What Really Happened To The Apostles?

The first evidence for the death of James comes from Josephus in his Antiquities 20.197-203 (ca AD 93/94). Unlike the Testimonium Flavianum,4 this passage is largely undisputed by scholars. It allows the dating of James’s execution to AD 62, since Josephus places his death between two Roman procurators, Festus and Albinus. According to this account, the high priest Ananus had James stoned to death. The death of James is also reported by Hegesippus (Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History 2.23.8-18), Clement of Alexandria (Hypotyposes Book 7), The First Apocalypse of James (Gnostic text), and the Pseudo-Clementines (Recognitions 1:66-1.71). The case for the martyrdom of James is strengthened by the fact that there are Christian (Hegesippus, Clement of Alexandria), Jewish (Josephus), and Gnostic (First Apocalypse of James) sources that affirm it within a century and a half from the event. This suggests an early, widespread, and consistent tradition regarding the fate of James.

But why was James killed? If he were killed for political reasons unrelated to his faith, he would hardly qualify under the traditional definition of a martyr.

James was most likely viewed as enticing people to follow other gods (see Dt 13:9-10). Darrell Bock explains:

What Law was it James broke, given his reputation within Christian circles as a Jewish Christian leader who was careful about keeping the Law? It would seem likely that the Law had to relate to Christological allegiances and a charge of blasphemy. This would fit the fact that he was stoned, which was the penalty for such a crime, and parallels how Stephen was handled as well.5

Sculpture of James the Brother of Jesus

Thomas. The traditional story is that Thomas travelled to India where he was speared to death. Although some Western scholars are skeptical, the Eastern Church has consistently held that Thomas ministered in India and died there as a martyr. There are records of travel from the Middle East into India during the first century, so there is no reason to doubt Thomas could have made it there. Positive evidence comes from the Acts of Thomas (ca AD 200-220), which records the traditional story of his fate. Many write it off as entirely fictional, but the mere fact that it contains historical figures, such as Thomas, Gondophares, Gad, and possibly even Habban and Xanthippe, Mazdai, and the city of Andrapolis, indicates that it is not entirely divorced from a historical memory. While there is not any written history in India prior to the arrival of the Portuguese in the sixteenth century, there certainly was a sense of history passed down orally through poems, songs, customs, and celebrations of the people. The St. Thomas Christians, for instance, are utterly convinced that their heritage traces back to the apostle Thomas himself, including introduction of the Syriac or Chaldaic (East Syriac) language which is used for liturgical purposes. The community has preserved many antiquities that testify to their traditions.

The Incredulity of Saint Thomas by Titian (1490-1576)

Andrew. Andrew is perhaps best known as the brother of Peter. Every time he appears in the Gospel of John, he is bringing someone to Jesus. Andrew brings three people to Jesus, including Peter (1:41-42), a small boy who has fish and loaves (6:8), and some Greeks who want to worship Jesus (12:20-22). He unmistakably has a missionary mindset from the moment he meets Jesus, which the historical record seems to bear out. There are a wide variety of traditions regarding his missionary endeavors including Judea, Africa, central Asia, Scythia (southern Russia), and Europe. Given the commission of Jesus (Mt 28:19-20; Ac 1:8), Andrew’s missionary mindset, and the existence of such an array of traditions, there is good reason to believe Andrew was a missionary who advanced the gospel of Christ.

The earliest written record of the martyrdom of Andrew comes from the Acts of Andrew (ca AD 150-210). This text concludes with Andrew speaking to the cross and then demanding the executioners kill him. Many later written accounts exist of the death of Andrew, but they all trace back through The Acts of Andrew. Hippolytus on the Twelve (ca third century) may possibly preserve an independent tradition of his death when it describes Andrew as “crucified, suspended on an olive tree, at Patrae.” But we cannot be sure. The Acts of Andrew clearly contains legendary embellishment, but it is plausible that it was connected to a reliable tradition about Andrew’s death.

Saint Andrew by José de Ribera (1591-1652)

The Rest of the Apostles. Except for James the son of Zebedee (whose fate is described in Ac 12:2), and his brother John, it is difficult to know with certainty what happened to the remaining apostles. The evidence is late, filled with legendary accretion, and traditions were often confused between some of the apostles (such as Matthew with Matthias, Philip the apostle with Philip the evangelist, and the various Jameses).

James, son of Zebedee by Johann Friedrich Glocker (1718-1780)

St. Bartholomew by Rembrandt (1606-1669)

The claim that Bartholomew was skinned, for instance, doesn’t show up until about AD 500. Does that make it false? Not necessarily. But it diminishes the claim’s plausibility. As for Thaddeus, the western tradition (ca AD sixth/seventh century) claims that he was martyred, whereas the eastern tradition (ca AD fifth century) describes him dying peacefully. It is difficult—if not impossible—to know which of these accounts, if any, is true. And this is the case for the rest of the apostles.

While there are no early accounts that any of the apostles recanted, we simply don’t know how many of them were killed for their testimony about Christ. But here is what we do know about the apostles:

1. Their beliefs were based on personally seeing the risen Jesus (1Co 15:3-7; Ac 1:22). The apostles had a resurrection faith.

2. They were willing to suffer and die for their beliefs. Jesus not only taught them to expect persecution (e.g., Mt 10:16-23; Mk 13:9; Lk 6:22-23; Jn 15:18-27), but they were personally threatened, beaten, and thrown into prison for their public proclamation of the risen Jesus. And yet they refused to back down (Ac 4:1-20; 5:27-32).

3. There is good reason to believe the apostles engaged in missionary work in Jerusalem, Judea, and in various places around the world with full knowledge of what their proclamation could cost them.

4. There is evidence that at least some of the apostles died as martyrs, including Peter, Paul, James the son of Zebedee, and James the brother of Jesus.

In conclusion, the early and consistent testimony of the New Testament and early sources is that the apostles were witnesses of the risen Jesus and willingly suffered for the proclamation of the gospel. While alone it does not prove the resurrection is true, it does show the apostles sincerely believed it. They were not liars.

1 E.P. Sanders, Jesus and Judaism (London: SCM, 1985), 101.

2 Bauckham, Jesus and the Eyewitnesses, 67-88.

3 Bart Ehrman, Peter, Paul, and Mary Magdalene: The Followers of Jesus in History and Legend (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006), 84.

4 Antiquities 18.3.3.

5 Darrell Bock, Blasphemy and Exaltation in Judaism: The Charge against Jesus in Mark 14:53-65 (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 2000), 196 n. 30.