What Caused the Early Church to Explode in Growth Against All Odds? (Matthew 28:19)

Christianity brought the first nonviolent revolution that changed the world from the inside out through conversion and discipleship. Far from causing violence, in its first 300 years, it was the brunt of periods of localized to widespread and systematic persecution and outright cruelty. This was experienced from the beginning (see Acts 8:1-4). The majority of its adherents were mostly poor, with little to no social status or influence. The Roman Empire consisted of 60 million people living over 2 million square miles (the continental United States is just over 3 million square miles), with over 30 nations and dozens of cultures connected by 250,000 miles of roads. The social and cultural barriers were vast, and the conditions were often hostile and dangerous. Yet, in 300 years, it went from a few hundred adherents to 35 million people (57% of the Roman Empire). Below are the projected conversion growth rates according to Rodney Stark¹:

7,500 Christians by the end of the first century (0.02% of sixty million people);
40,000 Christians by 150 AD (0.07%)
200,000 by 200 AD (0.35%)
2 million by 250 AD (2%)
6 million by 300 AD (10%)
34 million by 350 AD (57%)

Nothing like this type of revolution had ever occurred anywhere in the world. To imagine that in its early days (anywhere before AD 250), it would become the dominant religion in the whole Empire would be beyond the wildest imagination. The question before us is how did the liberating power of the Holy Spirit spread from Pentecost to reach and transform millions in just three centuries? The heart and core of the answer lies in the command Jesus gave to his first followers just after the resurrection:

“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations…”
Matthew 28:19

In this article, we will trace the early expansion of Christianity and then examine the core reasons that caused it to grow so dramatically. In this, we will see that Christianity emerged as the first decentralized mass movement of people, bringing new levels of personal freedom to millions while being linked to the same life and truth of the gospel. God further shaped humanity into the trinitarian image with increased liberty (diversity) and one gospel (unity).

Initial Messianic Movement

The Jesus’ movement started within Judaism. At Pentecost (AD 33), there were 3,000 who believed in Jesus as the Messiah. (Acts 2:41) Many of these were visiting Jerusalem from sixteen different locations outside the sacred city, some as far as Rome, 2,500 miles away. (Acts 2:9-10) Among the thousands who embraced Jesus as the Messiah, they would have taken their newfound faith back to the places where they resided and started embryonic churches.² There was a Christian group in Damascus (about 140 miles north of Jerusalem) maybe as early as AD 34.³

It is largely believed that a church was started in Rome by those who returned to that capital city from Pentecost. Many budding churches started as Jews returned to their places of residence after Pentecost. Nearly twenty-five years later (ca. AD 57), James and the elders at the Jerusalem church affirmed that many thousands of Jews believed:

You see, brother, how many thousands of Jews have believed, and all of them are zealous for the law. (Acts 21:20)

When it is stated that many thousands believed, the Greek term used is μυριάς (muriad), meaning ten thousand. Had there been ten thousand by this date, that would mean, overall, that Jesus’ movement made very little impression upon the Jewish people. Emperor Claudius took a census of the Roman Empire (AD 48), and it revealed that there were 7 million Jews in the Roman Empire, with 2.3 million in Israel.⁴ Perhaps around 400,000 were in Alexandria, Egypt. If these numbers are accurate, that would mean that 1/10th of 1% of the Jewish population embraced Jesus as the Messiah. That would hardly be a ripple in the ocean of the Jewish world at the time.

Paul and the Gentile Movement

With the conversion of Cornelius (Acts 10), the first Gentile believer, to Jesus’ movement around AD 40, a pivotal shift began to occur. The Christian faith would become predominantly Gentile in a short period of time, maybe as early as the mid-first century. The apostle Paul, though not alone, was central to accelerating this shift. By AD 49, when Paul reached Thessalonica, his opponents proclaimed:

“These men who have caused trouble all over the world have now come here…” (Acts 17:6)

Paul was formidable in taking Christianity in a westward direction (as the map above shows Israel, Syria, Turkey, and Greece) on his three missionary journeys which occurred over 13 years. (Acts 13-14, 16-17, 18:23–20:38) Though Paul was a notable missionary of Jesus’ movement, the spread of the faith took place through thousands of disciples, the vast majority unmentioned in the records of history.

