Jeffrey Johnson Supporter

Were the disciples Jesus chose known as the first Messianic Christians?

No, the disciples were not called the first Messianic Christians; they were called "disciples" of Jesus. They were called "Christians" later, around 45 AD in Antioch, but before that, they were also referred to as "Nazarenes" or "followers of the Way". They identified themselves by believing Jesus was the Messiah, or "Christ" (which means "Anointed One"). 

Bible writers in addressing fellow believers or describing followers of Christ used expressions such as "believers in the Lord," "brothers" and "disciples" (Ac 5:14; 6:3; 15:10), "chosen ones" and "faithful ones" (Col 3:12; 1Ti 4:12), "slaves to God" and "slaves of Christ Jesus" (Ro 6:22; Php 1:1), "holy ones," "congregation of God," and "those who call upon the Lord." (Ac 9:13; 20:28; 1Co 1:2; 2Ti 2:22) These terms with doctrinal meaning were used primarily as internal congregational designations. To outsiders, Christianity was referred to as "The Way" (Ac 9:2; 19:9, 23; 22:4), and opponents called it "the sect of the Nazarenes" or just "this sect."​—Ac 24:5; 28:22.

It was first in Syrian Antioch that Christ's followers became known as Christians. It is most unlikely that the Jews first styled Jesus' followers "Christians" (Greek) or "Messianists" (Hebrew), for they would accept Jesus as being the Messiah, or Christ, and then tacitly recognise him as the Anointed One, or Christ, by stamping his followers "Christians." Some think the heathen population may have nicknamed them Christians out of jest or scorn, but the Bible shows that it was a God-given name; they "were by divine providence called Christians."​—Ac 11:26. ASV Bible. "and when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass, that even for a whole year they were gathered together with the church, and taught much people, and that the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch."

Conclusion:

1: Disciples: The 12 men Jesus chose were initially called "disciples," meaning students or followers.

2: Followers of the Way/Nazarenes: For the first couple of decades after Jesus's death, they were known by these names.

3: Christians: The term "Christian" came later, derived from "Christ," and was first used by non-believers in Antioch to describe followers of Jesus. 

4: Followers of "the Way": The earliest believers referred to themselves as followers of "the Way".

Flavius Josephus, in his Jewish Antiquities (XVIII, 64 [iii, 3]), mentions certain events in the life of Jesus, adding: "And the tribe of the Christians, so called after him, has still to this day [about 93 C.E.] not disappeared.”

Non-Biblical writings from the second century testify to the rapid expansion of the original form of Christianity. The Roman historian Suetonius alludes to Christians being established in Rome as early as 49 C.E. 

A letter written to Emperor Trajan about 112 C.E. by Pliny the Younger, governor of Bithynia (in modern-day Turkey), refers to Christianity as a "contagion" that had "spread not merely through the free towns, but into the villages and farms.” 

NOTE: The modern term "Messianic Judaism" refers to a specific movement that emerged in the 1960s and 1970s, incorporating elements of Jewish practice and believing in Jesus as the Messiah while intentionally retaining a Jewish identity. While the original disciples were indeed Jews who believed in Jesus as the Messiah, the modern denominational names "Messianic Christian" or "Messianic Jew" did not exist in the first century.

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