The Fate of the Apostles: Examining the Martyrdom Accounts of the Closest Followers of Jesus

311 Pages·2015·1.13 MB·English

The FaTe oF The aposTles
The Book of Martyrs by John Foxe written in the 16th century has long been the
go-to source for studying the lives and martyrdom of the apostles. Whilst other
scholars have written individual treatments on the more prominent apostles
such as peter, paul, John, and James, there is little published information on the
other apostles.
In The Fate of the Apostles, sean McDowell offers a comprehensive, reasoned,
historical analysis of the fate of the twelve disciples of Jesus along with the apostles
paul, and James. McDowell assesses the evidence for each apostle’s martyrdom
as well as determining its significance to the reliability of their testimony. The
question of the fate of the apostles also gets to the heart of the reliability of the
kerygma: did the apostles really believe Jesus appeared to them after his death, or
did they fabricate the entire story? how reliable are the resurrection accounts?
The willingness of the apostles to die for their faith is a popular argument in
resurrection studies and McDowell offers insightful scholarly analysis of this
argument to break new ground within the spheres of New Testament studies,
Church history, and apologetics.
To my three kids: Scottie, Shauna, and Shane. My hope is that you will live
your lives with as much boldness and sacrifice as the apostles.
The Fate of the apostles
examining the Martyrdom accounts of the Closest
Followers of Jesus
sean McDowell
Biola University, USA
© sean McDowell 2015
all rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recording or otherwise without the prior permission of the publisher.
sean McDowell has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and patents act, 1988,
to be identified as the author of this work.
published by
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British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
a catalogue record for this book is available from the British library
The Library of Congress has cataloged the printed edition as follows:
McDowell, sean.
The fate of the apostles : examining the martyrdom accounts of the closest followers of Jesus /
by sean McDowell.
pages cm
Includes index.
IsBN 978-1-4724-6520-7 (hardcover) – IsBN 978-1-4724-6521-4 (ebook) –
IsBN 978-1-4724-6522-1 (epub) 1. apostles–Death. 2. Christian martyrs–Death. I. Title.
Bs2440.M443 2015
272'.10922–dc23
2015009323
IsBN 9781472465207 (hbk)
IsBN 9781472465214 (ebk – pDF)
IsBN 9781472465221 (ebk – epUB)
printed in the United Kingdom by henry ling limited,
at the Dorset press, Dorchester, DT1 1hD
Contents
Acknowledgments vii
1 Introduction 1
2 The Centrality of the Resurrection 17
3 The Twelve Apostles 25
4 Persecution in the Early Church 37
5 The Martyrdom of Peter 55
6 The Martyrdom of Paul 93
7 The Martyrdom of James, the Brother of Jesus 115
8 The Martyrdom of John, Son of Zebedee 135
9 The Martyrdom of Thomas 157
10 The Martyrdom of Andrew 175
11 Martyrdom of James, Son of Zebedee 187
12 Martyrdom of Philip 193
13 Martyrdom of Bartholomew 211
14 Martyrdom of Matthew 223
15 The Martyrdom of James, Son of Alphaeus 231
16 The Martyrdom of Thaddeus 237
17 Martyrdom of Simon the Zealot 245
vi The Fate of the Apostles
18 Martyrdom of Matthias 251
19 Conclusion 259
Bibliography 267
Index 293
Acknowledgments
From beginning to end, my time researching and writing this project was
possible only because of a team of generous supporters who surrounded and
encouraged me. More than anyone else, my wife, Stephanie, gave me the strength
to persevere when I was too tired and too frustrated to move forward, believing
in me, encouraging me, reminding me I could do it. We did it, Love!
Tim and Kay Winn provided financial support through the Lampstand
Foundation. I could not have done it without you. At different times, both Kim
Van Vlear and John Nettleton have each provided unbelievable help so I could
focus on this project.
Dr. Jim Parker was my doctoral advisor at Southern Baptist Theological
Seminary, where I began the research that resulted in this book. Thanks for
guiding me through and for making it enjoyable along the way! J. Warner
Wallace helped me remain focused throughout the writing process and provided
exceptional feedback. Thanks for all the phone calls where we discussed the
nuances of the Stromata by Clement of Alexandria, the best way to calculate the
martyrdom accounts for various disciples, and how to evaluate evidence. You are
a colleague and a friend.
There are many other professors and friends who have been helpful
along the way. Thanks to Andre Murillo, Dr. Victor Velazquez, and Dr. Alan
Gomes for help with translation from German, French, and Latin sources. Dr.
Thomas Schmidt responded to many of my email questions in relation to his
research on the various apostles. And thanks to Dr. Ken Berding for guiding
me through issues related to Polycarp and John, and for suggesting I connect
with Dr. Charles E. Hill, who was incredibly helpful. I am indebted to Dr. Ted
Cabal and Dr. Michael Haykin for providing positive feedback and direction.
And thanks to Carlos Delgado and Chris Bosson for insightful criticism and
amazing edits.
Dr. Michael Licona provided significant feedback throughout the entire
process. Thanks for the various phone calls and constructive feedback. You’re a
true friend.
Scott Lindsey and the team at Logos Bible Software made much of my
research possible. I could not have done this without the incredible resources
they made so easily available or the personal direction they provided.
I thank my colleague and friend, Dr. Craig Hazen, head of the MA Christian
Apologetics program at Biola University. Craig hired me to begin teaching in
viii The Fate of the Apostles
the fall of 2014, before I finished my doctorate, even freeing me up significantly
to commit to research and study. Thank you, Craig. I am honored to be part of
the program, and forever grateful for the support.
Chapter 1
Introduction
How can we trust in the historical resurrection of Jesus? A commonly used
argument points to the apostles’ willingness to become martyrs. Popular
apologists frequently cite their deaths as good reason to trust the sincerity of
their testimony, since it is difficult to believe they would go willingly to such
gruesome deaths for the sake of empty deceit.
Credentialed scholars also make a similar argument. E.P. Sanders, for
instance, in his The Historical Figure of Jesus, argues that “many of the people in
these lists [of eyewitnesses] were to spend the rest of their lives proclaiming that
they had seen the risen Lord, and several of them would die for their cause.”1
And Michael R. Licona notes:
After Jesus’ death, the disciples endured persecution, and a number of them
experienced martyrdom. The strength of their conviction indicates that they were
not just claiming Jesus had appeared to them after rising from the dead. They
really believed it. They willingly endangered themselves by publicly proclaiming
the risen Christ.2
Further, in The Historical Jesus of the Gospels, Craig S. Keener argues:
The disciples’ testimony was not fabricated. Ancients also recognized that the
willingness of people to die for their convictions verified at least the sincerity
of their motives, arguing against fabrication. People of course die regularly for
values that are false; they do not, however, ordinarily die voluntarily for what they
believe is false. Intentional deception by the disciples is thus implausible.3
Still, despite the popularity and importance of this argument to historical Jesus
studies, little scholarly work focuses primarily on evaluating the evidence for their
martyrdoms.4 Questions naturally remain, then, which strike to the heart of the
1 E.P. Sanders, The Historical Figure of Jesus (New York: Penguin, 1993), 279–80.
2 Michael R. Licona, The Resurrection of Jesus: A New Historiographical Approach
(Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2010), 366.
3 Craig S. Keener, The Historical Jesus of the Gospels (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans,
2009), 342.
4 For various books that explore the lives of the apostles, see William Barclay, The
Master’s Men (London: SCM Press, 1960); Pope Benedict XVI, The Apostles (Huntington,