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CONLEY COMMENTARY (WSAU) – Psychiatrists say over and over again, people will not die for a lie. People only lay down their lives for something they believe to be true.
So today let’s consider Jesus’s apostles, the people who knew him or became his earliest followers after the resurrection.
Peter, the disciple who is written about most, refused to deny Christ before emperor Niro, and requested to be crucified upside down so he wouldn’t die the same way that Jesus did.
James was killed by King Harrod, stabbed with a sword.
Andrew, Peter’s brother, was martyred while on a church mission to what is now Greece and Turkey.
Peter was put to death by a Roman governor in North Africa after the governor’s wife converted to Christianity.
Nathaniel was murdered while preaching in Ethiopia.
Thomas was killed by a group of Roman soldiers.
Simon the Zealot is believed to have died in Persia.
Phillip was killed in modern-day Turkey.
James, son of Alpheus, was stoned to death.
Paul, the great evangelist, was beheaded.
These people would not have laid down their lives if they didn’t believe in Jesus’ teachings and his resurrection. Jesus appeared to each one of these martyrs after his death on the cross.
I believe this: there is overwhelming evidence that the historical Jesus existed. It’s estimated that he appeared to more than 500 people after his crucifixion on Calvary. Many of the eye-witnesses saw the nails driven into him and the spear that pieced his side… and yet they saw him again. So each one of us has a decision to make. Is Jesus who he claims to be? For me, there’s too much evidence not to believe.
Chris Conley
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