300 Years Into 3 Continents

By AD 100, the Church had been largely established in all parts of the Roman Empire. Rodney Stark points out that of the 17 cities which were 1,000 miles from Jerusalem, 12 had a congregation by AD 100. All of the 17 cities had one congregation by AD 180. Of the 14 cities more than 1,000 miles from Jerusalem, 8 cities had one congregation by AD 180. By AD 250, all of them had a church.

Asia

Antioch: This became the second major home and hub of the Christian movement outside of Jerusalem. It was the third largest city in the Roman Empire, boasting 500,000 residents by the end of the third century. It is here that the gentile identity of Jesus’ movement was formed, as they were the first to be called Christians. (Acts 11:26) The church was predominantly Greek-speaking and spread throughout much of Syria. By the time of the Council of Nicaea (AD 325), the church had no less than 20 bishops from Syria present.⁵ This indicates the presence of the faith in many towns and cities in several different parts of the region.

Ephesus: We know little of the missionaries who labored here after Paul. One exception is the account of Gregory Thaumaturgos, known as the “Worker of Wonders.” This man, a son of prominent and wealthy parents, was a native of Pontus. In the course of his studies, he became a Christian. In the year AD 240, he was made bishop. He set out to preach the gospel to the pagans of his region. It is said that when he ascended to leadership, only seventeen Christians were there, while thirty years later, at his death, only seventeen pagans remained.

Edessa: The church spread to Edessa (southeastern Turkey). At this point, in the first century, it lay just beyond the Roman Empire, yet it had close ties with Antioch. It was later claimed that the founder of the church there had been one of the 72 disciples of Jesus (Luke 10:1-3), a man named Addai. According to Eusebius in his Ecclesiastical History, a terrible illness had stumped the court physicians of King Abgar, ruler of Edessa. In his desperation, he prayed to Jesus, pleading with him to come to his capital of Edessa. Eusebius records that the apostle Thomas commissioned Thaddeus to go there. “When he came to these places, he both healed Abgar by the word of Christ and astonished all there with the extraordinary miracles he performed.” Serapion, bishop of Antioch in about AD 200, consecrated an Edessene Christian named Palut to be bishop of the capital. From here, the gospel would spread to regions that are now Iraq, Armenia, and India.

Armenia: According to tradition, the disciple Thaddeus (Matthew 10:3) arrived in Armenia in AD 43, where he was joined by Bartholomew (Mark 10:3) in AD 60. Both men are said to have died there as martyrs. We also know that Syriac missionaries from Edessa reached Armenia by the third century. The traditional account, however, honors Gregory the Illuminator (AD 257–331) as one who advanced Christianity in Armenia. Gregory was himself an Armenian, a prince who was educated as a Christian in Caesarea (present-day Turkey). Upon his return, he found himself, like Daniel in Babylon, imprisoned in a pit by the monarch Tiridates III (reigned AD 287–330) for refusing to participate in pagan sacrifices. Gregory was recalled from his pit after twelve years to cure Tiridates, who had descended into a mysterious state of madness.

India: There is a body of evidence that shows the apostle Thomas traveled east, through Syria and Iraq, and reached India. He is believed to have landed on the Malabar Coast (present-day Kerala) and established one of the world’s oldest Christian communities.⁶

Europe

Rome: Peter preached in Judea and Samaria, before traveling to Antioch, Asia Minor (Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, and Bithynia), and finally to Rome.⁷ Christianity appears to have had a significant presence in the city of Rome by the late AD 40s. This rapid growth can be partly attributed to the large number of Christians who converged on Rome from other parts of the Empire. Paul referenced all of the disciples who had moved there from different parts of the world as evidence of this in Romans 16.⁸ There were some 30,000 Christians there by AD 250. Most were poorer and spoke Greek, which was the language of the lower classes, as opposed to Latin.

