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Peter, Andrew, James (son of Alphaeus), Philip, Simon, and Bartholomew were all crucified. Matthew and James (son of Zebedee) died by the sword. Thaddaeus was killed by arrows, Thomas by a spear thrust. James (brother of Jesus) was stoned. Only John died a natural death. The response that is usually chorused back is this: “Why, a lot of people have died for a lie; so what does it prove?” Yes, a lot of people have died for a lie, but they thought it was the truth. Now if the resurrection didn’t take place, the disciples knew it. Therefore, these eleven men not only died for a lie—here is the catch—but they knew it was a lie. It would be hard to find eleven people in history who died for a lie, knowing it was a lie.
APOSTLES WERE EYEWITNESSES We need to be cognizant of several factors in order to appreciate what they did. First, when the apostles wrote or spoke, they did so as eyewitnesses of the events they described. Peter said: "For we did not follow cleverly devised tales when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses to his majesty" (2 Peter 1:16). Luke said: "Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile an account of the things accomplished among us, just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the Word have handed them down to us, it seemed fitting for me as well, having investigated everything carefully from the beginning, to write it out for you in consecutive order" (Luke 1:1-3). Then in the book of Acts, Luke described the forty-day period after the resurrection when his followers closely observed him: “The first account I composed . . . about all that Jesus began to do and teach, until the day when He was taken up, after He had by the Holy Spirit given orders to the apostles whom He had chosen. To these He also presented Himself alive, after His suffering, by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days, and speaking of the things concerning the kingdom of God” (Acts 1:1-3). The main content of these eyewitness testimonies concerned the resurrection. The apostles were witnesses of his resurrected life: Luke 24:48 John 15:27 Acts 1:8 Acts 2:24, 32 Acts 3:15 Acts 4:33 Acts 5:32 Acts 10:39 Acts 10:41 Acts 13:31 I Cor. 15:4-9 I Cor. 15:15
THEY HAD TO BE CONVINCED Second, the apostles themselves had to be convinced that Jesus was raised from the dead. At first they didn’t believe. They went and hid. They didn’t hesitate to express their doubts. Only after ample and convincing evidence did they believe. There was Peter. He denied Christ several times during his trial. Finally he deserted Jesus. But something happened to this coward. Just a short time after Christ’s crucifixion and burial, Peter showed up in Jerusalem preaching boldly, at the threat of death, that Jesus was the Christ and had been resurrected. Finally Peter was crucified upside down. Was he deceived? What had happened to him? What had transformed him so dramatically into a bold lion for Jesus? Why was he willing to die for him? The only explanation I am satisfied with is 1 Corinthians 15:5 - "and then He appeared to Cephas [Peter]." A classic example of a man convinced against his will was James, the brother of Jesus. Although James wasn’t one of the original twelve, he was later recognized as an apostle. When Jesus was alive, James didn’t believe in his brother Jesus as the Son of God. He as well as his brothers and sisters may even have mocked him. “You want people to believe in you? Why don’t you go up to Jerusalem and do your thing?” For James it must have been humiliating for Jesus to go around and bring ridicule to the family name by his wild claims (“I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me”). But something happened to James. After Jesus was crucified and buried, James was preaching in Jerusalem. His message was that Jesus died for sins and was resurrected and is alive. Eventually James became on of the leaders of the Jerusalem church and wrote the epistle of James. Eventually James died a martyr’s death by stoning at the hands of Ananias the high priest. Was James deceived? No, the only plausible explanation is I Corinthians 15:7—“then He appeared to James.” Michael Green, principal of St. John’s College, Nottingham, observed that the resurrection “was the belief that turned heart-broken followers of a crucified rabbi into courageous witnesses and martyrs of the early church. . . You could imprison them, flog them, kill them, but you could not make them deny their conviction that ‘on the third day he rose again.’”
THEIR BOLD ACTIONS Third the bold conduct of the apostles immediately after they were convinced of the resurrection makes it unlikely that it all was a fraud. They became bold almost overnight. Peter who had denied Christ stood up even at the threat of death and proclaimed Jesus alive after the resurrection. The authorities arrested the followers of Christ and beat them, yet they soon would be back in the street speaking out about Jesus. Jesus’ followers couldn’t have faced torture and death unless they were convinced of his resurrection. The unanimity of their message and course of conduct was amazing. If they were deceivers, it’s hard to explain why one of them didn’t break down under pressure. An unknown writer descriptively narrates the changes that occurred in the lives of the apostles: “On the day of the crucifixion they were filled with sadness; on the first day of the week with gladness. At the crucifixion they were hopeless; on the first day of the week their hearts glowed with certainty and hope. When the message of the resurrection first came, they were incredulous and hard to be convinced, but once they became assured, they never doubted again. What could account for the astonishing change in these men in so short a time? Think of the character of the witnesses, men and women who gave the world the highest ethical teaching it has ever known, and who even on the testimony of their enemies lived it out in their lives. Think of the psychological absurdity of picturing a little band of defeated cowards cowering in an upper room one day and a few days later transformed into a company that no persecution could silence—and then attempting to attribute this dramatic change to nothing more convincing than a miserable fabrication they were trying to foist upon the world. That simply wouldn’t make sense.” The steadfastness of the apostles even to death cannot be explained away. The apostles went through the test of death to substantiate the veracity of what they were proclaiming. I believe I can trust their testimony more than that of most people I meet today, people who are willing to walk across the street for what they believe, let alone die for it. --Taken from More Than a Carpenter ©1977 Josh McDowell; Chapter 5
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WHO WOULD DIE FOR A LIE?