Did the Jerusalem church pass-down Jesus-bio (to their successors and other churches)?

  • Question

    Whether or not all the churches were being mentored by the 1st church, is it nevertheless true that the Jerusalem church actively worked to mentor daughter churches and carefully pass down their stories of Jesus to them? Regardless of the Jerusalem church’s success in getting the stories to stick, were they at least actively passing down their Jesus-traditions, trying to disseminate them to the other churches?

“Yes, after all…

  • 1st church strove to pass it down

    The early Jerusalem church worked hard to relay what they knew of the historical Jesus to the daughter churches and subsequent generations.

    Consider two reasons to agree:

    • First, the disciples revered Jesus's words (as their rabbi). It is only natural then that they would work to remember and pass down those words and his teachings, as Jews students in general did.1
    • Second, Jesus was a formal teacher. And since the disciples leading the 1st church lead Christians in general, the biography of their holy teacher was something that they would naturally preserve (as students of prominent rabbies in general did).

    If the Jerusalem church did really put effort into disseminating their Jesus-traditions to Christians throughout the Mediterranean (and the world), then it increases the probability that that they in fact did pass it down, i.e. that they accomplished what they set out to do.

  • Christians often visited 1st church

    Christians throughout the Mediterranean (Rome, Ephesus, Corinth, etc.), both Gentile and Jewish, regularly visited the apostolic church there in Jerusalem.

    After all...

    • First, we see how members of the Pauline church did (e.g. Acts 15).
    • Second, we can tell that members of the Judean churches did (e.g. for festivals).
    • Third, we know they would want to, since ancients all felt personal instruction was invaluable and going to the hub of eyewitness testimony was the way they would receive this instruction.

    If Christians often visted the apostolic church, where the witnesses resided, it is only natural that they would fellowship with Christians there and be exposed to local teachings and traditions (especially from all the witnesses who attended). Not only would they desire to do this, but the Jerusalem church there would itself be eager to train and equip these visitors.