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Tuesday, October 21, 2014

How the Apostles Died

Father Al just sent me this meditation.  It's perfect for Lent, but I need it now.  Maybe you do too?



How The Apostles Died/ The Death of Jesus
       
      Matthew 

Suffered martyrdom in Ethiopia, Killed by a sword wound. 


     Mark
Died in Alexandria, Egypt , after being dragged by Horses through the streets until he was dead.


    Luke 


Was hanged in Greece as a result of his tremendous Preaching to the lost. 
 

John 

Faced martyrdom when he was boiled in huge Basin of boiling oil during a wave
of persecution In Rome . However, he was miraculously delivered from death.

John was then sentenced to the mines on the prison Island of  Patmos.
He wrote his prophetic Book of Revelation on Patmos. The apostle John was
later freed and returned to serve as Bishop of Edessa in modern Turkey. He died
as an old man, the only apostle to die peacefully.



Peter 

He was crucified upside down on an x-shaped cross.
According to church tradition it was because he told his tormentors
that he felt unworthy to die In the same way that Jesus Christ had died.



James 

The leader of the church in Jerusalem, was thrown over a hundred feet
down from the southeast pinnacle of the Temple when he refused to deny
his faith in Christ.  When they discovered that he survived the fall, his
enemies beat James to death with a fuller's club.
* This was the same pinnacle where Satan had taken Jesus during the Temptation. 




James the Great 

Son of Zebedee, was a fisherman by trade when Jesus called him to a
lifetime of ministry. As a strong leader of the church, James was ultimately
beheaded at Jerusalem.  The Roman officer who guarded James watched
amazed as James defended his faith at his trial. Later, the officer walked
beside James to the place of execution. Overcome by conviction, he
declared his new faith to the judge and knelt beside James to accept
beheading as a Christian.



Bartholomew 

Also known as Nathaniel was a missionary to Asia. He witnessed for our
Lord in present day Turkey.  Bartholomew was martyred for his preaching
in Armenia where he was flayed to death by a whip.


Andrew 

Was crucified on an x-shaped cross in Patras, Greece.  After being whipped
severely by seven soldiers they tied his body to the cross with cords to
prolong his agony. His followers reported that, when he was led toward
the cross, Andrew saluted it in these words: 'I have long desired and
expected this happy hour.  The cross has been consecrated by the body
of Christ hanging on it.'   He continued to preach to his tormentors for
two days until he expired. 

Thomas 

Was stabbed with a spear in India during one of his missionary trips to
establish the church in the Sub-continent.


Jude 

Was killed with arrows when he refused to deny his faith in Christ.


Matthias 

The apostle chosen to replace the traitor Judas Iscariot, was stoned and then beheaded.



Paul 

Was tortured and then beheaded by the evil Emperor Nero at Rome in A.D. 67.
Paul endured a lengthy imprisonment, which allowed him to write his many
epistles to the churches he had formed throughout the Roman Empire.
These letters, which taught many of the foundational Doctrines of Christianity,
form a large portion of the New Testament. 

Perhaps this is a reminder to us 

That our sufferings here are indeed minor compared to the intense persecution
and cold cruelty faced by the apostles and disciples during their times for the
sake of the Faith. And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: But he
that endureth to the end shall be saved. Matthew


Faith is not believing that God can,
It is knowing that God WILL!”

Jesus' Death
The Death of Jesus 

THE (SCIENTIFIC) DEATH OF JESUS 
At the age of 33, Jesus was condemned to death .  At the time
Crucifixion was the "worst" death. Only the worst
criminals were condemned to be crucified. Yet it was even
more dreadful for Jesus, unlike other criminals condemned
to death by Crucifixion, Jesus was to be nailed to the
Cross by his hands and feet.
Each nail was 6 to 8 inches long. The nails were driven into
his wrist, not into his palms as is commonly portrayed.
There's a tendon in the wrist that extends to the shoulder.
The Roman guards knew that when the nails were being
hammered into the wrist that tendon would tear and
break, forcing Jesus to use his back muscles to support
himself so that he could breath.

Both of his feet were nailed together, thus he was forced to
support himself on the single nail that impaled his feet to the
cross. Jesus could not support himself with his legs
because of the pain so he was forced to alternate between
arching his back then using his legs just to continue to
breath. Imagine the struggle, the pain, the suffering, the courage.

Jesus endured this reality for over 3 hours. Yes, over 3 hours!
Can you imagine this kind of suffering? A few minutes before
he died, Jesus stopped bleeding. He was simply pouring water
from his wounds. From common images we see wounds to
his hands and feet and even the spear wound to his side
but do we realize his wounds were actually made in his body.
A hammer driving large nails through the wrist, the feet overlapped
and an even larger nail hammered through the arches, then a
Roman guard piercing his side with a spear.  But before the nails
and the spear, Jesus was whipped and beaten. The whipping was
so severe that it tore the flesh from his body. The beating so horrific
that his face was torn and his beard ripped from his face. The
crown of thorns cut deeply into His scalp. Most men would not have
survived this torture.  He had no more blood to bleed out, only water
poured from his wounds. The human adult body contains about 3.5 liters
(just less than a gallon) of blood. Jesus poured all 3.5 liters of his blood;
he had three nails hammered into his members; a crown of thorns on
his head and, beyond that, a Roman soldier who stabbed a spear into his
chest.

All these without mentioning the humiliation he suffered after carrying his own
cross for almost 2 kilometers, while the crowd spat in his face and threw
stones (the cross was almost 30 kg of weight, only for its higher part, where
his hands were nailed). Jesus had to endure this experience, to open the
Gates of Heaven, So that you can have free access to God. So that your sins
could be "washed" away. All of them, with no exception!
Don't ignore this situation.

JESUS CHRIST DIED FOR YOU!

He died for you! It Is easy to pass jokes or foolish photos by e-mail, but
when it comes to God, sometimes you feel ashamed to forward to others
because you are worried of what they may think about you.  God has plans
for you, show all your friends what he experienced to save you. Now think
about this! May God bless your Life!
60 Seconds with God... For the next 60 Seconds, set aside what you're
doing and take This opportunity! Let's see if Satan can stop This.. All you
have to do Is:
1. Simply Pray for the person who sent this message to You:
2. Then, send this message to people. The more the better.
3. People will pray for you and you will make that many people pray to God
    for other people.
4. Take a moment to appreciate the power of God in your life, for
    doing what pleases him.

If you are not ashamed to do this, please, follow Jesus' instructions.
He said (Matthew 10:32 & 33):  "Everyone therefore who acknowledges
me before others, I also will acknowledge before My Father in heaven;
but whosoever denies Me before others, I also will deny before My
Father in heaven".

Yes, I love God. He is my source of life and my Savior. He keeps me alive day
and night.

Without Him, I am nothing, but with Him "I can do all things through Him
who strengthens me". Philippians 4:13.


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