>>17971374
>Israelites: The ethnic descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (the 12 tribes).
>Jews: In the Second Temple period it became associated with the religious-political identity shaped by Pharisees. Being “Jewish” here was not just ethnicity but adherence to particular sectarian interpretations of the Law.
The Apostles (Peter, James, John, Andrew, etc.) are ethnically Israelites, but not Pharisees. They followed Christ and became the first Christians. The other Galilean disciples (Mary Magdalene, Martha, Lazarus, the Seventy) were Israelites, but not Pharisees, their faith in Christ made them Christians. Paul (after conversion): Was once a Pharisee, but explicitly renounced that identity (Philippians 3:5–8). He became Christian, no longer “a Jew” in the sectarian sense.
As for Gamaliel, he was a Pharisee, not a Christian (at least publicly). He defended the Apostles from execution and may have believed secretly, but historically he is remembered as a Pharisee leader, not as part of the Church; though in the Eastern Orthodox Church, he is a Saint.
