A few years ago, I overheard a Catholic woman ask her friend, “When did Jesus become a Catholic?” A few of us laughed but did try to explain that Jesus was the Christ. He was born Jewish and died Jewish.
One of my Jewish friends asked me, “When did Jesus become a Christian?” Soon after that, a relative asked me, “Well, when did he become a Catholic?”
Yes, Jesus was born Jewish. By the time that he was executed by the Romans, however, many Jewish people would have considered Jesus as guilty of blasphemy because of certain actions and his teachings about God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. At least since the sixth century before Christ, the bedrock of Judaism has been monotheism, belief in one God. God’s self-revelation in the Scriptures progressively insisted on monotheism.
The Gospels record several incidents where Jesus is accused of blasphemy for directly or indirectly claiming divine prerogatives. For example, when Jesus cured the paralytic man lowered through the roof (Mark 2:1-12), he saw the man’s faith and said, “Child, your sins are forgiven” (v. 5). Similar passages occur in Matthew 9:1-8 and Luke 5:18-26.
“Now some of the scribes were sitting there asking themselves, ‘Why does this man speak that way? Who but God alone can forgive sins?’ Jesus immediately knew in his mind what they were thinking to themselves, so he said, ‘Why are you thinking such things in your hearts? Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, Your sins are forgiven, or to say, Rise, pick up your mat and walk? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority for sins on earth—he said to the paralytic, ‘I say to you, rise, pick up your mat, and go home'” (Mark 2:8-11).
After Caiaphas, the high priest, commanded Jesus, “I order you to tell us under oath before the living God whether you are the Messiah, the Son of God,” Jesus said, “You have said so. But I tell you: From now on you will see ‘the Son of Man seated at the right hand of the Power’ and ‘coming on the clouds of heaven.’ Then the high priest tore his robes and said, ‘He has blasphemed! What further need have we of witnesses? You [members of the Sanhedrin] have now heard the blasphemy; what is your opinion?’ They said in reply, ‘He deserves to die!'” (Matthew 26:63-66, with a similar passage in Mark 14:61-64).
In the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke, Pilate questions Jesus about calling himself “the king of the Jews.” That scene is given in more detail in the Gospel of John. “Pilate said to them [the crowd], ‘Take him yourselves and crucify him. I find no guilt in him.’ The Jews answered, ‘We have a law, and according to that law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God'” (19:6b-7). Pilate orders that Jesus be crucified for treason, for not rejecting the title “king of the Jews.”
Not all Jesus’ Jewish contemporaries considered him guilty of blasphemy—his mother, Mary, the apostles and the disciples, for example.
To say that Jesus died Jewish may be too simple; he saw himself as bringing Judaism to a new level. Even so, the earliest Christians continued to frequent the Temple in Jerusalem (Acts 3:1-26 and 5:42).
From the very beginning, the followers of Jesus asserted that they were monotheists, that the Father, Son and Holy Spirit were not three gods in the same sense that pagans, for example, considered Jupiter and Apollo as gods.
Jesus’ followers were first called Christians in Antioch (Acts 11:26)—only after his death and resurrection. That term and catholic (universal) were interchangeable from the second through the 11th centuries A.D.
Ask a Franciscan appears monthly in St. Anthony Messenger. Click here to learn more!
10 thoughts on “When Did Jesus become a Catholic?”
So was Jesus a Catholic when he died? My understanding is that Jews believe he was a prophet, not God. So how is he both?
He was born Jew raised Jew 12 temple mosicis law Spoke in lemples. When he did become catholiv
Jesus was not catholic or any denomination since they have all become money hungry money is there present god the holy church of Christ is in your heart and spirit don’t let these denominational churches brainwash you and your family!!!
Well there’s your problem. The last prophet was John the Baptist, the herald of the Messiah. Jesus IS God. God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Ghost. Three distinct divine Persons yet only One God. May He bless and protect you from all evil and sin, especially that of heresy. Amen.
Jesus Christ established Christ followers. He did not establish a denomination. He said that if you see Him you see the Father, the Father and He are one.
The Roman Catholic church claim Jesus started the church of Rome. That is false and very naughty of the Roman Catholic church to claim. But then the Roman Catholic church make many claims including their traditions are of higher authority than Scripture. Since the Holy Spirit guided the writers of Scripture, we should consider Scripture as holy and unchanging. Nowhere in Scripture does it mention the Roman Catholic church.
Sounds more like it Anthony 👍
Who were the “Catholics”? Who were the “Protestants”? It all started with one Catholic challenging the practice of raising money for the building of St. Peter’s Cathedral in Rome by selling indulgences. This “crime” was never properly acknowledged by popes back then or popes now living.
The question is when did Jesus stop being Jewish. Never. As the official document of 1985 says, “Jesus was born a Jew, he lived as a Jew, and he died as a Jew.” But, during his life, he began a protest movement within Judaism (someone like the protest movement started in 1517 when Fr. Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses for debate on his church door in Wittenburg).
John the Baptist began a protest movement at the time of Jesus. He cried out, “Prepare the way of the Lord for his coming.” He baptized those who joined him in the Jordan River. Jesus was baptized by him. Many would say that, in so doing, he joined his movement. Then John was arrested. Matthew’s Gospel makes clear that once John was silenced, Jesus sprang into action. Jesus began by asking four fishermen to join him. The Gospels tell us that Jesus preached in the synagogues of Galilee and to the crowds along the Lake. The twelve disciples, meanwhile, were sent out to do the same, preaching the coming Kingdom and healing (Matt 10:7-8), just as jesus did. Their success was the first indication that the Jesus movement might take hold within Judaism.
But, in the long run, the Jesus movement died out within Judaism. At the same time, the Jesus movement among the Gentiles grew by leaps and bounds. This left some with the mistaken impression that Jesus came to establish a movement outside Judaism. He did not, of course (see Matt 10:5-6). So this is to be marvelled at: Jesus was 100% Jewish. His disciples were 100% Jewish (Paul included). Yet, the Jesus movement thrived among the Gentiles while it quietly disappeared within Judaism.
What is God saying to the world regarding the war between Israel and the Palestinians? Are we in the end times? I”ve always believed that true Christians would stand with Israel now and beyond. Is this your belief also?
Let’s see: was Mary a Christian? Of you define as “Christian” a follower of Jesus and His doctrines, Mary was a Christian. She was a Jewish Christian, or a Christian Jew if you prefer. Were the apostles Christians? Yes, for the same reason. Did all of these believe in the primacy of Peter given by Jesus? If your answer is “Yes”, then you can say that they were also Catholic, especially if you can say that they believed all the Catholic dogmas (which they did). But lo and behold, so did Jesus. So, Jesus was a Jew by blood, and a Catholic Christian by faith, and by sharing the Holy Spirit within. You didn’t need to be Jewish to become a Christian, but you could be both Jewish and Christian. Christianity exists in continuity and as a fulfillment of Jewish beliefs, not as an independent faith.
My mom always believed that Catholic Churches was the first religion. I always told her no. There were many religions before that. God created the world. He created us all equally so no one religion is better then another. We are all miracles of God. He does not make mistakes we do. All churches temples mosques should be open to all Gods children. On the day we were born he gifted all of us with a beautiful guardian angel to watch over us. He gave us the choice. But he loves all his children and has forgiven them over and over. Many have lost there way but they have the right to fight for there body and soul. No one should fear the lord for he is loving and forgiving. We need to put people first not institutions.