Ever wondered how the disciples died? Ever wondered what were the disciple's fate? Well, the next time you are feeling down, persecuted, and depressed, just remember what cost the disciples and other first century followers of Jesus Christ have paid for following him over the years. Let's have a look:
Amazing, that a majority of the first followers of Jesus were killed, yet the message of Christ still spread rapidly across the countryside. They were sold out to the fact, that Jesus had died for sins, and had risen from the grave, and that this message of hope would transform lives. Ironically, a message of love, hope and peace, is confronted with death, violence and absolute cruelty.
Remember, following Jesus can come at a cost, (emotionally, physically, spiritually, etc), but we can take heart, that others have faithfully loved Jesus right to the end, and their message was still spread to the ends of the earth.
- James the apostle, the brother of John, was beheaded (a.d. 44).
- Philip the apostle was stoned and crucified (a.d. 54).
- Matthew the apostle was beheaded in Ethiopia (a.d. 70).
- James the apostle, the son of Alphaeus, stoned to death in Syria (a.d. 60).
- Matthias, the apostle who replaced Judas as one of the 12 disciples, was stoned in Jerusalem (a.d. 70).
- Andrew the apostle was crucified in Patras (a.d. 70).
- Mark, the author of the gospel bearing his name, died by being dragged to death in Alexandria, Egypt (a.d. 64).
- Peter the apostle was killed by crucifixion in Rome (a.d. 69).
- Paul the apostle was most probably beheaded in Rome, the same day Peter was crucified (a.d. 69).
- Judas, also known as Thaddeus the apostle, was killed by arrows/javelins in Armenia (a.d. 70).
- Bartholomew, also known as Nathanael, the apostle, was skinned alive and crucified in Armenia (a.d. 70).
- Thomas died by being, baked in an oven, and pierced with spears in India (a.d. 70).
- Luke (author of the Gospel of Luke), was hanged to death in Greece (a.d. 93).
- Simon the Zealot was sawed in half in the Middle East (a.d. 74).
- James half-brother of Jesus, was thrown from a building, stoned, and beaten in Jerusalem (a.d. 62).
- Timothy (Paul's mentoree) was stoned and beaten to death in Ephesus (a.d. 80).
Amazing, that a majority of the first followers of Jesus were killed, yet the message of Christ still spread rapidly across the countryside. They were sold out to the fact, that Jesus had died for sins, and had risen from the grave, and that this message of hope would transform lives. Ironically, a message of love, hope and peace, is confronted with death, violence and absolute cruelty.
Remember, following Jesus can come at a cost, (emotionally, physically, spiritually, etc), but we can take heart, that others have faithfully loved Jesus right to the end, and their message was still spread to the ends of the earth.
I think the fact that the apostles were martyred is powerful evidence that Jesus rose from the dead! I can't believe that all of these 12 men would have been willing to die for something they knew was a lie.
ReplyDeleteDid you read "The Case for Christ"?
Deleteas christians, we are bound to face challenges but 1 cor 10 : 13 have the answer why we should not give up our faith. Despite the country state, i pray that May we endure to the end and receive our heavenly glory (reward)
ReplyDeleteThey all died from horrible death just they were all liars, only John had a peaceful death because his gospel is the most accurate,reliable and powerful
ReplyDelete