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Is God Dead?
Throughout this series of articles, there has been an underlying and heretofore unexplored question: Did the apostles make the whole thing up? Was the claim of Jesus’s resurrection from the dead some grand hoax, some grand myth that quickly grew into a phenomenon placing the disciples in the grand spotlight of Christian stardom? After all, an empty tomb could have simply meant that the disciples (or anyone else, for that matter) stole the body.
However, since the traditional Christian answer to this question has much merit, it bears further explanation here. Historian Craig Keener has said that the “ancients also recognized the willingness of people to die for their convictions, verified at least the sincerity of their motives, arguing against fabrication.” Others have made similar statements claiming that people have often died for a lie they thought to be the truth, but no one ever dies for what they know to be a lie. As far as the apostles were concerned, Jesus, in a resurrected corporeal body, appeared, spoke, moved about, and ate food.
These appearances of Jesus moved the disciples so much that they would later die for that belief. At any rate, the critics ask, “Is that true?” The answer is incredibly important. Not because the apostle’s martyrdom alone means that Jesus was raised from the dead, but because if the apostles willingly died for their faith, convinced that a risen Jesus had appeared to them, the same One who rose and left the tomb empty, the One about whom four eyewitness accounts were later written, the One about whom almost immediately the oral Credo began to be recited, that One, then, the cumulative evidential weight of the resurrection narrative, and the case for Christ deserve a long hard look.
So, did the apostles die for their faith as Christian “legend” suggests? Since this series of articles has primarily focused on Peter and Paul, we will look at the historical evidence concerning their alleged martyrdom. First, however, the most recent and perhaps the most exhaustive modern historical examination of the fate of the apostles is that of Sean McDowell in his book, The Fate of the Apostles.
McDowell suggests all told, there are at least ten independent sources, both canonical and non-canonical, that give us a very good idea of what happened to Peter. Based upon these sources, all written within the living memory of Peter up until c. AD 200, we can make the following conclusions. First, the traditional view that Peter was martyred for his faith is strongly attested, and no competing theories exist. Second, based upon the early historical evidence, the traditional view that Peter was martyred for his faith is given the highest possible probability, indicating that it is historically very probably true that Peter was martyred in Rome.
Similar to Peter, Paul’s martyrdom is attested to by at least eight independent sources, both canonical and non-canonical, written within Paul’s living memory. AD 200. The traditional view of Paul’s martyrdom is that Paul was beheaded in Rome sometime between AD 64-67, during the reign of Nero.
Detailed analysis of these independent sources indicates that historically, it is the highest possible probability that Paul was martyred in Rome, more probable than not by beheading. The historical fact that both Peter and Paul were martyred for their faith speaks to their unwavering commitment to what they considered to be absolutely true: that the risen Jesus had appeared to them, and they died for that belief. However, Peter and Paul were not alone.
Apostolic suffering was universal. In fact, McDowell’s research suggests that there is strong historical evidence that at least six of the apostles were more likely than not martyred for their faith and that these events are historically true is considered the highest possible probability.
Ironically, martyrdom for both Peter and Paul ended a life of suffering service to the Christ they both were convinced had risen. Both Peter and Paul had plenty of opportunities before martyrdom to recant their stories. Paul gives us an idea of the magnitude of his suffering when he writes in one of his many letters: Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches (2 Cor 11:24)..
The point is this: even if Peter and Paul had not been put to death by Nero, the sheer frequency and magnitude of the suffering they endured for Christ’s sake stands at least as testimony to their dogged conviction that Jesus had risen from the dead and had appeared to them.
When the evidence is evaluated, the Christian resurrection perspectives provide the most cohesive, simplistic explanation, with the greatest explanatory power and plausibility to explain what happened to Jesus after his crucifixion. And it is history, not legend, that tells us that the majority of them died for their faith.
It seems to me the historical evidence clearly points us to a truth. What do you believe?
Gloria in excelsis Deo!
Ty B. Kerley, DMin., is an ordained minister who teaches Christian apologetics and relief preaches in Southern Oklahoma. Dr. Kerley and his wife, Vicki, are members of the Waurika church of Christ and live in Ardmore, OK. You can contact him at [email protected].
