Comments, Thoughts and Trivia
The Apostles
Luke 6:13
And when it was day, He called His disciples to Himself; and from them He chose twelve whom He also named apostles
NKJV
We know much about Paul through Luke’s account in Acts and via the information conveyed in the Apostle’s letters. We know something of the other Apostles, but not much. Peter and John have left letters behind, but these contain little personal information. What happened to the other Apostles? Did they spread the Gospel? How did they act? Did they not live up to God’s desires for them, thus, we have little history?
The general answer is that each of the eleven Apostles plus Matthias, Paul, James and Jude the brothers of Jesus, and many others spread the Gospel message far and wide. Each played his appointed role in the preaching of the Gospel message to the world. There are a variety of traditions concerning this group. In many places the traditions are consistent, while in many cases there are a wide variety of choices. One list looks something like this.
All of the apostles were insulted by the enemies of their Master. They were called to seal their doctrines with their blood and nobly did they bear the trial.
- Matthew suffered martyrdom by being slain with a sword at a distant city of Ethiopia.
- Mark expired at Alexandria, after being cruelly dragged through the streets of that city.
- Luke was hanged upon an olive tree in the classic land of Greece.
- John was put in a caldron of boiling oil, but escaped death in a miraculous manner, and was afterward banished to Patmos.
- Peter was crucified at Rome with his head downward.
- James, the Greater, was beheaded at Jerusalem,
- James, the Less, was thrown from a lofty pinnacle of the temple, and then beaten to death with a fuller’s club.
- Bartholomew was flayed alive.
- Andrew was bound to a cross, whence he preached to his persecutors until he died.
- Thomas was run through the body with a lance at Coromandel in the East Indies.
- Jude was shot to death with arrows.
- Matthias was first stoned and then beheaded.
- Barnabas of the Gentiles was stoned to death at Salonica.
- Paul, after various tortures and persecutions, was at length beheaded at Rome by the Emperor Nero.
Such was the fate of the apostles, according to traditional statements.
