Wednesday night study
The Sequel to the Acts of the Apostles
Background:
The book of Acts in the New Testament is our primary source of historical information about the first century church. Although we do gain a lot of info from the various epistles and the gospels, the book of Acts is indispensable in the amount of knowledge we have from it. Acts is unusual for a couple more reasons:
1) the book is titled Acts, and
2) the book has an unfinished ending
Why is the book entitled Acts? Acts is supposedly short for Acts of the Apostles, but the original 12 are almost non existent except for Peter. And even Peter does a disappearing act after the 15th chapter. The book could be referring to Peter and Paul, which would make slightly more sense, especially since Paul is the dominant character (other than the Holy Spirit). But the book doesn't really tell the story of Paul, just part of it.
I claim that the book is unfinished because Acts doesn't tell what happened to Peter, Paul, or the other apostles. The last mention of Peter is in chapter 15, when he attends the Jerusalem Council and helps determine that gentiles should not be forced to follow Jewish dietary laws. So if someone is wanting to know what Peter does after he leaves Jerusalem, Acts is of no help whatsoever. The last mention of Paul is in the last chapter of Acts. The book leaves him in house arrest in Rome (60 A.D.). Does Paul never leave house arrest? Did he ever make it to Spain, like he mentions in one of his letters? IF our only source of information was Acts, we would never know the rest of
the story.
So where do we find out what happened to the apostles after chapter 28??? Fortunately a historian by the
name of Eusebius decided to write down what he was told. The problem is that he didn't write down these traditions until the 4th century. He became a friend to Constantine, who was the first Christian emperor, and took it upon himself to write down a brief history of the Christian church from the resurrection up to the conversion of Constantine. So much of what we know about the apostles comes from Eusebius. Some of what he wrote is factual, other parts are probably fairy tale.
The rest of the story
Keep in mind that for most of these apostles, we do not know for sure the exact circumstances of the apostles’ deaths. Some of them are stories that have been passed down, with no historical evidence.
The 11:
James: the brother of John, was the first apostle to be martyred. The account of his death is in the book of Acts (12:2). According to Eusebius, he was accused of being a Christian to Herod, and then gave an account of the gospel in his hearing. The person who accused James was so moved by his presentation that they were both beheaded together.
Andrew: The brother of Peter was crucified in southern Greece, where he hung on the cross for 2 days, all the while exhorting Christ to the witnesses.
Philip: crucified in the 50’s in Turkey
Bartholomew: Preached the gospel in present-day Iraq, Iran, and India. He was crucified in India.
Thomas: Was pierced with a sword in spear in India. There is still a church today in India that claims to have been founded by Thomas.
Matthew: Killed with the sword around 60 A.D. in Ethiopia
James, the brother of Jesus: became the first bishop of the church in Jerusalem. He was chosen to that position by Peter and John, according to Eusebius. He was stoned by Jews at the age of 90, and then beaten with a fuller’s club.
Jude: Crucified in the early 70’s in Turkey
Simon the Zealot: Either crucified in Britain or burned in Persia.
Matthias: stoned in Jeruselem
John: the only apostle not be be martyred, he was exiled to the island of Patmos where he wrote the book of Revelation.
Peter:
It is hard to get information on Peter's life after the time recorded in Acts, but he may have visited Asia Minor or Corinth, though ultimately he settled in Rome. Two New Testament letters bear his name,
Since his death, the church in Rome claimed to have special prestige from his life and death in their city, with the Vatican bascilla of St Peter's said to be built above the site of his martyrdom. Peter was given more prominence by the Church in the time of Pope Leo the Great (who died in 461), and since then all Popes claim a spiritual descendancy from Peter.
Paul:
Paul claimed his legal right to appeal to the highest court in Rome. To Rome, therefore, he went, but as a prisoner under a Roman guard, and on a journey that was highly eventful with its storms and a shipwreck. When Paul arrived safely in Rome, then, it was as a prisoner, kept under house arrest for a couple of years.
Here the story in the Acts of the Apostles ends, with its picture of Paul still preaching and teaching with no further attempt made to stop him.
According to one early tradition, Paul was released from prison, and he was able to travel again as a missionary before being arrested once more. Then, before his death, Paul may have visited the congregations that he had founded earlier, and some people think that Paul did indeed fulfill his desire to reach Spain.
Early Christian traditions attest that Paul died as a martyr at the hand of the Roman government.