The Death of the Apostles

~ The Apostles of Jesus Christ ~

The apostles were the closest followers of Jesus. He hand picked them from His many disciples. While they often seem confused as to the teachings of Jesus throughout His ministry, after His death, resurrection, and ascension they most of them (with the exception of Judas who did not live to see the resurrection) become the most dedicated men to any cause in history.

While the Bible does not tell us what happened to most of the apostles, historians of the first few centuries of Christianity give us some glimpses of how many of them ended up. While this is certainly not the word of God, the traditions surrounding their later life is interesting. By giving their lives in devotion to a risen savior, the apostles are great examples for each of us.

First, let’s list the twelve. It can be confusing since many of them go by different names.

Matthew 10:2-4
Now the names of the twelve apostles are these; The first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; Philip, and Bartholomew; Thomas, and Matthew the publican; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus; Simon the Canaanite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed him.

Mark 3:16-19
And Simon he surnamed Peter; And James the son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James; and he surnamed them Boanerges, which is, The sons of thunder: And Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Canaanite, And Judas Iscariot, which also betrayed him: and they went into an house.

Luke 6:14-16
Simon,   (whom he also named Peter,) and Andrew his brother, James and John, Philip and Bartholomew, Matthew and Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon called Zelotes, And Judas the brother of James, and Judas Iscariot, which also was the traitor.

Acts 1:13   (Judas Iscariot is dead by this time, and is not named)
And when they were come in, they went up into an upper room, where abode both Peter, and James, and John, and Andrew, Philip, and Thomas, Bartholomew, and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon Zelotes, and Judas the brother of James.

I think it is important to stop and think that not only the apostles, but the Christians of the first years of Christianity suffered greatly. The book of Revelation spoke to them directly, and assured them that while persecution would continue, in the end Christianity cannot be defeated because we have put our faith in Jesus and He is able to deliver us, even after death. Their faith continues as a shining beacon to encourage us in our struggles as we find ourselves in a more perverse world every day that is steadily drifting farther from the truth of the word of God.

~ How The Apostles Died ~ 


John the Beloved (the Baptiser)
Imprisoned and executed by beheading by order of Herod Antipas


Matthew
Suffered martyrdom in Ethiopia, killed by a sword wound.


Mark
Died in Alexandria, Egypt, after being dragged by horses through the streets until he was dead.


Luke
Was hanged in Greece as a result of his tremendous preaching to the lost.


John
Faced martyrdom when he was boiled in huge basin of boiling oil during a wave of persecution in Rome. He was miraculously delivered from death. John was then sentenced to the mines on the prison island of Patmos. He wrote his prophetic Book of Revelation on Patmos. The apostle John was later freed and returned to serve as Bishop of Edessa in modern Turkey. He died as an old man, the only apostle to die peacefully.


Peter
He was crucified upside down on an x-shaped cross. According to church tradition it was because he told his tormentors that he felt unworthy to die in the same way that Jesus Christ had died.


James the Just   (James the Lesser)
The leader of the church in Jerusalem, was thrown over a hundred feet down from the southeast pinnacle of the Temple when he refused to deny his faith in Christ. When they discovered that he survived the fall, his enemies beat James to death with a fuller's club. *This was the same pinnacle where Satan had taken Jesus during the Temptation.


James, the Great
Son of Zebedee, was a fisherman by trade when Jesus called him to a lifetime of ministry. As a strong leader of the church, James was ultimately beheaded at Jerusalem. The Roman officer who guarded James watched amazed as James defended his faith at his trial. Later, the officer walked beside James to the place of execution. Overcome by conviction, he declared his new faith to the judge and knelt beside James to accept beheading as a Christian.


Bartholomew    (Also known as Nathaniel) 
Was a missionary to Asia. He witnessed for our Lord in present day Turkey. Bartholomew was martyred for his preaching in Armenia where he was flayed to death by a whip.

 
Andrew
Was also crucified on an x-shaped cross (as was Peter)  in Patras, Greece. After being whipped severely by seven soldiers they tied his body to the cross with cords to prolong his agony. His followers  reported that, when he was led toward the cross, Andrew saluted it in these words: 'I have long desired and expected this happy hour. The cross has been consecrated by the body of Christ hanging on it.' He continued to preach to his tormentors for two days until he expired.
 
 
Thomas
Was stabbed with a spear in India during one of his missionary trips to establish the church in the sub-continent.


Jude
Was killed with arrows when he refused to deny his faith in Christ.


Matthias
The apostle chosen to replace the traitor Judas Iscariot, was stoned and then beheaded.


Paul
Was tortured and then beheaded by the evil Emperor Nero at Rome in A-D 67. Paul endured a lengthy imprisonment, which allowed him to write his many epistles to the churches he had formed throughout the Roman Empire. These letters, which taught many of the foundational doctrines of Christianity, form a large portion of the New Testament.
 

Let thier lives serve as a reminder to each of us that our sufferings here are indeed minor compared to the intense persecution and cold cruelty faced by the apostles disciples during their times for the sake of the Faith.


Matthew 10:22 (NIV)
"All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved."