Five of the top ten recent online searches for “Who founded…?” have to do with peoples’ beliefs. But to learn more about a religion, it’s important to know its founder. Christianity is number three on the list. Who is the founder of Christianity?
We can answer that question quicker than a Google search can yield answers—Jesus Christ. Christianity is defined by Jesus Christ, who makes faith in Him possible by His very being as One within the Trinity—God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Only He can originate Christianity (followers of Jesus Christ).
The definitive passage which tells us Jesus is the founder of Christianity is Hebrews 12:2, which outright calls Jesus the “Founder and Perfecter of our faith.” We can add Hebrews 2:5-11 as a verification Jesus is the Founder of Christianity by calling Him “the Founder of their salvation.” Christians find their salvation through Jesus Christ alone. Therefore, we can equate our Founder as our Salvation (cf. Colossians 1).
What Do We Know about Jesus’ Life?
The Apostle John wrote, “Now there are also many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written” (John 21:25). Not everything He did on earth is recorded, but as God, He has been present in all the Father’s actions as recorded throughout the Bible. Still, for our intents and purposes, we will focus on Matthew through Acts 1:1-11.
As a preface to our look at the life of Christ, consider this point: Jesus fulfilled no fewer than 300 Old Testament prophecies. The Jesus Film project lists over 55 major ones for our review.
As far as His time here, the events of Jesus’ life include but are not limited to the following:
Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit and birthed by the virgin Mary, whose husband was Joseph (Matthew 1:25a; Luke 2:1-7).
Joseph and Mary fled to Egypt with Jesus after it was revealed King Herod sought His death. They returned to Nazareth after they learned Herod had died (Matthew 2:13-23).
At 12, when His parents took their annual sojourn to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Passover, the family realized His absence as they journeyed home. After a three-day search, they found Jesus in the Jerusalem temple, “sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. When his parents expressed their disdain at his seeming ambivalence, Jesus replied, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” (Luke 2:41-52).
This event is a stark foreshadowing of Jesus’ ministry: He always sought and enacted the Father’s will with firm resolve.
Just before He officially began His ministry at (about) age 30, Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist “to fulfill all righteousness” (Matthew 3:13-17).
Immediately after His baptism, the Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness for forty days of fasting and then his temptation by the devil (Matthew 4:1-11).
Jesus spoke of the kingdom, the Father, and the Holy Spirit. He did signs, healings, and other miracles to manifest His glory, the first of which was turning water to wine at a wedding at Cana in Galilee (John 2:11).
Jesus began His ministry by methodically calling His disciples (Matthew 4:18-22; Mark 1:16-34; Luke 5:1-11; John 1:35-51). The twelve Apostles are named as a group in Matthew 10:2, Mark 3:14, and Luke 6:13. The Lord spends three fruitful years teaching and training His inner circle—the Apostles. He prepared them for their roles after His resurrection and ascension.
Jesus, throughout His earthly ministry, proclaimed the kingdom of God (Matthew 3:2; 5:3; 5:5-7; 13:31-52; Luke 17:20-37), confronted and corrected false beliefs (Matthew 5:20; 9:34); and expanded the good news beyond the Jewish peoples (Luke 10:25-37; 17:11-19; John 4; 8:48).
The Jewish religious leaders took great offense because Jesus refused outright to kowtow to them. They conspired to kill Him (Matthew 15:12) —therefore “playing” right into the hands of Almighty God’s plan of redemption (John 3:16-18).
Jesus’ disciple Judas betrayed Him, which led to Jesus’ arrest, trials, scourging, crucifixion, and death (John 13:2).
As He told his disciples, His resurrection occurred three days after His death and burial (Matthew 12:40; Mark 8:31; John 2:19).
The Interactive Life of Jesus website has a sterling list of Jesus’ life events. It’s worth reviewing as you read each account in your Bible.
What Were Jesus’ Key Traits?
Jesus exemplified these characteristics:
Sinlessness (2 Corinthians 5:21; Hebrews 4:15; 1 John 3:5).
A steadfast prayer life (Matthew 26:36; Luke 6:12; 9:28; 11:1; John 17:9).
Obedience (John 6:38)
Joy (Luke 2:10)
Righteousness (Matthew 3:15; 1 Corinthians 1:30; 2 Corinthians 5:21)
Steadfastness (Luke 9:53).
An itinerant yet worthy ministry (Matthew 8:20)
One could go on (as the Apostle John said), yet the above lists reveal the life and nature of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
What Made Jesus’ Teachings Different from Previous Teachers?
One key passage answers this question succinctly. After preaching the Sermon on the Mount (which included the beatitudes) to a large crowd, Matthew 7:28-29 says, “And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at His teaching, for He was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes.”
Everything Jesus did and taught was with complete authority, and Jesus told us numerous times throughout the Gospels why He came. Jesus said He came to:
1. “Do the Father’s will” (John 6:38).
