- The Calling of the Disciples
- Unity Beyond Differences
- Perseverance over the Persecution
- The 12 Disciples’ Path to Martyrdom
- Peace over War
- Legacy of the Disciples
- Conclusion
The disciples of Jesus are known to be the epitome of martyrdom in the world of Christianity. They bore their cross for the sake of faith, and by doing so, suffered immense persecution that eventually led to their death.
How important is life of faith when the disciples are willing to give up everything to follow Him? Has there been something more valuable than life itself?
Keep reading to foster a deeper understanding of their faith!
The Calling of the Disciples
As Jesus spread the gospel, He began to call his first disciples, Simon Peter and his brother Andrew, to be fishers of men. Decisively, they left their nets at once and followed Him (Matt 4:18).
He then called other disciples and designated them as His apostles(Lk 6:12–13). One of them is Matthew, the tax collector. When Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with Him. Bewildered, the Pharisees asked some of his disciples why their teacher would want to eat with corrupt people. On hearing this, Jesus preached that He had come not to call the righteous, but the sinners (Matt 9:9–13).
Evidently, the disciples were not appointed according to their righteousness but by the wisdom that God has revealed to them (Matt 16:17). That revelation is knowing that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the Living God.
Jesus further explained that He chose them out of their insufficiency for one great purpose: to bear fruit that will last (Jn 15:16).
Unity Beyond Differences
Despite doing their mission as one, the disciples still argued as to which of them would be the greatest. Jesus, knowing their thoughts, told them that whoever welcomes the One sent by God is great (Lk 9:46–48).
This only conveys that God does not measure faith based on one’s mere abilities or by how great one does compare to others. Believers can do nothing apart from Him.
Take the self-proclaimed believers, for instance. The Pharisees, Sadducees, and Teachers of the Law expended an incredibly huge amount of effort to exhibit godly life. However, it turned out to be futile without Jesus.
Even now, many people still hold on to the stereotype that someone who displays outward holiness is greater than others. While it is true that keeping morals and religious traditions is the basic proof of faith, we should keep in mind that it is mainly based on what we believe in and being able to stand firm on it to the end.
Like how the disciples’ lives turned out, they believed in Jesus as the Messiah (Jn. 6:29), and this made their efforts not go to waste. The Truth united them and set them free.
Perseverance over the Persecution
Many people turned back when He presented Himself as the Son of Man (Jn. 6:60–67). It was the Twelve (yet He referred to Judas as a devil for his betrayal) who stayed despite not grasping all of what had been fulfilling at their time. The thing that they held on to was that Jesus had the words of eternal life.
Carrying that faith, the disciples continued to proclaim to the lost sheep of Israel that the kingdom of heaven has come near (Matt. 10:6-7). While on the mission, He also warned them of what was to come. He prophesied about His impending death and the difficulty that the disciples would have to bear for His name (Matt. 10:16).
Regardless, Jesus encouraged the disciples not to be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. It was expected that the world, which has been captivated by evil for thousands of years, could suffer physical pain and death. Rather, He told them to be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell (Matt. 10:28–29).
The 12 Disciples’ Path to Martyrdom
Certainly, the disciples’ steadfast faith is commendable, though it came with many sacrifices. Here’s how it cost them to follow Jesus and evangelized people to the Truth:
John
John stayed in Jerusalem after the resurrection and ascension of Jesus, but he was expelled to the area of Ephesus in Asia Minor (now Turkey) due to the Word of God. While carrying out the testimony of Jesus, Roman Emperor Domitian commanded that John be thrown into a cauldron of boiling oil, but the latter miraculously survived. He was then exiled to the island of Patmos and later received the ‘Book of Revelation’, which he recorded. John’s hardships indeed exhibit incredible martyrdom.
Peter
As Peter was sentenced to crucifixion, he remembered his sin of denying Jesus and felt unworthy of dying the same way Jesus died. Because of this, he requested to be nailed upside down on the cross.
James
(son of Zebedee, brother of John)
After Stephen was martyred by being stoned to death (Acts 7:59-60), he was the first of the 12 disciples to be stabbed and martyred.
Andrew
Andrew, Peter’s brother, was a fisherman who lived in Capernaum. He was initially a disciple of John the Baptist then later became a disciple of Jesus (Jn 1:35-40). He preached the gospel in Asia Minor, Scythia, and Greece, but he was captured in Turkey and was killed by crucifixion. It is said that the crucifix he died on was shaped like a letter ‘X’ with two ends perpendicularly buried in the ground.
Thaddaeus
Jude, son of James (Acts 1:13), was martyred by crucifixion while evangelizing in Persia.
Philip
Philip was martyred by crucifixion in Hierapolis in Asia Minor. He was whipped and put in jail in 54 AD.
Simon
Simon was martyred in Persia with his body being sawed in two.
Bartholomew (Nathaniel)
It is said that Bartholomew was martyred while preaching the gospel through all kinds of various harsh punishments like being skinned alive with a knife and later being crucified and beheaded.
Matthew
Matthew was a tax collector and was martyred by a sword (a kind of sword that was an ax, sword, and hook bundled into one) at around 60AD in the city of Nabader in Ethiopia.
Matthias
Matthias became a disciple to replace Judas Iscariot (Acts 1:23-26) and while he was stoned in Jerusalem, he did not die but was later beheaded and martyred.
James (son of Alphaeus)
James, son of Alphaeus, evangelized in Philistine and Egypt and was martyred in Egypt when he was 94 years old. It is said that he still did not die even when he was thrown off of a high temple which was why he was martyred by being hit in the head with a wooden hammer.
Thomas
Thomas, also called Didymus (Jn. 11:16), was preaching the gospel in Thailand and India. It is said that he enraged a pagan priest in India which caused him to his death by being martyred with a spear penetrating his body.
The testing and persecution were so intense that one of them (Judas Iscariot) fell off. The people who claimed themselves to be Christians persecuted them, unwilling to accept that Jesus was the One sent by above. Yet Jesus, knowing that this was going to happen, reminded His believers that the world hated Him first. But this is to fulfill what is written in the Law: ‘They hated me without reason (Jn 15:18).’
Peace over War
God eagerly desires love and peace to reign on the earth, but it needs complete eradication of evil for it to happen.
He sent Jesus and His 12 disciples to shower people with Truth, but they were not welcomed by the people who were supposed to do so. Because of this, the spirits and flesh that belong to God continue to be at war with the spirits and flesh that belong to Satan.
We should not misinterpret this by discriminating against non-believers and people with different stands of faith. This has only reminded Christians of the great commandment to love one another, preach the gospel, and bear much fruit for more people to attain Salvation. After all, we must become one with God and Jesus in turning our abode into its once-original perfect state.
Legacy of the Disciples
God sent His Son to unite people with One Truth, but He was condemned to death by unbelievers. When Jesus had risen from the dead, He showed Himself to eleven disciples in the mountain of Galilee. Some of them worshiped him, but some doubted. Then He told them to go and make disciples of all nations. He reassured them to be with them always, to the very end of the age (Matt. 28:16-20).
Conclusion
This is how the gospel was spread all over the world. The disciples did as they were told, holding on to the promises He gave them. In today’s time, it is our turn to prove our faith by believing in whom God has sent and preaching it to the whole world. But before that, we should test the spirits to see whether they are from God because many false prophets have gone out into the world (1 Jn. 4:1).
How can we tell if the Word we hear comes from God or not? Join us now in our FREE BIBLE STUDY to solidify our faith and understanding of the Truth!
