Did The Apostles Die As Martyrs?

The willingness of the apostles to suffer and die for their faith is one of the most commonly cited arguments for the resurrection of Jesus. Yet how strong is the evidence?

Despite popular claims, it is not possible to prove that eleven of the twelve apostles died as martyrs. For some of the lesser-known apostles, such as Matthias and Simon the Zealot, the evidence suggesting such fates is too late, contradictory, and legend-filled to be trustworthy. Still, considerable confidence can be placed in the martyrdoms of Peter, Paul, James the son of Zebedee, James the brother of Jesus, and possibly Thomas and Andrew, too.

For the sake of the resurrection argument, it is not critical to demonstrate that the Twelve died as martyrs. What is crucial is their willingness to suffer and die for their faith. No contrary story suggests that any of them recanted.

The apostles believed in Christ as Lord because they had seen the risen Jesus (Ac 1:21-22; 1Co 15:3-8). Their convictions were not based on secondhand accounts, but the fact that they had watched the resurrected Christ with their own eyes. Unlike suicide bombers willing to kill others based on zeal for a secondhand faith, the apostles willingly suffered and died for what they personally witnessed. They shared their faith that others might find eternal life.

None can dispute that early Christians suffered for their faith. Jesus, John the Baptist, Stephen, and James the brother of John were all killed. The first statewide persecution of Christians was under Nero (AD 64). Although persecution was sporadic and local, from this point forward Christians could be arrested and killed for proclaiming the name of Jesus. In the coming years, Paul, in particular, suffered greatly (2Co 6:4-9). He and other apostles were threatened, beaten, thrown in prison, and told not to speak the name of Jesus; yet they refused to back down (Ac 4:20; 5:17-42).

While the evidence of martyrdom is far more convincing for some of the apostles than others, the evidence regarding Peter’s is particularly strong. The earliest evidence is found in Jn 21:18-19, which was written about thirty years after Peter’s death. Other early evidence for Peter’s martyrdom can be found in writings such as Clement of Rome (1 Clement 5:1-4), Ignatius (Letter to the Smyrneans 3:1-2), The Apocalypse of Peter, The Ascension of Isaiah, The Acts of Peter, The Apocryphon of James, Dionysius of Corinth (Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History 2.25.4), and Tertullian (Scorpiace 15, The Prescription Against Heresies 36). The early, consistent, and unanimous testimony is that Peter died as a martyr.

This does not prove the truth of Christ’s resurrection; nonetheless, it does strongly indicate that the apostles, who had little to gain unless their assertions were true, really believed it. They knew Jesus rose from the grave, and they were willing to suffer and die to share the good news.