When Mark was working on his Gospel, he wrote in a way that he thought would be believable and even left out some of the miracles that were described in the other three Gospels. Mark stated that after Jesus’s death, thousands of Jews converted to Christianity. He confirmed that Jesus was a well-known religious figure, even by those who didn’t believe his message.
Before Jesus ascended to heaven, he told the Disciples to preach to every nation on earth, not just Jews. Then Jesus ascended into Heaven, because his time on earth had been completed. The Disciples continued preaching, calling the people to repent and be baptized. They also told the Hebrews that they did not have to follow the Old Law anymore since Jesus had fulfilled it. The Jewish religious leaders arrested many of the Apostles and forbade them to speak Jesus’s name.
After escaping imprisonment by a miracle, the Apostles continued preaching and appointed deacons to help spread the Gospel. Stephen, one of the first deacons, was accused by the Pharisees of being a blasphemer. Stephen, who was filled with the Holy Spirit and had a light glowing out of him, refused to denounce Christ, and was stoned to death by the Chief Priests, making him the first Christian martyr.
Saul was a Jewish religious leader and was a prime persecutor of Christians. When he was on his way to Damascus, Saul had a vision of Christ who asked him “Why do you persecute me?” Saul changed his name to Paul and decided to start preaching Christ. The Book of Acts tells stories about the journeys of the Apostles. Christianity started expanding across borders, and Jews were no longer the only Christians. Antioch, Corinth, and Thessaloniki were the first major non-Jewish Christian cities.