So What Happened To The Apostles?

SO WHAT HAPPENED TO THE APOSTLES?

This is a good question, and the answer might make it a little tougher to follow Jesus, particularly in countries where it's not safe to proclaim yourself a follower of Christ.  "Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for My sake.   Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you." (Matt. 5:11 - 12)  "And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after Me, is not worthy of Me.  He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for My sake shall find it." (Matt. 10:38 - 39)  Jesus was literally dead serious when He made these statements regarding persecution.  Only one apostle lived till his natural death.

Let's first look at Simon Peter.  Peter and Cephas were his surnames, meaning "Rock".  Like Andrew, his father was Jonah, and their early lives were in Bethsaida, but later Capernaum.  Only 5 of these apostles were their prior business made known of and Peter, Andrew and James the greater and John, the beloved disciple were fishermen.  Peter was one of the few who wrote epistles after his time with Jesus, and he was a missionary among the Jews.  Not feeling himself worthy to be crucified the same way that Jesus was, he was crucified upside down in Rome.

Andrew, Peter's brother, preached in Scythia, Greece, and Asia Minor, and was also crucified on a cross.

James the greater and John the beloved disciple were brothers of Zebedee and Salome, and their surname was Boanerges, or "Sons of Thunder".  They started their lives in Bethsaida like Simon and Andrew, but later they lived in Jerusalem.  James the greater preached in Jerusalem and Judea afte his time with Jesus, and lastly was beheaded by Herod in 41 A.D. in Jerusalem.  John wrote his Gospel and 3 epistles, and also wrote Revelation.  John labored among the churches in Asia Minor, particularly in Ephesus.  He was banished to Patmos in 95 A.D., then was recalled, and was the only one to die a natural death.

James the less and Jude were the sons of Alpheus, or Cleophas, and Mary, and Jude's surnames were Thaddeus and Lebbeus.  They lived in Galilee as their home, and Jude was the only of the two to write an epistle, and it was rather short, at that, but nevertheless important.  James the less preached in Egypt and Palestine, While Jude preached in Persia and Assyria.  James the less was crucified in Egypt, while Jude was martyred in Persia.

Philip's home was in Bethsaida, and preached in Phrygia after Jesus' ascension; he died a martyr at Hierapolis there where he preached.

Bartholemew was surnamed Nathaniel, and his home was in Cana of Galilee.  His death was from being flayed!

Matthew bore the surname Levi, and was the son of Alpheus.  His home was in Capernaum, and his job was as a tax collector.  He wrote the first Gospel of the New Testament, and died a martyr in Ethiopia.

Doubting Thomas, surnamed Didymus, claimed his home in Galilee, and had the dubious distinction of being the founder of the church of the Syrian church per the Christians there, and debatably in Persia and India.  He was shot to death with arrows while he prayed.

The other Simon, surnamed Zelotes, also claimed Galilee for his home, and he, too, was crucified.

Everyone knows much of the last apostle who strode with Jesus.  Judas surnamed Iscariot claimed his home in Kerioth of Judea, and he who betrayed Jesus, everyone knows he committed suicide, and did a lousy job of it at that.

Paul was the only apostle who did not walk with Jesus in the flesh, yet wrote many epistles before he was martyred in 67 A.D., one year before Nero died.  He made three missionary journeys; his first took him through Antioch, Cyprus, Galatia, then back to Antioch.  His second took him through Syria, Cilicia, Derbe, Lystra, Phrygia, Galatia, Mysia, Troas, Samothracia, Neapolis, Phillippi, Apollonia, Thessalonica, Berea, Athens, Corinth, Ephesus, Caesarea, Jerusalem, Damascus, and finally back to Antioch.  His last journey took him all over Galatia and Phrygia, Corinth, Ephesus, Achaia, and a number of other places, eventually ending up in Jerusalem.

By the way, by now you may have noticed Mark and Luke were NOT Jesus' original 12 apostles!   John Mark was the son of Mary, who wrote his Gospel in general for Gentiles, but particularly for Roman readers.  Luke was identified by Paul as a physician (Col. 4:14), and was Paul's close friend, and distinguished by being the only Gentile author of a book in the New Testament, and a Gospel at that!  He was primarily an Evangelist, primarily writing his Gospel toward the Gentiles.  He gave us the Magnificat of Mary, the Benedictus of Zacharias, the Gloria in Excelsis of the angels, and the Nunc Dimittis of Simeon.  Like Mark, we have no data concerning his death.

And so there you have it.  Only one apostle is known to have survived being a witness for Jesus until a natural death.  Small wonder Jesus warned of persecution for His sake!  How good for us that the rewards in heaven are promised to be great!