France: Christians from Rome went as missionaries to France, known at that time as Gaul. Irenaeus (AD 130-200), a prominent bishop in France, speaks of using both the Celtic and Latin languages, which would indicate that the church had gone beyond the Romanized people in France.⁹ By the end of the third century, many churches had been established in Spain.

Africa

Egypt: North Africa became rich with churches. Mark (Acts 12:12, 25; 15:37), who was the writer of the biblical gospel that bears his name and a traveling companion of Peter, was reported to have founded the Church of Alexandria around AD 49. There are further indications that he established the gospel presence in Libya, which was his place of birth. Simon of Cyrene (Matthew 27:32, Mark 15:21, and Luke 23:26), who carried the cross of Jesus, was also believed to be a strong influence in Libya. Alexandria was an especially strong center, producing such Christian thinkers as Clement (AD 150-c215) and Origen (AD 185-254).

Ethiopia: Christianity became the official religion of Ethiopia during the reign of King Ezana (AD 320-360). Irenaeus of Lyons (see above), writing in AD 180, reports that Simon Backos preached “the coming in the flesh of God” in his homeland of Ethiopia. Going back even further, Luke writes of the 1st-century conversion of an Ethiopian official (Acts 8:26-40). Could this official have started the first church in Ethiopia? In that it became the official religion of the nation in the fourth century, it is reasonable to think that it underwent at least a few centuries of steady Christian development.

Tunis & Algeria: There was rapid growth further west in what is today known as Tunis and Algeria. The churches here were the first Latin speaking churches. And out of them flowed some of the great Latin Christian literature of Tertullian and Cyprian, to be followed later by the famous Augustine. Augustine resided in modern day Algeria.¹⁰

What Caused Christianity to Grow?

Root Cause # 1: A contagious move of the Spirit. The fire of the Holy Spirit, starting at Pentecost, would ignite a transforming and unstoppable blaze from person to person to person. As God’s Story of Grace spread, millions of people discovered a new identity and empowerment to live lives of purpose beyond anything their culture provided for them. This is what Jesus promised would happen through the power of the Holy Spirit:

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. (Acts 1:8)

Root Cause # 2: The message of the gospel. The message of the gospel was seen as the only and ultimate Good News for all of humanity to bring righteousness before God:

¹⁶For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. ¹⁷For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.” (Romans 1:16-17)

It was this message that led to a rapid spread:

⁶You became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you welcomed the message in the midst of severe suffering with the joy given by the Holy Spirit. ⁷And so you became a model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia. ⁸The Lord’s message rang out from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia—your faith in God has become known everywhere. (1 Thessalonians 1:6-8)

Root Cause # 3: An exponential reproduction of discipleship among everyday believers. The movement of the Christian faith was a decentralized movement of everyday people who were equipped and trained to disciple more everyday people. As Paul writes:

Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. (1 Corinthians 1:26)

One evidence of this is that in the first three hundred years, the church faced several waves of violence and cruelty. In some cases it was very severe and was meant to severely cripple and wipe out the faith. Yet, these persecutions never worked because the early church was faithfully engaged in training and maturing leaders and missionaries to continue the spread of the gospel. As Paul instructed Timothy:

And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others. (2 Timothy 2:2)

For example, when severe persecution hit the Jerusalem church, they had to locally disband. Luke records that the persecution had a reverse effect:

¹On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. ²Godly men buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him. ³But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off both men and women and put them in prison.⁴Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went. (Acts 8:1-4)

What is significant is that it was not the apostles who spread out. They stayed in Jerusalem. When Paul was jailed in Rome, he described the emboldening effect it was having on other believers:

¹²Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has actually served to advance the gospel. ¹³As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. ¹⁴And because of my chains, most of the brothers and sisters have become confident in the Lord and dare all the more to proclaim the gospel without fear. (Philippians 1:12-14)

Because Christianity was so decentralized it led to an exponential spread of the faith. Like interest in an investment, it grew slowly at first but then rapidly gained exponential momentum. At the root of all of this is that the church, in the power of the Spirit, discipled everyday believers, in the gospel of Jesus.