2. Be a light so people would not remain in darkness (John 15:22).
3. “Cast fire to the earth” (Luke 12:49).
4. “Call and save sinners” and make eternal life with Him possible (Matthew 9:13; Mark 2:17; John 3:16; 12:27).
5. To preach to “others” (Gentiles) as well as the Jews (Mark 1:38).
6. Give abundant life (John 10:10).
7. Give us God’s Words (the truth) (John 17:8).
8. Bear witness to the truth (John 18:37).
9. To fulfill the Law and the Prophets (Matthew 5:17).
10. Bring a sword, and not peace (Matthew 10:34).
11. Bring division (Matthew 10:35; Luke 12:51).
12. be an ambassador in His Father’s name (John 5:43).
During His earthly ministry, Jesus turned the Jewish leaders’ traditions and practices on their heads (Matthew 9:11; Mark 7:11), and the Pharisees recognized their ungodliness when Jesus addressed them (Matthew 23:2-36; Mark 12:38-40; Luke 11:37-52; 20:45-47).
What Happened to Jesus After His Crucifixion?
As was prophesied, Jesus lay in the tomb from Friday afternoon until Sunday morning (by the Jewish reckoning of days, this would be the three days as spoken by Jesus in Matthew 12:40). We all know Sunday was coming, and on that Sunday “Mary Magdalene and the other Mary” (Matthew 28:1) went to the tomb, supposing it to be inhabited by their rabbi’s corpse.
But Jesus had already resurrected. Mary Magdalene saw him and assuming he was a gardener, Mary said, “Sir, if you have carried Him away, tell me where you have laid Him.” Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned and said to him in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (teacher) (John 20:15-16).
John’s Gospel continues with Jesus’ stunning words to Mary:
“Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to My brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, to My God and your God.’”
Jesus then appeared to His disciples, and “He presented himself alive to them after His suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God” (Acts 1:3). He told them to expect the coming Holy Spirit. They would “receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
As He told His disciples this, he was lifted into the sky, “and a cloud took Him out of their sight” (Acts 1:8).
Jesus is alive and preparing a place for us (John 14:2-3) and is at the Father’s right hand, interceding for us (Romans 8:34).
Why Do Some People Call Paul the Founder of Christianity?
One of the arguments critics make regarding our faith is it was the Apostle Paul who founded Christianity. They (the critics) contend Paul changed Jesus’ teachings and invented what we now know as the Christian faith.
Here are the two major arguments and responses that Christians can give.
Argument 1: Paul indicated he never met Jesus.
Answer: Acts 22 begins with Paul’s testimony and how he met the Lord Jesus on his way to Damascus (where he planned to bring Christ-followers to Jerusalem for punishment). Verses 6-8 reveal how the Lord spoke to Paul, and Paul responded and obeyed. Acts 22:14 states what Ananias said to Paul, “And he said, ‘The God of our fathers appointed you to know his will, to see the Righteous One and to hear a voice from his mouth;” Critics charge that since Paul did not meet Jesus in His human state, his role as an Apostle is negated. But, while Paul did not meet Jesus in His earthly body, he indeed met Him as resurrected Lord. Whether Paul met Jesus in either manner, Jesus was and is God, and Paul met Him, and Jesus chose Paul (Acts 9:15; 22:14).
Argument 2: Paul’s instructions did not match what Jesus taught. A look at the Gospels shows clear contradictions between what Jesus and Paul taught.
Answer: We read in Galatians 1:11-17 that Jesus Christ revealed to Paul the words he taught—Paul shared what Jesus Christ spoke directly to him.
Also, the Apostle Peter confirmed Paul’s position as an Apostle (2 Peter 3:15-16), and in Acts 15:23-26, we see the other believers acknowledge Paul as one of their own.
For more on these points, check Don Stewart’s case against the critics.
Look again to Hebrews 12:2. Jesus is not only the founder of our faith but is also the perfecter. God used Paul as one of the Apostles to teach and write the basics of the faith and the church. But Paul’s activities resulted from his obedience to the Lord and desire to further what Jesus began to teach (1 Corinthians 11:1; 2 Corinthians 10:5).
Paul’s ministry was to advance the kingdom, and his epistles all evidence his desire to further the Gospel proclaimed by Jesus Christ (who is Himself the Gospel—the good news). He and Peter were the first and foremost post-resurrection proponents of the teachings of Jesus. They don’t add anything new to what Jesus taught; instead, they expound upon His teachings. Look at what Luke says at the beginning of Acts, “In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach, until the day when He was taken up, after He had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom He had chosen. He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God” (Acts 1:1-3).
The Bible we hold in our hands perfectly records what God intends us to have. We learn from His Word that Jesus is the Founder of Christianity. As His disciples (Matthew 28:19-20; John 15:18-19), we (as was Paul) are blessed to grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ (2 Peter 3:18).
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