58 Jesus, Prophet ofIslam
a1sopoints to the degree of intimacy which he must have enjoyed
with Jesus when he was on earth.
Paul must have rea1ised that he had been accepted by virtue of
Barnabas's authority and not because of his own efforts. He prob
ably felt dissatisfied as a result. Thismay weIl have been one of the
main reasons why he decided to return to Tarsus, his home town,
shortly afterwards, a1though it is also recorded that he left because
his life was in danger.
o o e o e
The persecution of the followers of Jesus, not only by the Romans
but also by the Jews, forced many of them to disperse throughout
the HolyLand.Afterthe martyrdom ofStephen,sorne of the apos
tles made their way to Antioch where they hoped to escape any
further persecution by Paul and his followers. Originally founded
by Seleucus Necator, Antioch had grown in size until by then it
was the third largest city of the Roman Empire after Rome and
Alexandria.It had once been the capital of the Greekkingdom and
had grown into a centre of trade and commerce. With the accumu
lation of wealth, its people had begun to lead a life of luxury and
decadence and so Antioch had acquired the reputation of being a
city of loose living.
It was here that this small group of strangers, dressed in rags,
began to lead a God-fearing life with simplicity and honesty. Those
who had grown tired of an immorallife began to gather around
them, but the majority of those who met them regarded them with
contempt and ridicule and nick-named them 'Christians'. For a very
few people, this rnight have been a term of respect, but to a large
number of people it was used as a term of hatred and abuse.
Up untilthis point, the followers of Jesus had always been
known as Nazarenes. The root of this word in Hebrew means 'to
keep' or 'to guard.' Thus the adjective indicated their role as keep
ers and guardians of the guidance which Jesus had brought.
Libanius records that the [ews in Antioch used to pray three times
a clay:'Send the curse of God upon the Nazarenes,' Prophery, an
other historian, who always opposed the Nazarenes, described their
way of life as a 'barbarous, newand strangereligion.' Celsus records
that, according to Jerome, the Christians were called 'Greek im
posters and deceivers' because they wore the same Greek cloaks
which the priests of the Greek temple wore.
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