Conclusion

Christianity unleashed a decentralized movement which snowballed from thousands to millions of converts in 300 years. It brought a new movement of compassion and care, equality and dignity, freedom and purpose to everyday people. It expanded the realization of personal freedom in unparalleled ways. The world advanced in the shape of the Trinity coming to greater personal freedom. To make this sustainable, it would need to find a unity within all of the new diversity which was created on three continents and in dozens of countries and cultures. This diversity could lead to schisms and break in the church. God would have a solution to this. So the Story of Grace continues…

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Stark would be the first to admit that those figures are anything but precise, but they provide plausible limits.
Small groups of people with with a loose affiliation who were following Jesus through simple practices of discipleship which were modelled for them. (see Acts 2:42-47)
Because Paul went to arrest and detain Christians there, this is evidence of a church formed very early on. Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priestand asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. (Acts 9:1-2)
This number is not agreed upon by scholar. Yet, it is safe to sat that this number is in no way unreasonable.
Church organization consisted of a bishop (higher ranking leader) overseeing several churches in an area.
Sean McDowell writes: Early church writings consistently link Thomas to India and Parthia. Three points stand out regarding their witness to Thomas. First, the testimony that he went to India is unanimous, consistent, and reasonably early. Second, we have no contradictory evidence stating Thomas did not go to India or Parthia or that he went elsewhere. Third, fathers both in the East and in the West confirm the tradition. Since the beginning of the third century it has become an almost undisputable tradition that Thomas ministered in India. In addition to the traditions about Thomas in India, there is additional evidence that Christianity made it to India by at least the second century, if not earlier.
While the Bible doesn’t explicitly state his presence in Rome, many early Church Fathers, like Irenaeus and Clement of Rome, wrote about Peter’s ministry and leadership in the Roman church.
France was divided into Romanized and non-Romanized areas.
Marg Mowczko writes, “Of the twenty-nine people, ten are women, and seven of the ten women are described in terms of their ministry (Phoebe, Prisca, Mary, Junia, Tryphena, Tryphosa, Persis, and perhaps Rufus’s mother also). By comparison, only three men are described in terms of their ministry (Aquila, Andronicus, Urbanus), and two of these men are ministering alongside a female partner (Aquila with Prisca, Andronicus with Junia). These are numbers worth remembering.”
The theologian Thomas Oden has pointed out that the Christianity in Africa influenced the Christians in Europe well before European Christian would influence Africa.

The Big Bang of All Lasting World Revolutions (Acts 2:1-13)

We come to the event in God’s Story of Grace which will cause the transforming purposes of God fashioning all of creation into the mutual and life-giving unity of the Trinity to speed up with intensity–Pentecost. This event is unrepeatable, but its effects will be reproducible in time and space throughout all of history. God will come closer into the world and bring the legacy of his work through the ages (Israel, Greece, Persia, Babylon) and spread it throughout the earth with revolutionary impact and power. This is because God has come closer to humanity, not only changing political structures, scientific knowledge and philosophical ideas but transforming lives.

This article will explore the origins of where this began as it establishes the original energy and movement to to heal and reshape a broken world.

What is Pentecost?

Pentecost is the beginning of the church–where God dwells in people–and through these people enters into a transforming mission in the world. Luke, writing in the Acts, describes the event as follows:

Reaping

When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. (Acts 2:1)

In the Jewish calendar there are three major feasts where the Jews were required to go to Jerusalem: Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles. Passover was a week long event.¹ In the last days of Jesus on earth, the Passover week started with Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem and lasted until the Saturday before his resurrection. Pentecost (which is the Greek word for 50), celebrated the first fruits of the wheat harvest² and occurred 50 days after Passover. So, what was originally celebrated as an agricultural harvest now is celebrated as a harvest of lives. On this day 3000 people will come to be followers of Jesus from fifteen different nations and people groups. (see Acts 2:41) These are the first fruits of the spiritual harvest that comes to Christ from His death and resurrection.

