June 29 is said to be the day that Paul was martyred on. Today it is a day that is set aside to remember all Christians martyred for Jesus. I previously mentioned some martyrs from scripture in my sermon Martyrs in the Lord’s Army on Memorial Day weekend. Today I would like to share just a small handful of the millions who have been martyred for Jesus. It is important that their names and stories are not forgotten. Many Christians are still martyred today and many more will be in the future. I wonder how many of us would be willing to die for Jesus. Most if not all of these men were also severely beaten or otherwise tortured many times before their actual deaths. Often times they were intended to have been killed by their persecutors, but God kept them alive for a little longer until he decided to call them home.
Every one of the apostles with the exception of John was martyred for Jesus and they tried to kill John as well. James is mentioned in scripture as having been martyred for Jesus. He was beheaded by king Herod. (Acts 12:1-2 1 Now about that time Herod the king stretched forth his hands to vex certain of the church.
2And he killed James the brother of John with the sword.) James was the first of the apostles martyred. I also previously mentioned how Peter was crucified on a cross just as Jesus had predicted. (John 21:18-19 18 Verily, verily, I say unto thee, When thou wast young, thou girdedst thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest: but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not.
19 This spake he, signifying by what death he should glorify God. And when he had spoken this, he saith unto him, Follow me.) Scripture does not mention the deaths of the rest of the apostles but their deaths have been passed down through the centuries. Matthew was a missionary to Ethiopia where he was beheaded, though some sources say he was speared to death. Thomas was a missionary to India where he was slain with a dart. Simon the Zealot preached in Mauritania, throughout Africa, and in Britain. He was crucified. Andrew, the brother of Peter, was crucified in Ethiopia by Egeas the governor of the Edessenes. Andrew boldly destroyed the idols of the people as he proclaimed Jesus. Philip was crucified and then stoned to death while preaching in Hierapolis, a city in Phrygia. Bartholomew was a missionary to the Indians and translated the gospel of Matthew into their language. He was beaten with staves, then crucified, and then had part of his skin removed and was beheaded. Thaddaeus was a missionary to Armenia where he was killed either by arrows or a javelin. James the son of Alphaeus was a missionary to Syria where he was stoned to death for preaching Jesus. The apostle Paul was once stoned and left for dead. (II Corinthians 11:25 Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep;) God kept him alive to later be beheaded by a sword at the command of Nero, the Roman emperor.
Others from scripture where also martyred. I mentioned Stephen being stoned to death in my previous sermon. (Acts 7:59 And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.) Mark was the first bishop of Alexandria, Egypt. He was tied up by ropes and burnt with fire. James, the brother of Jesus, was thrown down to the ground from the top of the temple. He did not die from the fall and prayed that Jesus would forgive them who tried to kill him. He was then stoned to death. Matthias who was chosen to replace Judas Iscariot as an apostle, though not chosen by God, that would be Paul, is said to have preached around the Black Sea, but came back to Jerusalem where he was stoned to death. Luke, the beloved Physician is said to have continued Paul’s ministry after his death and was himself hanged on an olive tree in Greece.
The Waldensians were a group of Christians that were persecuted by the Roman Catholic Church for centuries. They had been in the Roman Catholic Church but after reading scripture were saved and strictly adhered to the Holy Bible. They were excommunicated by the pope as heretics. In 1211 more than 80 Waldensians were burned as heretics at Strasbourg by the Roman Catholic Church. The Roman Catholic Church tried to force the Waldensians to return to Roman Catholicism. When they refused they were ordered to be massacred. On April 24, 1655 at 4 a.m. on Easter morning in France, over 1,700 Waldensians were killed by the Roman Catholic Church. The Waldensians were raped, tortured, killed, and had their belongings looted. Peter Liege said of the massacre “Little children were torn from the arms of their mothers, clasped by their tiny feet, and their heads dashed against the rocks; or were held between two soldiers and their quivering limbs torn up by main force. Their mangled bodies were then thrown on the highways or fields, to be devoured by beasts. The sick and the aged were burned alive in their dwellings. Some had their hands and arms and legs lopped off, and fire applied to the severed parts to staunch the bleeding and prolong their suffering. Some were flayed alive, some were roasted alive, some disemboweled; or tied to trees in their own orchards, and their hearts cut out. Some were horribly mutilated, and of others the brains were boiled and eaten by these cannibals. Some were fastened down into the furrows of their own fields, and ploughed into the soil as men plough manure into it. Others were buried alive. Fathers were marched to death with the heads of their sons suspended round their necks. Parents were compelled to look on while their children were first outraged [raped], then massacred, before being themselves permitted to die.” Pope Francis in 2015 admitted that the Roman Catholic Church did this. Does this sound like a Christian church?
