The other morning in Sunday school class someone brought up the fact that almost all the disciples died a terrible death, leading me to look into just how they all died.

There is almost nothing written in scripture to tell how they died, so I had to go the historians of the time to find out.

How they died brings up an interesting thought. Read Matthew 28 where the guards at Jesus’ tomb returned to the city to report that the tomb was empty. Matthew 28,11-15 says,

11While the women were on their way, some of the guards went into the city and reported to the chief priests everything that had happened. 12When the chief priests had met with the elders and devised a plan, they gave the soldiers a large sum of money, 13telling them, "You are to say, 'His disciples came during the night and stole him away while we were asleep.' 14If this report gets to the governor, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble." 15So the soldiers took the money and did as they were instructed. And this story has been widely circulated among the Jews to this very day. (New International Version)

If the disciples had stolen the body of Jesus from the tomb, would they have agreed to suffer persecution to the point of dying a violent death?

- Peter was crucified up side down, which was by Peter’s request. He thought himself unworthy of being crucified like Jesus was.

- Andrew, the brother of Peter was crucified on a cross that looked like an “X”, thus they call it St. Andrews Cross.

- James the Great - the son of Zebedee, the older brother of John and relative of Jesus - his mother was Salome who was a cousin to Mary, the mother of Jesus. He was beheaded by the command of Herod Agrippa.

- John, the beloved Disciple, brother to James the Great, founded several churches such as in Smyrna, Sardis, and several others. While he was in Ephesus he was ordered to be sent to Rome, where he was cast into a cauldron of boiling oil. He escaped by miracle without injury and then was banished by Domitian to the island of Patmos, where he wrote the book of Revelation. Nerva, the successor of Domitian, recalled him. He was the only apostle who escaped a violent death.

- Philip, the first to be called a disciple was scourged, thrown into prison, and afterwards crucified in 54AD.

- Bartholomew, who translated the Gospel of Matthew into the language of India, was cruelly beaten and then crucified by the impatient idolaters.

- Thomas, also called Didymus, preached in India and enraged the idol priests to the point that he was martyred by being thrust through with a spear.

- Matthew, a tax collector, who wrote the book of Matthew was slain with a Halberd (a long handled spear) in Nadabah, Ethiopia.

- James, the half brother of Jesus, one of the sons of Mary born after Jesus was born, was the leading elder in the church at Jerusalem. At the age of 94, he was beaten and stoned by the Jews; and finally had his brains dashed out with a fuller’s club. (A tool that is used in blacksmithing, similar to a large hammer.)

- Jude the brother of James, the half brother of Jesus who was commonly called Thaddeus was crucified at Edessa in 72AD.

- Simon Zelotes who preached the gospel in Africa and in Britain was crucified in 74AD.

- Paul the Apostle, under the persecution of Nero the Roman Emperor, was beheaded by a sword.

ALSO;

- Mark, the writer of the book of Mark was dragged to pieces by the people of Alexandria in a public worship to their idol Serapis.

- Luke, the author of the book of Luke, traveled with Paul, and was a doctor. According to the best sources, idolatrous priests of Greece hanged him on an olive tree.

- Barnabus, according to best reports, was killed in 73AD.

- Stephen, in Acts 6: 9, & 7: 60, was stoned to death.

Do you think that these men would have gone through what they went through, if they knew all along that they had stolen the body of Jesus and then invented a lie to promote until their death?

Jesus and these men didn’t die simply to make us feel good. They died because Jesus Christ is the only Messiah, the only Savior of the world, the only Redeemer who came to redeem us from sin. They died to give us hope for all eternity.

Apostle; Evangelist