I am splitting this up to allow it to be more readable. We will still cover Andrew, Peter, Paul, and James in other parts soon to be published. For now let us consider the following.
The Apostle James:
After the martyrdom of Stephen, suffered next James the holy apostle of Christ, and brother of John. "When this James," saith Clement, "was brought to the tribunal seat, he that brought him and was the cause of his trouble, seeing him to be condemned and that he should suffer death, was in such sort moved therewith in heart and conscience that as he went to the execution he confessed himself also, of his own accord, to be a Christian. And so were they led forth together, where in the way he desired of James to forgive him what he had done. After that James had a little paused with himself upon the matter, turning to him he saith, "Peace be to thee, brother;" and kissed him. And both were beheaded together, A.D. 36.
The Apostle Thomas:
Thomas preached to the Parthians, Medes and Persians, also to the Carmanians, Hyrcanians, Bactrians, and Magians. He suffered in Calamina, a city of India, being slain with a dart (or spear).
The Apostle Simon:
Simon who was brother to Jude, and to James the younger..., was Bishop of Jerusalem after James, and was crucified in a city of Egypt in the time of Trajan the emperor. Simon the apostle, called [the Zealot], preached in Mauritania, and in the country of Africa, and in Britain: he was... crucified.
The Apostle Mark:
Mark, the evangelist and first Bishop of Alexandria, preached the Gospel in Egypt, and there, drawn with ropes unto the fire, was burnt and afterwards buried in a pace called there "Bucolos," under the reign of Trajan the emperor.
The Apostle Bartholomew:
Bartholomew is said to have preached to the Indians, and to have translated the Gospel of Matthew into their tongue. At last in Albinopolis, a city of greater Armenia, after divers persecutions, he was beaten down with staves, then crucified; and after, being [stripped of his skin], he was beheaded.
The Apostle Matthew:
Matthew, otherwise named Levi, first of a publican made an apostle, wrote his Gospel to the Jews in the Hebrew tongue. After he had converted to the faith Ethiopia and all Egypt, Hircanus, their king, sent one to run him through with a spear.
The Apostle Philip:
Philip, the holy apostle, after he had much labored among the barbarous nations in preaching the word of salvation to them, at length suffered, in Hierapolis, a city of Phrygia, being there crucified and stoned to death; where also he was buried, and his daughters also with him.
Let us consider the great witness these men have left us. Willing to give all to serve their Lord they paid with their lives. In detesting displays of hate and sin, cruel and malicious murder was committed against them; yet, they were faithful to the end. How remarkable it is that we read of James, the brother of John, that he converted the very man who had brought him before the tribunal. How remarkable it is that he then forgave him for what he had done so that the two could die together as brothers, both having the peace of a clear conscience. And then there is "Doubting" Thomas who didn't seem to doubt much of anything at all as he evangleized the nations and laid down his life to serve his Lord.
Beatings did not disuade them, imprisonment did not disuade them, nothing could stop them from proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the world. Their faith in Him and their committment to fulfill the Great Commission stands as an example to the rest of us that we must be willing to follow and support. Their piety must be our piety too, it must be the mark of our character that we too are willing to die as martyrs if it will but glorify the Lord in doing so. Onward Christian Soldiers!
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