*** SHOW NOTES (not fully edited or a transcript) ***

Lead:

Was the apostle Paul martyred? And what does that have to do with being an ambassador/Christian apologist?

Intro:

If you’re paying attention, it’s interesting that there are crazy parallels between what’s going on with Paul and what happened with Jesus. Let’s be careful not to read too much into it, but some have argued that Luke was intentional about how he wrote Acts. At very least it’s at very least an interesting study of humanity. Both Jesus and Paul…

…are hated by leaders who want to kill them but are afraid of the people.
…are arrested by mobs.
…are put on trial in Jewish courts and later turned over to Roman authorities.
…are falsely accused of teaching something contrary to Jewish law…by witness who make up crap.
…defend the resurrection with Sadducees (who don’t believe there is a resurrection) present.
…found innocent by Roman standards.
…are killed anyway, in part, to placate the Jews.

So sit tight on that last point, and we’ll come back to that in our All Our Minds segment.

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Bible:

Passage: Acts 27-28
Translation: ESV (English Standard Version)
Verses: 75
Words: ~1748

All Our Minds:

So we have no biblical record of how Paul dies. But as secular evidence suggests, it’s reasonably probable that he was beheaded by Nero in approximately 64-67 AD. Here’s the conclusion from Sean McDowell’s textbook, The Fate of the Apostles: Examining the Martyrdom Accounts of the Closest Followers of Jesus.

1. Paul was in Rome—the highest possible probability (possible authorship of Philippians from Rome; 2 Timothy 1:16–17; 2:9; Acts 28:17–31; 1 Clement 6:1; Ignatius, The Letter to the Romans 4:1–3; Tertullian, Scorpiace 15:4–6; Acts of Paul; the lack of any competing narrative).
2. The martyrdom of Paul—the highest possible probability (2 Tim 4:6–8; Acts 19:21–28:31; 1 Clement 5:5–7; Ignatius, Letter to the Ephesians 12:2; Letter to the Romans 4.3; Letter to the Philippians 7:1; Dionysius of Corinth [Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History 2.25]; Irenaeus, Against Heresies 3.1.1; Acts of Paul; Tertullian, Scorpiace 15:5–6; The Prescription Against Heretics 24, 36; the lack of any competing narrative weighs favorably for the traditional view; the early and persistent tradition is that Paul was martyred for his faith).
3. Martyrdom during the reign of Nero, AD 64–67—very probably true (Acts of Paul; Tertullian, Scorpiace 15:5–6; the chronology of Paul’s life82).
4. The beheading of Paul—more probable than not (Acts of Paul; Tertullian, Scorpiace 15:4; The Prescription Against Heretics 36; Hippolytus on the Twelve 13; Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History 2.25; lack of any competing version of his death).

The bottom line

There’s a key point I want to make in sharing this. Remember that apologetics is providing rational reasons for the truth claims of Christianity, and sometimes we use reason to come up with plausible explanations. As you’ve heard today, we simply use evidence and apply reason, and most importantly, we speak in terms of probability. We’re always going to encounter people who talk out their ying yangs, and sometimes those are even fellow Christians. But given the fact that Christianity is based in history, I think we’re better off when we honestly address known evidence in a fair and straightforward way. Let others exaggerate and speculate. The good news is that we don’t have to.

Wisdom:

Passage:
Translation:
Verses:
Words:

Love you!

-R

ForTheHope is a daily audio Bible + apologetics podcast and blog. We’ve got a passion for just keepin’ it real, having conversations like normal people, and living out the love of Jesus better every single day.

Roger Courville, CSP is a globally-recognized expert in digitally-extended communication and connection, an award-winning speaker, award-winning author, and a passionately bad guitarist. Follow him on Twitter -- @RogerCourville and @JoinForTheHope – or his blog: www.forthehope.org.

Sources and resources:

Thank you for supporting this ministry should you choose to use the Amazon affiliate links below.

(1) Sean McDowell, The Fate of the Apostles: Examining the Martyrdom Accounts of the Closest Followers of Jesus (New York, NY: Taylor and Francis, 2015), Kindle, 113-114. (This is a textbook, but it’s awesome. Link.)

Not used today, but one of my faves! —> Crossway Bibles, The ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008), 2505.

#917: Acts 27-28 | Why Paul's martyrdom should give you hope