Fact #8: The Believers in Jesus multiplied and grew in spite of intense Persecution and Martyrdom

Growth of the Early Church

The amazing growth of the Christian church is a well established fact of history. The book of Acts provides us with an historical record of the early expansion and growth of the believers in Jesus. The birth of the church took place in the very city in which the crucifixion and the resurrection events occurred – Jerusalem. Acts 2 provides a record of the first proclamation of the Gospel of the resurrection of Christ which was given to the crowds gathered for the Jewish feast on the day of Pentecost. Peter addresses the crowds and He preaches the risen Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. – Acts 2:22-36. The result is that 3,000 people believe and are added to the church, which at that time consisted of only 120 believers. Acts 4:4 states that the church in Jerusalem grew to 5,000 believers a short time later and that it continued to multiply -Acts 6:1. By the time of the Jerusalem church council 10-13 years later, the group of believers were described as a “multitude” – Acts 15:12. If the claims of Christ and the preaching of the resurrection by the apostles were lies, then the corrective elements within the political and religious society of Jerusalem would have quickly exposed the nature of these lies and they would have been dismissed. These parties had everything to gain by disbanding this new movement (both the Roman authorities and the Jewish leadership). If they could have produced the body of Jesus or exposed the apostles as liars they would have, yet this did not happen. It’s one thing to claim that an event took place in a city and then move 1,000 miles away and proclaim it as true with no counter corrective influences. But not so with the message of the resurrection. It was proclaimed in the very city in which the resurrection occurred and it was proclaimed as “common knowledge” – Acts 2:22-24; 3:13-17; 4:7-10; 5:31,32.So what did the religious and community leaders of the city of Jerusalem do? They chose to persecute and attempt to intimidate the believers in Jesus.There are five separate periods of persecution that the believers in Jerusalem endured as recorded in the book of Acts. These persecutions were the direct result of their preaching of the resurrection and Lordship of Jesus Christ. The final persecution that is described ends with the apostle James being killed. “Now about that time Herod the king stretched out his hand to harass some from the church. Then he killed James the brother of John with the sword. And because he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to seize Peter also”. – Acts 12:1-3. All five of these persecutions are narrated in the following passages – Acts 4 – 1st persecution: Acts 5 – 2nd persecution: Acts 6,7 – 3rd persecution with Stephen becoming the first martyr: Acts 8 – 4th persecution: Acts 12 – 5th persecution. In spite of this intense difficulty, the church in Jerusalem added to its ranks and the influence of these believers into the surrounding areas increased – Acts 4:42; 8:4. Later, missionary endeavors into all of Asia Minor, especially under the leadership of Paul, became the norm as noted in the book of Acts.

 

Fear Turned into Fearlessness

The expansion of the Christian church during the first four centuries is well documented. In the fourth century it became the official faith of the Roman Empire. It is not the intention here to claim that the size and expansion of the church in its numbers or influence validates the claims of the Gospel, but rather that the evidential nature of the Gospel and the resurrection (and the work of the Holy Spirit) propelled the growth of the church. The Christian faith is absolutely based on the historical nature of the claims of Christ and this historical evidential basis of faith is firmly supported in the New Testament and in the history of the church as recorded by the early church fathers. 17For example, on the day of Pentecost, Peter addressed the crowds and stated regarding Jesus – “Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified and put to death, whom God has raised up…… he, (the prophet David) foreseeing this spoke concerning the resurrection of Christ that His soul was not left in Hades (place of the dead) nor did His flesh see corruption (the tomb). This Jesus, God has raised up of which we are all witnesses….Therefore , let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ”. – Acts 2:23,32,36.It needs to be emphasized that approximately 50 days earlier, the disciples of Christ were a defeated and discouraged group. Now they were bold and fearless witnesses for the Savior. What could be the cause of this complete change? Could it be that it was the resurrection of their Lord – Jesus Christ?The crucifixion event began in the upper room where Jesus and His disciples shared their last meal together. From there they proceeded to the garden of Gethsemane. There are many theological implications of what was taking place in the garden of Gethsemane, but the Gospel records state that Jesus was suffering and was extremely sorrowful even to the point of death – Matthew 26:36-46;Mark 14:32-42; Luke 22:39-46; John 18:1-11. It is here where the Jewish rulers with a detachment of troops came and arrested Jesus and led Him away to trial and to His eventual crucifixion.

