MARTYRS AND CONFESSORS
Chapter 44

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» In the Early Church

 

n the first two centuries after Jesus' birth, things were somewhat different from today in much of the western world. An atheist was someone who did not believe in the gods of the Roman empire-the emperor being one of those gods. Other religions were tolerated from time to time, but inevitably they were subject to restriction and at times banishment. The Roman policy generally allowed other religions, especially in newly conquered lands, to practice their beliefs as long as they didn't cause problems for the Romans.

The Christians, however, caused problems.

The Christians did not cause problems out of contempt or resistance, though. They had a different message for the world, and when Roman cultists were attracted to it, attendance at pagan temples decreased. Former cult members stopped buying statues of the pagan gods. They stopped buying and offering sacrifices to those gods. In some areas virtual economic crisis occurred.

These and other disturbances motivated Roman authorities to do something about the Christians. Christians were rounded up and commanded to deny Christ, bow down to the gods of the Roman empire, and burn incense to them. Christians who would not were tortured and put to death. Thousands were burned alive or fed to the starved lions in the Colosseum at Rome, all for the "amusement" of the people. It is hard to imagine an arena full of high-class Romans cheering wildly, as at a spectator sport, while other human beings were being slaughtered, burned or torn apart before their eyes.

It began, of course, with the original apostles. Tradition tells us that many of Jesus' apostles and almost all of the New Testament writers were martyred for their faith. They chose death at the hands of persecutors rather than deny the facts of the life of Jesus which they were passing on to a new generation of Christians. Eusebius, considered to be generally accurate in what he reports, records the martyrdoms of Peter (crucified upside down), Paul (beheaded), James the brother of Jesus (stoned and clubbed), and James the brother of John (killed by the sword). Acts 12:2 is a much earlier source for the death of James the brother of John, and Josephus is a much earlier source for the death of James the brother of Jesus. Tradition holds that Thomas was killed by a spear and that Thaddaeus was put to death by arrows. Bartholomew is reported to have been flayed alive and crucified upside down. Tradition from the fourth century holds Luke to be a martyr. Other tradition has Mark dying a martyr's death in the eighth year of Nero. John is reported to have been boiled in oil but miraculously survived.

For Christians, however, suffering was not a tragedy, but an opportunity. It was the very opportunity which eventually secured victory for Christianity over the entire Roman Empire. The martyrdom, torture, and threats of death suffered by Christians actually attracted others to the Christian faith. Those who witnessed their peaceful surrender to, and in some cases eager anticipation of, suffering for Jesus were confronted with the reality of what it meant to know the true God personally. Historian Philip Schaff states:

The final victory of Christianity over Judaism and heathenism, and the mightiest empire of' the ancient world, a victory gained without physical force but by the moral power or patience and perseverance, of faith and love, is one of the sublimest spectacles in history, and one of the strongest evidences of the divinity and indestructible life of our religion.

It does not appear to have been a conscious realization at the time, but the willful suffering of the Christians also verified for succeeding generations their solid conviction that the writings and oral testimony passed to them about Jesus were the truth. It was a well-known saying among those early Christians that the blood of the martyrs was the seed of the church. For all who fell, more came to take their place. Tertullian even challenged the heathen governors:

But go zealously on.... 1,011 us, torture us, condemn us, grind us to dust.... The oftener we are mown down by you, the more in number we grow; the blood of Christians is seed.... For who that contemplates it is not excited to inquire what is at the bottom of it? Who, after inquiry, does not embrace our doctrines? And when he has embraced them, desires not to suffer?

Others confessed Jesus under the threat of death but were not executed. These were held in honor as "confessors."

Certainly it is true that many people throughout history have died for what they thought to be true, even though it may not have been. But the Christian martyrs of the first two centuries AD confirm at least three important facts. First, whatever doubts might be raised from late tradition being unreliable as to whether certain apostles endured martyrdom, the testimony of second- and third-generation martyrs indicates that most of the apostles before them died for their testimony. If the students were willing to die for their faith, how much more the teachers?

Further, the voluntary sufferings and deaths of the original eyewitnesses and disciples of Jesus confirm that the basic historical information they passed on was true. If they knew, for example, that Jesus had not performed miracles or had not risen from the dead, because they themselves had stolen the body, what possible motivation would they have had to go out and die martyrs' deaths for spreading these lies?

Second, the continued suffering and martyrdom of second-, third- and fourth-generation Christians confirms that, at the very least, any thinking person would make every possible effort to verify the accuracy of the gospel reports. From the very beginning, such a vast Christian network of multiplication spread out across the empire that it would have been easy enough to verify the historical events of Jesus' life. Even 120 years after the death of Christ, at least one godly Christian, Polycarp, was still living who could verify what some of the original disciples of Jesus had reported.

A third fact confirmed by the early reports is that the early Christians considered moral and ethical integrity more important than life itself. These Christians do not appear to be wild-eyed fanatics. Nor are they simply zealously devoted to a particular philosophy of life. They are men and women who, at the very least, are saying by their shed blood, "I cannot deny that Jesus of Nazareth lived, taught and died, and has been raised from the dead to demonstrate that He is Messiah and Lord and God."

