Lecture 8: Forms of Witness—martyrdom and
apologetic
of being restored to life by him; but for you there will be no
resurrection to life” (2 Macc. 7:14).• The Gospel of John and the book of Revelation depict Jesus as a
witness to God in the face of death.
o In John’s Gospel, Jesus tells Pontius Pilate, “For this I came
into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs
to the truth listens to my voice” (John 18:37). And before his
death, he tells his followers, “You must bear witness as well,
for you have been with me from the beginning” (15:27).o The book of Revelation, in turn, calls Jesus the faithful witness
in the shedding of his blood (1:5, 3:4), and his followers are
also witnesses (19:10).• In the 2nd century, martyrdom came to be regarded by many
believers as the perfect form of discipleship. They saw themselves
conforming completely to the pattern of suffering for others in
witness to God’s truth that was established by Jesus.
o Already Paul had spoken of believers “bearing in their body
the death of Jesus” (2 Cor. 4:10), and if they are thus totally
conformed to Christ in his death, they can hope to share in his
Resurrection (Phil. 3:11).o Those who “confess Christ” in the face of persecution, torture,
and the threat of death but fall short of actual death were
accorded second rank of honor as witnesses and came to be
called “confessors.”Notable and Anonymous Martyrs
• The tradition of martyrdom in Christianity began with the apostles,
especially Stephen, who was, according to Acts, put to death by
stoning by the Jewish court, and Peter and Paul, who were killed in
the persecution in Rome under Nero. The tradition continued in the
2 nd and 3rd centuries among both notable and anonymous believers.