisaic Judaism, which pre-
cipitated an ecstatic experience and his conversion to Christianity.
As a Christian, he struggled to reconcile his new belief in Jesus with his
Pharisaic belief in the primacy of the oral tradition of Jewish law. If he
The challenge of Hellenism 45