Regeneration

Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. (Acts 2:2)

What is described is what sounds like a violent wind. This is, of course, an appearance of the Holy Spirit, who comes with decisive and unmistakable gale force intensity to inaugurate God’s accelerated transformation of the world. This is the equivalent of a spiritual big bang which would bring a new order into the world. The Holy Spirit filled the whole house, but he does not stop there. The wind of the Holy Spirit will enter into the gathered 120 to become the transforming power to send them on mission to reshape the world into God’s mutual and self-giving unity. On a person-by-person basis he will uplift humanity above the the gravitational pull of self-centeredness and social disorder with his regenerating (born again) power. In the development of God’s Story of Grace, the Holy Spirit will now democratize (more widely distribute to everyday people) the power of his influence. History will now be centered with greater scale upon the larger movements of everyday people rather than on powerful kings and elites.

Resources

³They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. ⁴All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. (Acts 2:3-4)

As we see the tongues of fire descend on each person, God will change his address where he dwells from the Temple in Jerusalem to the church (people who follow God). His very presence will not be in stones but people; it will not be stationary but mobile. His presence will be spreading throughout the localities and the world as God’s people are in movement. Originally God came to dwell closely in the earth by inhabiting Solomon’s Temple.³ Now he comes as close as he possibly can by inhabiting people.

Result

⁵Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. ⁶When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken. 7 Utterly amazed, they asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language?

Imagine a group of people who are not formally educated, from an area that is far away from a city, comes to a city and, all of a sudden, has this capacity to speak in another language with perfect pronunciation: no mistakes and clear articulation. This would be startling. But then it is even more astounding that those people are speaking multiple languages altogether: fifteen to be exact. This is seen by the fifteen countries listed below:

⁹Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, ¹⁰Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome ¹¹(both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!” (Acts 2:9-11)

If you looked at a modern-day map, you see they are coming from Northern Africa, the Middle East and Southern Europe. The clear message is that there is no language or culture that has priority over each other because of the outpouring of the Spirit.

What does this mean?

God’s Story will more intensely encompass all nations and every culture. The key means of widespread cultural transformation in the past (before Pentecost) was war and conquest. Now, through the work of the Holy Spirit, change will be centered on transformed lives through the gospel. This will turn the nature and order of the world upside down. This will lead to such social and political developments as: ordered democracy, large scale care for the poor, the overturning of slavery, human dignity and rights as a basis for governmental authority, elevation of the status of women, among others.⁴

God’s Story will honor and renew every culture. What was built through God’s work in all of the nations, Christianity would go on to accelerate the understanding and application of these gifts and transform much of paganism. From established legal codes of the Code of Hammurabi to the practice of astronomy in Babylon to the birth of understanding universal human rights in Persia, to the idea and practice of democracy, or the artistic expression of theater, to the theological conception of logos in Greece to the foundations of representative law from Rome. This would foreshadow what Haggai 2:7 calls the desired of all nations. The core longing of every nation and culture points to and has its fulfillment in Jesus Christ. If all of the world could gather up all of her right desires and consolidate their truest wishes into one request, it would find its fulfillment in Jesus. If all of the world’s philosophers could extract wisdom from all of their theories and condense them into wisdom, it would come down to heart cry of needing a God-made man–Jesus. And in Jesus Christ this is what was given. It is the Holy Spirit who makes his presence and reality known and lived.

And at Pentecost begins the amazing Story of Grace of how the world will be further turned toward the purposes for which it was created: to reflect the mutual and self-giving trinitarian life of God.

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1. ⁴“‘These are the Lord’s appointed festivals, the sacred assemblies you are to proclaim at their appointed times: ⁵The Lord’s Passover begins at twilight on the fourteenth day of the first month. ⁶On the fifteenth day of that month the Lord’s Festival of Unleavened Bread begins; for seven days you must eat bread made without yeast. ⁷On the first day hold a sacred assembly and do no regular work. ⁸For seven days present a food offering to the Lord. And on the seventh day hold a sacred assembly and do no regular work.’” (Leviticus 23:4-8) In the days of Jesus, the fourteenth day (v.5) would have been Good Friday. On the fifteenth day, Saturday, would have been the Feast of Unleavened Bread as Jesus lays buried in the tomb.

