Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death,
and you will be hated by all nations because of me.
Matthew 24:9
Most of the martyrdom of the early followers of Christ, and the gruesome details surrounding these events, are relatively absent in the New Testament. However, Jesus did warn his disciples that persecution and death would come, as we see above. In Hebrews 11:35-38, the author (likely Paul) spoke generally of the hardships and methods of death that many of the early faithful endured. We’ll look at that chapter another day.
I highly recommend the book, Foxe’s Book of Martyrs. It goes into detail concerning what the first martyrs experienced according to historical accounts and Christian tradition. Let’s look at how the twelve disciples died.
We know that Judas Iscariot committed suicide after he betrayed Jesus (Matthew 27:1-10). James, the son of Zebedee, was the first disciple to be martyred. He was beheaded by Herod according to Acts 12:1-2. We’ll look at James another day.
Here is what happened to the other disciples as best we know: Matthew was beheaded by a battle-ax. Thomas was run through with a spear and thrown into a burning oven. Andrew, Thaddaeus (Jude), Simon the Zealot, and Bartholomew (Nathanael) were all crucified. Philip was crucified on an X-shaped cross. Peter was crucified upside down. Judas’ replacement, Matthias, was stoned and then beheaded. James, the brother of Jesus, was either stoned to death or pushed off a tower and then clubbed to death.
Only John died of natural causes while exiled on the island of Patmos. How about other early notable believers? Dr. Luke was hanged, John the Baptist and Paul were beheaded, Stephen was stoned, and Mark was dismembered. Tradition also states that Antipas (Revelation 2:13), who was considered the first martyr in Asia, was slowly roasted to death.
As you can see from this gruesome list, the physical cost of being one of the first followers of Jesus was ultimate. It was like being on a most wanted list. Satan and his evil forces worked through the dark hearts of men to bring about the bloody and gruesome deaths of these saints. However, this didn’t stop the Gospel from spreading to the world.
Ask yourself this question, would you be willing to walk closely with the Messiah if you knew sometime later in life you would be martyred? Jesus warned His disciples in Matthew 24:9 that this would be the case. And He warns us still today.
