Acts 1:8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.
The above verse is part of Jesus’ parting words to the apostles, shortly before he was taken up into heaven. Over the years of my Christian walk, the lives of the apostles have become ever more important to me. What the apostles did after the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus has everything to do with the global arm of Christianity today. Their influence is staggering!
What would you do, had you witnessed Jesus’ death, resurrection, and ascension? … One of the joys of being a lover of history is putting yourself in the shoes of a historical figure. Imagine what it must have been like to be a disciple of Jesus. What did life look like? Sound like? Smell like? What would you see as you walked down a Judean street? What would you have done after Jesus’ ascension and return to heaven? Being the risk-averse person that I tend to be, I imagine I would have made a bee-line back to my fishing village after Jesus departed for heaven, I’d have welcomed a return to the simple life of a fisherman with joy, thankful for my time with Jesus, yet relieved to return to a quieter life. “It was a good run,” I’d tell myself, thankful for my brush with the Savior.
And yet, this isn’t what a single one of the apostles did. So impassioned by all they’d witnessed with Jesus, and filled with the Holy Spirit, they split up to minister to the greater world, as they knew it at the time. I’ve recently been reading articles in a number of publications regarding the apostles’ lives “after Jesus”. Their far-reaching ministries were impressive! Peter made it to Rome, where he was martyred under Nero. Andrew made it to modern-day Russia where he is known as the patron saint of Ukraine, Romania, and Russia. Thomas is believed to have preached as far away as India, while Matthew migrated to parts of Africa, eventually being martyred by King Hircanus of Ethiopia. These recountings are according to church history, and eye-witness accounts from the times.
One of the spiritual strong-holds in my faith journey has become the actions of the apostles. In a season of doubting, some years back, I wondered if the resurrection of Jesus was a lie, perhaps perpetrated by some of the apostles. I toyed with this idea for a period of time as a possible explanation. Deception to the masses would have helped the disciples save face with those who remembered Jesus saying that he would never leave or forsake his followers. But … d
eception doesn’t make sense to me either, when you look at the power-infused way the apostles shared the gospel of Jesus to the ends of their world. By historical accounts, none of them returned to their former lives. All apostles, post ascension of Jesus, spent the rest of their lives preaching, proclaiming, and sharing. Most went on to suffer horrific deaths as martyrs for the cause of Jesus. It is illogical to think that the apostles would have perpetrated a lie, and then all went on to suffer or die for something they knew to be untrue.
Dear Lord, today we celebrate the lives of the apostles as we honor your death and resurrection. How thankful we are for the message of the men and women who encountered you – and never looked back in the sharing of your words, miracles, and redemptive work on the cross. May we be your beacon of hope today, furthering your work just as those who came before us so powerfully changed their world. May your Spirit live within us, just as it so meaningfully did within them.
Blessings to all on this week of Easter celebration!
Diana
References:
christianity.com, “What Happened to the Twelve Apostles and How Did They Die?” by Ken Curtis, PhD, 12/10/24.
themonastery.org “What Happened to the Twelve Apostles?” posted on 1/19/24.
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