2. ¹⁵“‘From the day after the Sabbath, the day you brought the sheaf of the wave offering, count off seven full weeks. ¹⁶Count off fifty days up to the day after the seventh Sabbath, and then present an offering of new grain to the Lord. (Leviticus 23:14-15)

3. Notice the similarity of fire entering the Temple at its dedication with the fire that descended into the 120 at Pentecost: ¹Now when Solomon had finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the Lord filled the house. 2 The priests could not enter into the house of the Lord because the glory of the Lord filled the Lord’s house. 3 All the sons of Israel, seeing the fire come down and the glory of the Lord upon the house, bowed down on the pavement with their faces to the ground, and they worshiped and gave praise to the Lord, saying, “Truly He is good, truly His lovingkindness is everlasting.” (2 Chronicles 7:1-3)

4. This is testified in such books as Tom Holland’s, Dominion: How The Christian Revolution Remade the World; Rodney Stark’s, The Rise of Christianity; Glen Scrivener, The Air We Breathe: How We All Came to Believe in Freedom, Kindness, Progress, and Equality.

What Was the First Bible Of the Church? (Isaiah 49:6)

As we discovered in the previous article, The Library of Alexandria played a crucial role in the creation of the Septuagint (LXX), the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible. This is highly consequential because the New Testament authors quote it over 300 times. Further, it would become the main Bible (in regard to the Old Testament) of the early church for nearly its first 500 years. So, where did it come from? The Letter of Aristeas reports that Ptolemy II requested that a translation be made of the Hebrew Bible for the Alexandrian Library. He supposedly sent 72 Jewish scholars to Alexandria to carry out the translation. (Septuagint is Latin for 70. It is often abbreviated in Roman numerals as LXX.) Genesis through Deuteronomy was translated around 280 BC. The other sections of the Old Testament would be translated later at various times and places and by various people. Eventually it became the standard Greek version of the Old Testament for the early Christian and Jewish communities alike.

It is hard to overstate the importance of the Septuagint for the spread of God’s Story of Grace. It was a substantial leap forward toward the promise below where God declares to the Jewish people:

“I will also make you a light for the Gentiles,
that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.”
Isaiah 49:6

In this article, we will lay out three key ways the LXX (Septuagint) was central to the advance of God’s Story of Grace, and then we will look at what it means for how we understand and read the Bible today.

Three Big Influences of the Septuagint

The LXX made the Old Testament accessible to the world.

After the dispersion of Israel under the Assyrians (722 BC) and later Judah by the Babylonians (597 BC), the majority of Jews remained outside of Israel (even after the return in 538 BC) in lands they were taken captive. Because of this, most Jews lost the ability to read or speak Hebrew (the original language of the Old Testament) within a couple of generations. Of the dispersed Jews the largest and most influential population was in Alexandria, Egypt. Out of this great city came the LXX. As copies of it spread, this allowed for their scriptures to be read wherever they were dispersed since every country in the known world of the Jews spoke Greek because of the influence of Alexander the Great. While the Septuagint was initially used by Jews, it came to be read by a much larger population of gentiles, especially those who were converts to Christianity.

The LXX demonstrated that God is missional.

The very Word of God (The Bible) became translatable without losing its force, meaning or power. This was the first large scale translation of God’s revelation demonstrating that God is eager to bring salvation and the knowledge of himself to the ends of the earth. God’s desire from the very beginning has been for his message to be communicated to the nations as revealed in the original promise to Abraham:

²“I will make you into a great nation,
    and I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
    and you will be a blessing.
³I will bless those who bless you,
    and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth
    will be blessed through you.” (Genesis 12:2-3)

From the Tower of Babel (Genesis 11), we know that God did not want to force the world into one language, but created a diversity of languages:

This is what the Lord Almighty says: “In those days ten people from all languages and nations will take firm hold of one Jew by the hem of his robe and say, ‘Let us go with you, because we have heard that God is with you.’” (Zechariah 8:23)

This anticipates a process of biblical translation which today has recorded the Hebrew Old Testament and the Greek New Testament into over 3,400 different languages.

