The disciples of Jesus gave their lives for the preaching of the gospel.
DO YOU KNOW HOW THE APOSTLES DIED?
1
Matthew
Suffered martyrdom in Ethiopia
, killed by a sword wound
2
Mark
Died in Alexandria , Egypt ,
after being dragged by horses through the streets until he was
dead
.
3
Luke
Was hanged in Greece as a
result of his tremendous preaching to the lost.
4
John
Faced martyrdom when he was
boiled in huge basin of boiling oil during a wave of persecution in Rome .
However, 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.
5
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.
6
James
Just 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.
7
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
8
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.
9
Andrew
Was crucified on an x-shaped
cross 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.
10
Thomas
Was stabbed with a spear in
India during one of his missionary trips to establish the church in the
sub-continent
11
Jude
Was killed with arrows when he
refused to deny his faith in Christ.
12
Matthias
The apostle chosen to replace
the traitor Judas Iscariot, was stoned and then beheaded.
13
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.
Perhaps this is a reminder to us that our sufferings here are indeed minor compared to the intense persecution and cold cruelty faced by the apostles and disciples during their times for the sake of the Faith.