CLEMENT OF ROME (Died ca AD 102)

He may be the Clement mentioned by Paul in Philippians 4:3. Origen calls him a disciple of the apostles. 23 According to Eusebeus, he was bishop of Rome from AD 92 to AD 101. Tertullian writes that he was appointed by Peter. Late tradition says he was a martyr, but the earliest writers up to Eusebeus and Jerome mention nothing of it. At the very least he would have felt the pressure of leadership over a religio illicita, or unlicensed religion, in the Roman Empire. He would have been the congregation's leader during the persecutions under Domitian. "In striking contrast with the bloody cruelties practiced by Domitian, he exhorts to prayer for the civil rulers, that God 'may give them health, peace, concord, and stability for the administration of the government he has given them.' "

Clement's letter to the Corinthians is the only extant work from him which is accepted as genuine. It was written about AD 95 or 96. In it he tells of the martyrdom of Paul and Peter. Significantly, he also quotes from Matthew, Mark, Luke and Acts, as well as 1 Corinthians, 1 Peter, Hebrews, and Titus.

IGNATIUS (Died ca AD 117)

On his way to certain martyrdom at Rome, Ignatius wrote seven letters, six to churches and one to his friend, Polyearp. He had been the bishop of the church at Antioch before his arrest and condemnation to death. His letters reflect a victorious faith which looks forward to the opportunity of suffering for Christ. Some details of his martyrdom are questioned, but the fact of his martyrdom is not. Polycarp's report of it around AD 135 confirms that he was thrown to the lions in the Colosseum at Rome for the amusement of the people. Tradition calls him a disciple of Peter, Paul and John.

Ignatius writes of a number of historical facts, and quotes from Matthew, John and Acts as well as many of Paul's letters, James and 1 Peter.

POLYCARP (ca AD 69-155)

Polycarp, disciple of John, maintained a relentless devotion to Christ and the Scriptures. His famous death as a martyr demonstrated his trust in the accuracy of the Scriptures. He was the chief presbyter (bishop) over the church at Smyrna and the teacher of Irenaeus of Lyons. The account of his martyrdom is given in a letter from the church at Smyrna to other churches. Except for a few insertions, the letter is held by scholars to be genuine and substantially correct in what it reports. At one point it tells of Polycarp being led into the stadium and questioned before the proconsul. The crowds were said to be in a great tumult, hearing that it was "the atheist" Polycarp.

The proconsul demanded that he "swear by the genius of Caesar; repent and say, Away with the Atheists." Polycarp looked out on the masses, gestured toward them with his hand, and looking up to heaven said, "Away with the atheists." When it was demanded the he revile Christ, Polyearp responded, "Fourscore and six years have I been His servant, and He has done me no wrong. How then can I blaspheme my King who saved me?" After further threats Polycarp responded, "You threaten that fire which burns for a season and after a while is quenched: for you are ignorant of the fire of the future judgment and eternal punishment, which is reserved for the ungodly. But why do you delay? Come, do what you Will." 27 At this point Polyearp was burned at the stake and thrust through with a sword.

JUSTIN MARTYR (ca AD 100-166)

Born in Flavius Neapolis, formerly Shechem, Justin grew up well educated but ignorant of Moses and Christianity. He called himself a Samaritan. During his early manhood he sought successively to become a Stoic, a Peripatetic, a Pythagorean, and finally a Platonist. When almost convinced of the truth of Platonism, he met a dignified and gentle old Christian man on a walk not far from the coast. He reports that as he investigated the Christian faith, he was moved by the fearless courage of the Christians and their steadfastness in the face of death. After becoming a Christian he became a fearless and energetic defender of the Christian faith at a time when it was most under attack. Schaff judges that as a lay preacher he "accomplished far more for the good of the church than any known bishop or presbyter of his day." 30/2:714 In AD 166, along with six others in Rome, he sealed his testimony with his own blood. There he was scourged and beheaded at the instigation of a Cynic philosopher, Crescens, whom he had confronted with the truth of the gospel.

ORIGEN (AD 185-ca 254)

Origen lived one of the most intense Christian lives of history. He was born in Egypt and educated by his father, Leonides, probably a rhetorician. While still a boy, Origen had memorized vast portions of Scripture. In AD 202 his father was martyred under the persecution of Septimus Severus. Origen wanted to die with his father but was prevented from leaving his house when his mother hid his clothes during the night. Origen went on to a brilliant career as a writer, teacher and preacher. One opponent of his said that he had written six thousand books. Jerome says he wrote more books than others could read. Admittedly many were tracts, letters, and homilies, as well as lectures which others recorded and published. In his writings, he quotes the New Testament more than eighteen thousand times.

Origen, intense defender of the Christian faith, took the words of Jesus literally and seriously. He owned only one set of clothes and no shoes. He took no thought for the morrow. During the persecution of Decius in AD 250, Origen was "put in chains and tortured, suffered the experience of the iron collar, was placed in stocks and confined to a dungeon." "Origen" He died shortly after -- at least a "confessor" if not a martyr.