The LXX shaped the theology of the New Testament.

In its use of the Greek, The LXX was able to bring out a greater depth of the messianic or New Covenant meaning latent in the Hebrew words of the Old Testament. This would help to shape the vocabulary and theology of the Christian faith. Below are six examples:

Example # 1: “Christ”

“Jesus was born, who is called Christ.” (Matthew 1:16)

English Translation	Greek Word	Common Greek meaning	Septuagint Usage	Influence On the New Testament
Christ	christos (Gr. Χριστός)	“to be rubbed on” (referring to oil or ointment)	In Hebrew, “mashiach” (מָשִׁיחַ) means “anointed one”	honorific title for Jesus “Christ” (“Messiah”)

The Hebrew word Mašíaḥ (מָשִׁיחַ) referred to individuals designated by God for specific roles, such as kings or priests, through anointing with oil. In the LXX, Mašíaḥ was consistently translated as Christos (χριστός), a Greek loanword derived from the verb χρίω (chrī́ō) which means “to anoint”. This, then, became the honorific title for Jesus, the Christ (the anointed one).

Example # 2: “Sin Offering”

“God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering.” (Romans 8:3)

English Translation	Greek Word	Common Greek Meaning	Septuagint Usage	Influence On the New Testament
sin offering	peri hamartias	“concerning sin” or “for sin”	technical term “sin offering,” for Heb. hatta’t	Jesus himself as the ultimate “sin offering”

“Peri hamartias” (περί ἁμαρτία) is literally translated “concerning sin” or “for sin.” Because of the LXX it became the term used to translate hatta’t (חטאה) which means “sin offering.”

Example # 3: “Covenant”

“This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many,” (Mark 14:24)

English Translation	Greek Word	Common Greek Meaning	Septuagint Usage	Influence On the New Testament
covenant	diathēkē	“last will” (cf. synthēkē, “contract”)	divine “covenant,” for Heb. berith	divine covenants

Diathēkē (διαθήκη) in its original Greek usage primarily referred to a last will or testament outlining the distribution of possessions after death. The LXX translators chose diathēkē to translate “berith”(ברית), meaning covenant, in the Hebrew Bible. A more common Greek word for “covenant” was suntheke. Diathēkē emphasizes the one sided (God’s side) of the covenant over suntheke which speaks to a mutual agreement.

Example # 4: “Propitiation”

“He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.” (1 John 2:2)

English Translation	Greek Word	Common Greek Meaning	Septuagint Usage	Influence On the New Testament
propitiation	hilastērion	“expiation” (of the gods)	covering of the ark where atonement by blood is made, for Heb. kapporet	Jesus himself as the consummate “mercy seat” of propitiation

The LXX introduced the term “hilastērion“ (ἱλαστήριον) to translate the Hebrew word kapporeth (כַּפֹּרֶת) which refers to the mercy seat (or lid) of the Ark of the Covenant. This term was understood in the Hellenistic Jewish world to refer to an object that brings atonement or reconciliation through propitiation (satisfying the justice of God). The LXX’s use of “hilastērion” helped solidify its connection to the concept of atonement and forgiveness.

Example # 5: “Gospel”

“the gospel must first be preached to all nations” (Mark 13:10)

English Translation	Greek Word	Common Greek Meaning	Septuagint Usage	Influence On the New Testament
gospel	euangelizomai	report of “good news” from battle	spiritual/ salvific “good news,” especially in Isaiah	“proclaiming the gospel”

Euangelizomai (εὐαγγελίζομαι) was commonly used for reports of military victories. In the LXX, especially in Isaiah, it was applied to spiritual good news related to the saving work of God. This had a strong influence on the apostolic authors as they linked this word to the proclamation of Jesus’ victory.

Example # 6: “Lord”

“every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord” (Philippians 2:11)

English Translation	Greek Word	Common Greek Meaning	Septuagint Usage	Influence On the New Testament
Lord	kyrios	term of respect for anyone in authority	translation of “Lord” (both adonai and kyrios)	title for “Lord” Jesus

The LXX significantly changed our understanding of the word “kyrios” (κύριος) by establishing it as a primary Greek equivalent for the Hebrew name for God (YHWH) and the title “Lord.” “Kyrios” originally meant “lord” or “master;” the LXX’s use solidified its association with the divine name and the concept of God’s sovereignty.

Reading the Septuagint Today

1. The LXX has a real authority, but it is derivative.

Obviously, since the Greek translation of the Old Testament is quoted over 300 times in the New Testament, this shows it has great importance. But its authority is derived from the actual Hebrew manuscripts it translates. The inescapable logic is that the Hebrew text is primary since it is the one being translated. The original Hebrew documents written by the prophetic authors have primary or ultimate authority, what Jesus labelled as Moses, Prophets and the Psalms.

Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms. (Luke 24:44)

So, it is clear that the LXX is not a separate authority from the Hebrew Bible, but derives its authority as it reflects and correctly draws out the meanings of the original text.

2. The LXX shows the messianic movement of God’s Story In the New Testament.

As seen above, the LXX was able to take the Hebrew language and draw out the richer implications of the words which would serve as a vehicle for the language of the New Testament. Even before Jesus the Messiah came to this earth, the Story of God’s Grace was advancing forward toward the Savior as seen in the LXX. This is further seen in how the Greek translators, on occasion, subtly transform their Hebrew source in ways that give a more personal glimpse of the Messiah. Here are some selected examples:

Genesis 49:10

In Genesis 49: 10, Jacob’s blessing on Judah reads from the Hebrew:

The scepter will not depart from Judah,
nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet,
until he to whom it belongs shall come and the obedience of the nations shall be his. (Genesis 49:10, NIV)

From the LXX it reads from the Greek:

A ruler shall not fail from Judah, nor a prince from his loins, until there come the things stored up for him; and he is the expectation of nations. (Genesis 49:10, LXX)

The Greek translator personifies the metaphor by substituting “ruler” for “scepter” and “prince” for “ruler’s staff.” This emphasis on the personal nature of the prophetic blessing sets the stage for other Jewish writings that interpret the prophecy with a messianic emphasis.

Isaiah 26:18

See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone,
a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation;
the one who relies on it
will never be stricken with panic. (Isaiah 28:16, NIV)

This is important passage for messianic trajectory. (see 1 Peter 2:6) This trajectory is aided with the Greek translation, which reads:

I lay for the foundations of Zion a costly stone, a choice, a corner-stone, a precious stone, for its foundations; and he that believes on him shall by no means be ashamed. (Isaiah 28:16, LXX)

The Greek, as can be seen, adds the object of faith: “he that believes on him.” This personifies the stone as an object of faith, which— combined with the importance of Zion (Jerusalem) in the Old Testament— suggests that the translator understands the “stone” as a messianic metaphor.

Psalm 72:17

Development of the preexistence of the Messiah can be seen more clearly in the Greek translation, while the Hebrew Bible is less clear on this matter. Here are two Old Greek examples which suggest that the idea was developing within Judaism. First, Psalm 72, which is a hymn of praise to a messianic king, states in the Hebrew in v.17:

May his name endure forever;
may it continue as long as the sun. (Psalm 72:17, NIV)

The Greek, however, renders the second clause, “May his name endure prior to the sun.” This “prior to the sun” points in a temporal sense to preexistence.

Conclusion

As Paul writes in Galatians 4:4, when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, there was much that needed to occur before Jesus could come to this earth. One of the key developments in this unfolding Story of Grace was translation of the Septuagint.