The Fate of the Twelve
Recently I preached a sermon based on Luke 6:12-16, Jesus’ calling of his twelve disciples:
Luke 6:12-16: 12 In these days he went out to the mountain to pray, and all night he continued in prayer to God. 13 And when day came, he called his disciples and chose from them twelve, whom he named apostles: 14 Simon, whom he named Peter, and Andrew his brother, and James and John, and Philip, and Bartholomew, 15 and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon who was called the Zealot, 16 and Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor. (Luke is the only Gospel writer who mentions that Jesus calls his followers disciples and apostles.)
In preparing to preach that message I did a lot of reading, looking back at my ancient church history notes (my notes are ancient, and they are about ancient church history), re-reading some of my church history books, trying to piece together a reasonably accurate account of the fate of the twelve after what we know from the book of Acts. If that sounds like a lot of dry academic work, you need to understand that I love history, and found what I was reading fascinating. We stand on the shoulders of giants.
The Bible itself doesn’t say much about how the disciples / apostles died. We only read that Judas, who betrayed Jesus, committed suicide – understandably (Matthew 27:3-5). It also says James the son of Zebedee, older brother of John, was the first of the twelve to be put to death: Herod had him killed by the sword in Jerusalem about 44 AD (Acts 12:2). What we know of the fate of the others is based on historical accounts of varying reliability.
Here’s what I found and what I believe happened to the best of my knowledge:
Peter: After all his amazing, courageous, often miraculous exploits following the day of Pentecost (Acts 2) and all his other activities spreading the gospel, the leader of the twelve apostles was martyred in Rome about 66 AD during the persecution under Emperor Nero. We are told Peter was crucified upside down – at his request, since he did not feel worthy to die in the same manner as his Lord. Can you imagine …?
Andrew: Peter’s brother went north to what are now the western regions of the former Soviet Union. Christians there claim him as the first to bring the gospel to their lands. He is also believed to have preached in Asia Minor, modern-day Turkey, and Greece, where he is said to have been crucified.
Thomas: The apostle known for doubting Jesus’ resurrection went on to travel north and east to Syria, modern-day Iraq, Armenia, Iran and as far as Afghanistan and India, where the ancient Marthoma Christians revere him as their founder. They claim that he died there when pierced through with the spears of four soldiers.
Philip: Philip ministered in North Africa and then Asia Minor. Tradition says a Roman Proconsul became so enraged that his wife had converted to Christianity because of Philip’s preaching that he had Philip arrested and cruelly put to death.
Matthew, also known as Levi: He was the tax collector and writer of the Gospel that bears his name. He ministered in Persia, modern day Iran, and then down into Ethiopia. Some of the oldest reports say he was martyred by being stabbed to death in Ethiopia.
Bartholomew, also known as Nathanael: He had widespread missionary travels attributed to him by tradition: to India with Thomas and back to Armenia, Southern Arabia and Ethiopia. There are various accounts of how he met his death as a martyr, but one says he was flogged to death.
James the son of Alphaeus: He is one of at least three “James-es” referred to in the New Testament. There is some confusion about which is which, but this James is believed to have ministered in Syria. The Jewish historian Josephus reported that he was stoned and then clubbed to death.
Simon the Zealot: One story goes that he ministered in Persia and was killed after refusing to sacrifice to the sun god.
Judas the son of James: Tradition holds that he preached the gospel in the area of Northern Syria, modern-day Iraq and Turkey. He was said to have been shot and killed by arrows in Turkey’s mountainous northern region.
Matthias: He was the apostle chosen to replace Judas. One tradition has him traveling to Syria and being put to death by burning. Another says Matthias traveled north, possibly as far as the Caspian Sea (nestled between modern-day Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Iran and Azerbaijan). He also was martyred for his faith although the method of his death is unclear.
Paul: Born Saul of Tarsus, Paul is the thirteenth and last of the apostles. He took on that role after his dramatic, supernatural encounter with the risen Christ on his way to persecute Christians in Damascus (Acts 9:1-19). He then became the greatest evangelist, theologian and missionary Christianity has ever produced. Like Peter, Paul was martyred in Rome about 66 AD, during the persecution under Emperor Nero. Tradition holds that Paul was beheaded.
John: The younger brother of James is the only one of the apostles generally thought to have died a natural death from old age. He was the church leader in the Ephesus area (modern-day Turkey) and is said to have taken care of Mary, the mother of Jesus, in his own home – as Jesus asked him to from the cross (John 19:26-27). During Domitian's persecution in the middle '90s, he was exiled to the desolate Greek island of Patmos. It was while there he was inspired by the Holy Spirit to write the last book of the New Testament, the Revelation. He is thought to have survived the exile and spent his final years in Ephesus, where there is a tomb known as the Basilica of St. John.
The important point about all these men, the original twelve disciples / apostles, is that every one of them died for one simple reason: they would not deny the Lordship of Jesus, that he had been crucified, was dead and buried and had risen again from the grave. They had seen him alive again with their own eyes, they knew what was on the other side of death, and it made them afraid of nothing and no one.
These men, the twelve apostles plus Paul, were not the kind of men you might have expected Jesus to entrust with his mission to reach the world with the good news of God’s love for lost, hurting, broken, dying women and men. There was nothing unique or especially impressive about them. They were just ordinary men … but Jesus transformed them into the backbone of the church and gave them the most extraordinary task imaginable:
Calling the entire world, including the mightiest empire yet known, to repentance and faith in the risen Christ.
No technological tools at their disposal, no worldly power or wealth or status or advantages of any kind to help them accomplish their mission … just the love of God, their allegiance to and faith in his risen Son Jesus, the power of the Holy Spirit to impel their mission, and an unwavering conviction their Lord and Savior would enable them and empower them to overcome no matter the obstacles.
We can well imagine any respectable, educated, first-century pagan-worshiping Roman citizen would have laughed at the idea that, within three centuries, the Christian faith would be the official faith of the Roman Empire. And yet, that is precisely what happened … and the power of that gospel message continues rippling out to this very day, toppling earthly kingdoms, humbling the arrogant and stiff-necked and lifting up the downtrodden and humble. Today, in spite of horrendous, widespread opposition and persecution, followers of Christ comprise the largest and most powerful movement in history, 2.4 billion strong and growing.
And it all began with twelve rather un-extraordinary men 2000 years ago.
Ordinary people with an extraordinary calling, an incredible message: God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
If he could do that with them, what might he do with us?