Why do some Jews convert to Christianity?

There are many reasons why some Jews converted to Christianity. In Jerusalem, Apostle Paul met Jews who had converted to Christianity and people who had seen or known Jesus himself. So, why do some Jews convert to Christianity?

Jews who convert to Christianity believe in Jesus Christ

These converted Jews believed that Jesus was the Messiah, the promised savior of the Jews. Such beliefs and behavior were contrary to the traditions of Apostle Paul 's family and people. And as a Pharisee, he actively tried to suppress the early Christian movement through persecution, just as Pharisees before him had tried to suppress Christ Himself.

The first serious persecution of Christians

The first serious persecution of Christians was directed against the Hellenists, or Greek speaking Jews in Jerusalem. Pharisees were outraged by these Jews who converted to Christianity because they not only declared Jesus was the Messiah, but they also claimed that the Jewish temple and its sacrifices had been condemned by Jesus and therefore the laws of the temple could be disregarded.

Apostle Paul stood by at the persecution and martyrdom of one of these Jews who converted to Christianity, Stephen, the first Christian to be killed for refusing to renounce his faith.

The story of Stephen, a Jew who converted to Christianity

Stephen is believed to have been a Jew who was educated in Alexandria and spoke Greek. He was one of the seven chosen by Christ's apostles as an administrator for their good works. He assisted in the giving of alms and in missionary work Because of his background, Stephen's task included helping Greek widows. He was also an outstanding preacher and there were reports that he performed miracles. He had an expert knowledge of Jewish history and preached that Jesus' role was that of the promised messiah.

The Pharisees and elders of the synagogue became angry over Stephen's influence. At first they tried to defeat him in debate, but when that failed they brought him to trial on a charge of blasphemy. In the trial Stephen proclaimed that the law of Moses, as found in the Old Testament, was fulfilled in Christ and ought not to be continued in the Church.

In his speech before his Jewish prosecutors he justified his position by an appeal to Israelite history, showing that acceptable worship was offered to God before the law was given and also pointing out that Israelites who lived under the law had persecuted the prophets whom God had sent. This and what Stephen described at that trial - a vision he'd had of Jesus sitting on the right hand of God in heaven - inflamed his accusers so that they drove him out of court. The persecutors followed Stephen and pummeled him with stones until he was dead. It is said that in his last moments, Stephen cried out to Christ and asked for forgiveness of his persecutors, as Jesus had done for the roman soldier on the cross.

For more on why do some Jews convert to Christianity, see Apostle Paul biography.