So You Had a Bad Day

            New year off to a bad start? Maybe the following experiences (according to various traditions) of ten of the original twelve disciples will make you feel better:

What Became of the Apostles?

              1. Judas Iscariot, after betraying his Lord, hanged himself.

              2. John died an old man in Ephesus.

              3. Peter was crucified, head downward, during the persecution of

                   Nero.

              4. Andrew died on a cross at Patrae, in Achaia, a Grecian Colony.

              5. James, son of Alpheus, was thrown from a pinnacle of the Temple, and then                                 beaten to death with a club.

              6. James, the elder son of Zebedee, was beheaded at Jerusalem.

              7. Thomas, the Doubter, was martyred in India, by a lance.

              8. Philip was martyred (some ancient sources recorded he was hanged on a                                  pillar) at Hierapolis (now Turkey).

              9. Thaddeus was martyred in Persia.

            10. Matthew was martyred in Ethiopia.

            Again, I emphasize these are not nailed-down facts. Still, I feel confident a thread of truth runs through these stories to reveal to us that being an original disciple of Jesus was not easy.