Mark and Matthew both state regarding the response of Jesus’ disciples – “Then they all forsook Him and fled”. – Mark 14:50; Matthew 26:56. We are told that Peter was following this procession, but “at a distance” – Matthew 26:58; Mark 14: 54; Luke 22:54. John’s Gospel states that another disciple (probably John Himself) was with Peter and since he was known to the high priest, went into the court yard. But from this point on we do not see any of the disciples. As far as we know, they are not present at the trials or at Jesus’ scourging. At the cross, they are viewing everything that is taking place “from afar” – Mark 15:40; Matthew 27:55. “But all His acquaintances and the women who followed Him from Galilee, stood at a distance watching these things”. – Luke 23:49The Gospel presents the disciples as being men (and women) whose faith in Jesus had collapsed. John affirms that at the very end of Jesus’ life, he was there with Jesus’ mother and other women and they watched Jesus die. – John 19:25-35. They were defeated, fearful for their lives and without hope. They were aware of their Lord’s sufferings and the intense beatings and violence that He endured. They watched from a distance as He was led to the place of the skull (Golgatha) and was crucified. Then they watched Him die. After Jesus had risen from the dead, the disciples were still filled with doubt, fear and skepticism. The group of women who saw the empty tomb, came to the disciples and told them of what they had witnessed and of the angel’s announcement of Christ’s resurrection and the disciples did not believe them. – “And their words seemed to them like idle tales and they did not believe them”. – Luke 24:11. Luke provides another reference of this appearance of Jesus to His disciples and again their response is described as being full of fear and doubt. “Now as they said these things, Jesus Himself stood in the midst of them and said to them – Peace to you. But they were terrified and frightened and supposed they had seen a spirit. And He said to them, Why are you troubled? And why do doubts arise in your hearts? Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself. Handle Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have. When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His feet. But while they still did not believe for joy, and marveled, He said to them, Have you any food here? So they gave Him a piece of a broiled fish and some honeycomb. And He took it and ate in their presence”. – Luke 24:36-43.When Jesus appeared to the disciples late that first Sunday evening, Thomas was not present. When the disciples told Thomas that Jesus had appeared to them, Thomas would not believe. His response to their announcement of Christ’s appearance was: “Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails and put my hand into His side, I will not believe”. – John 20:25. Eight days later Jesus appeared to the disciples again and this time Thomas was present. “Then He (Jesus) said to Thomas, Reach your finger here and look at My hands; and reach your hands here and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing. And Thomas answered and said to Him, My Lord and My God”. – John 20:20:27,28.Later, when Jesus appeared to His disciples, some doubted – “When they saw Him, they worshipped Him; but some doubted”. – Matthew 28:17. A more accurate rendering of this Greek word for doubted – “distazo” would be “hesitated” or faith mixed with doubt. They were not sure what they were seeing and they hesitated. The text continues and states that Jesus then approached and came to them and spoke. It would appear that they saw Jesus from a distance and some did not recognize Him and doubted Who He was. However, when He approached them, He spoke to them which as in other passages in the Gospels, confirmed to them Who He was. – Matthew 28:17. Luke 24:30-32.

Why so much Disbelief and Skepticism?

Some of this lack of faith was rooted in their deep sense of hopelessness and hard heartedness. Some of it was also due to the appearance of Jesus’ body which was different than what they were used to seeing of Him.Jesus’ resurrection body was in some very real way altered from His previous body. In many of His appearances to individuals, they did not recognize Him at first. Although His body was real and of human flesh, it was different in some very mysterious ways. He was capable of eating food and He could be touched and handled; His wounds in His hands and feet were still present, yet He could appear and disappear instantly and could enter a room through the walls or exit out of a room as He did in the tomb. (The stone was rolled away not to let Jesus out but to let witnesses in). He could ascend to heaven and cover large distances of travel instantly, yet He was not a ghost or a spirit. If Jesus did rise again from the dead (never to die again), we would expect that His body would have to very different from the aging and dying bodies that all human beings have. This body that Jesus had was in so many ways different than His previous body that it did present a difficulty for the disciples to understand and easily recognize Him.

This partly explains some of their doubt, fear and inability to easily embrace Him.

The book of Acts provides a history of the proclamation of the Gospel, and it is very evident that the disciples were completely different individuals from the ones we see presented here. They were changed. Now they were fearless and bold witnesses of their faith in Christ. What could have caused this change? The appearances of the resurrected Jesus.

Martrydom

This commitment to the truth was evident in the willingness of these disciples of Jesus to lay down their lives for the testimony that they confessed regarding Jesus Christ and His resurrection. Reliable church history tells us that at least 11 of the key leaders and apostles of Jesus died for their witness for Christ.

James – according to the New Testament and the 3rd century historian, Eusebius, James was killed with a sword under the order of Herod Agrippa and was beheaded – Act 12:2. (A.D. 44-45).Peter – according to Eusebius, Peter died death by crucifixion – (A.D.64).Andrew – according to the late 2nd and 3rd century historian Hippolytus of Rome, Andrew was hanged – (A.D. 70).Thomas – according to Hippolytus , he was thrust with a spear – (A.D. 70).Philip – according to Hippolytus, he was crucified with his head downward – (A.D. ?)Matthew – according to Hippolytus, he was beheaded (A.D. 60-70).John – according to Hippolytus, he died a natural death however, he was imprisoned and persecuted (A.D. 95-100).Bartholomew – according to Hippolytus, he was crucified with his head downward (A.D. 70).James the son of Alphaeus – according to Hippolytus was stoned to death in Jerusalem (A.D.?)James the Just , the half brother of Jesus, according to Eusebius and Josephus, he was thrown from a parapet of the temple and then stoned to death. (A.D. 62).Paul – according to Eusebius, he was beheaded under the reign of the Roman Emperor Nero (A.D.66,67). 18It is important to emphasize that human nature has not changed down through the centuries and people then as well as today, will not die for self-made lies or fabrications. People may die for something that they believe is true, however false it may be, but people do not die for something that they know to be false. The disciples and eyewitnesses of the resurrection did not die for a cause, a philosophy or set of ideals. They died for their eyewitness testimony of the resurrected Christ. If they are to be trusted as sane, mentally stable individuals, then their death for the testimony that they professed adds credibility to their claims. (See the article “Are the New Testament Gospel Documents Reliable?”) 19 (See sources for quotes from early church fathers).