» Twentieth-Century Suffering

RICHARD WURMBRAND

The Rev. Richard Wurmbrand is an evangelical minister who spent 14 years in communist imprisonment and torture in his homeland of Rumania. He is one of Rumania's most widely known Christian leaders, authors and educators. Few names are better known in his homeland.

In 1945, when the communists seized Rumania and attempted to control the churches for their purposes, Richard Wurmbrand immediately began an effective, vigorous "underground" ministry to his enslaved people and the invading Russian soldiers. He was eventually arrested in 1948, along with his wife Sabina. His wife was a slave-laborer for three years. Richard Wurmbrand spent three years in solitary confinement -seeing no one but his communist torturers. After three years he was transferred to a mass cell for five years, where the torture continued.

Due to his international stature as a Christian leader, diplomats of foreign embassies asked the communist government about his safety. They were told he had fled Rumania. Secret police, posing as released fellow prisoners, told his wife of attending his burial in the prison cemetery. His family in Rumania and his friends abroad were told to forget him since he was now dead.

After eight years he was released and promptly resumed his work with the underground church. Two years later, in 1959, he was re-arrested and sentenced to 25 years in prison.

Mr. Wurmbrand was released in a general amnesty in 1964, and again continued his underground ministry. Realizing the great danger of a third imprisonment, Christians in Norway negotiated with the communist authorities for his release from Rumania. The communist government had begun "selling" their political prisoners. The going price for a prisoner was $1,900. Their price for Wurmbrand was $10,000.

In May, 1966, he testified in Washington before the Senate's Internal Security Subcommittee and stripped to the waist to show 18 deep torture wounds covering his body. His story was carried across the world in newspapers in the United States, Europe and Asia. Wurmbrand was warned in September, 1966, that a decision had been made by the communist regime of Rumania to assassinate him. Yet he is not silent in the face of these death threats. He has been called "the voice of the Underground Church." Christian leaders have called him "a living martyr" and "the Iron Curtain Paul."

The following is an excerpt from Wurmbrand's book, Tortured for Christ.

A pastor by the name of Florescu was tortured with red-hot iron pokers and with knives. He was beaten very badly. Then starving rats were driven into his cell through a large pipe. He could not sleep, but had to defend himself all the time. If he rested a moment, the rats would attack him.

He was forced to stand for two weeks, day and night. The communists wished to compel him to betray his brethren, but he resisted steadfastly. In the end, they brought his 14-year-old son and began to whip the boy in front of his father, saying that they would continue to beat him until the pastor said what they wished him to say. The poor man was half mad. He bore it as long as he could.

When he could not stand it any more, he cried to his son; "Alexander, I must say what they want! I can't bear your beating any more!"

The son answered, "Father, don't do me the injustice to have a traitor as a parent. Withstand! If they kill me, I will die with the words, 'Jesus and my fatherland."'

The communists, enraged, fell upon the child and beat him to death, with blood spattered over the walls of the cell. He died praising God. Our dear brother Florescu was never the same after seeing this.

» Missionaries to the Auca Indians

On January 8, 1956, the whole world was stunned by the word that a band of Auca Indians, the fiercest of Ecuador's aborigines, had fatally speared an American missionary pilot, Nate Saint, and his four co-workers, Jim Elliot, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully and Peter Fleming. After official investigation confirmed the tragedy, Ecuadorian troops and missionaries serving adjoining tribes formed an expedition upriver to bury the victims. They found the plane demolished, its fabric torn to shreds.

The pilot was my brother. He and his companions were engaged in what has since become known as "Operation Auca," a mission to carry the gospel of Jesus Christ to this unlettered, Stone Age tribe in the fastnesses of the Amazon.

Through one miracle after another, as told in The Dayuma Story, all five killers confessed Christ as Savior. I believe it is significant that the first to believe among the Auca men were the five living killers - Mmo, Minkayi, Gikita, Dyuwi and Nimonga. When the first baptismal service was held in Tiwaeno, a little more than two years after our entry into the tribe, four of the five were baptized. The fifth was in the second group of baptisms. In this case my brother Phil did the baptizing. Each of the wives also opened her heart to the Lord Jesus Christ and received baptism.

» Reverend Joon Gon Kim

The Rev. Joon Gon Mm is director of Korean Campus Crusade for Christ.

Dr. Kim's experience with the communists has been personal and tragic. When campus strikes broke out in Korea in 1950, Communists swept over all the colleges except one Christian university. Well over 70 percent of the students were in favor of Communism. Thousands of them were financially supported on the campuses by the Russian Communists. These turned out to be the active leaders during the Korean War.

Dr. Kim says, "One night I was awakened by the noise of men calling my name. My family and I were taken where 60 human beings, including the old, and women and children, were being killed. Ten military men, all familiar villagers, were assigned to execute my family. My wife and father were slaughtered before my eyes. I was beaten and left for dead."

Kim survived the savage beating of the Communists, and asked God to give him a love for the souls of his enemies. Kim led 30 of the Communists to Christ, including the leader responsible for the death of his loved ones.

Dr. Kim has first-hand knowledge that Jesus Christ is the answer to Communism, as He is the answer to every other problem in life.

 

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