The Huguenots were French Protestants when France was controlled by the Roman Catholic Church. They were constantly persecuted by the Roman Catholic Church. One of these persecutions is known as the St. Bartholomew’s Day massacre. Many Huguenots had gathered in Paris for the wedding between the king’s sister and the Protestant Henry of Navarre who later became the king of France as Henry IV. About five days later on August 23 at night, the massacre began. The massacre spread to the other provinces of France and lasted until October 3. Estimates on the number killed vary greatly with low estimates at 3,000 in Paris on the first night with another 7,000 in the provinces and a final total of 25,000 to 30,000 killed. A Roman Catholic apologist admits to 2,000 killed. The head of the leader of the Huguenots, Coligny was sent to the pope, though it is claimed by some that he never received it. The pope approved of the massacre and sent the king of France a Golden Rose which is a golden ornament given by the pope to people as a token of affection or in this case approval. The pope also had three paintings made depicting the death of the Huguenot leader Coligny, a medal struck showing an angel with a sword killing the Huguenots, and a Te Deum [Roman Catholic hymn] was to be sung as a thanksgiving for the massacre. Does this again sound like a Christian church, especially the actions of the pope who supposedly represents and speaks for Jesus here on Earth? Would Jesus do these things? No he would not.
William Tyndale was an Englishman who translated the Holy Bible into English. His desire was that all people would be able to read God’s word themselves and discover the truth. John Wycliffe’s translation, the only other English translation had been banned by the Roman Catholic Church which controlled England, ninety years earlier. No one in the church in England supported Tyndale translating the scriptures into English. He had to leave England to avoid persecution. A bounty was put out on him and he was betrayed by a man who pretended to be his friend in order to get the bounty. He was placed in a cold, dark prison for almost two years before being condemned to death. He was hanged and hung above a fire. His dying prayer “Lord, open the king of England’s eyes.” was to ask God to open the eyes of the king [king Henry VIII] to allow scripture in English. Tyndale was martyred in 1536, but in 1538 God answered Tyndale’s prayer when Henry VIII allowed the translation of the Matthew Bible in English which was mostly Tyndale’s translation. In 1539 the king ordered all printers and sellers of the Holy Bible to offer it free to all in the English language. This answer to pray would later bring us the King James Bible, God’s preserved word.
Dulal Sarkar was a lay pastor of the Bangladesh Free Baptist Church. This area was mostly Muslims. Dulal had recently won several Muslims to the Lord. For doing this he was attacked and killed by ten Muslims who slit his throat so deep that his head was separated from his body. Prior to his execution, he was told not to preach anymore or they would kill him that moment. Dulal said “I will not stop the ministry God has called me to perform.” When he finished saying that, they beheaded him. He was martyred on March 8, 2005.
Bill Koehn, Kathy Gariety and Martha Myers, were Baptist medical missionaries, who were killed Dec. 30, 2002, at Jibla Baptist Hospital in Yemen by a Muslim militant. Bill Hyde was a Baptist missionary who was killed in a terrorist bombing in the Philippines on March 4, 2004. David McDonnall, Larry and Jean Elliott and Karen Watson were all Baptist humanitarian relief workers who were killed by insurgents on March 15, 2004, while driving in Iraq in a drive by shooting.
Immanuel Andergeresgh and Kibrom Firemichel were two evangelical Christians in Eritrea who secretly met with others to worship Jesus as open worship was forbidden. The only churches allowed in Eritrea were the Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and Lutheran churches along with the religion of Islam. These two men were captured during a nighttime bible study. Immanuel who was 23 and Kibrom who was 30 were arrested along with 38 others. They were tortured for two days before these two men died due to the beatings and dehydration for worshipping Jesus and not being a part of the three recognized denominations. These men were willing to take the risk of their lives to worship Jesus. I pray every one here is willing to do the same if it ever comes to that. Many Christians in Eritrea have suffered severe persecution for following scripture and not being a part of one of the three state recognized denominations. This includes being kept in shipping containers with freezing temperatures in the winter and well over a hundred degrees in the summer.
Pastor Vincentor was a pastor of a church in Nigeria. He had been warned of Muslims who were attacking Christians in the area near the church where he pastored. He was willing to risk his life to go to the church to preach to his flock. He was shot and killed by Muslims.
Many Christians in Orissa, a state of India, have been killed as the Hindus try to force Christians to become Hindus. During attacks in August 2008 at least 4,000 Christian homes were destroyed, 115 churches burned or destroyed and over 500 Christians killed.
A shooter came to the Sutherland Springs Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas on November 5, 2017 and shot and killed 26 people including a child in the womb and wounded 20 others. This man did not directly kill these people because they were Christians, but they were killed because they went to worship Jesus.
Many more stories can be found in the books Foxe’s Book of Martyrs and Foxe Voices of the Martyrs as well in other places such as Voice of the Martyrs magazine.
All of these people were martyred for believing in Jesus and keeping the faith. They did not deny Jesus when challenged. God said he would reward those who stand for him and die for him with a martyr’s crown and everlasting life. (Revelation 2:10 Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.) (Matthew 5:10 Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.) We all must be willing to die for Jesus so that we may have everlasting life. (Matthew 16:25 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.) May all of us stay strong in the faith as we serve Jesus, even if it means the loss of our lives. Let us always keep our fellow Christians in prayer especially those who are in bonds as they may become the next Christian martyrs. (Hebrews 13:3 Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them; and them which suffer adversity, as being yourselves also in the body.)
