"He said to them, "But now let the one who has a moneybag take it, and likewise a knapsack. And let the one who has no sword sell his cloak and buy one." For I tell you that this Scripture must be fulfilled in me: 'And he was numbered with the transgressors.' For what is written about me has its fulfillment. And they said, "Look, Lord, here are two swords." And he said to them, "It is enough."" Luke 22:36-38
In the previous parts, we looked at the correct interpretation and understanding of this passage. We even looked at some historical quotes from the critics and opponents of Christianity, and some quotes from early Christian teachers. Now we are going to look at the continued evidence of what early Christianity has to say through the martyrs.
Blandina and the Martyrs of Lyons (177 A.D.)
"But the blessed Blandina, last of all, like a noble mother who had encouraged her children and sent them forth victorious to the King... rejoiced and gloried in her departure... after the scourges, after the wild beasts, after the roasting-seat, she was finally enclosed in a net, and thrown before a bull." —Eusebius, Church History, Book 5, Chapter 1
Saint Speratus and the Scillitan Martyrs (180 A.D.)
"I recognize not the empire of this world; but rather do I serve that God whom no man hath seen, nor with these eyes can see. I have committed no theft; but if I have bought anything I pay the tax; because I know my Lord, the King of kings and Emperor of all nations." —Acts of the Scillitan Martyrs
The "Thundering Legion" (c. 174 A.D.)
"They [the Christian soldiers] did not rely on their weapons or their strength, but they prostrated themselves on the ground and prayed to the only God... and so the enemy was scattered without the shedding of blood by our hands." —Apollinaris, cited in Eusebius, Church History, 5.5
Apollonius the Apologist (c. 180–185 A.D.)
"For we have been commanded by Him [Christ] not to revile when we are reviled, nor to blaspheme when we are blasphemed, nor to strike when we are struck... we have been taught to die for the sake of the Truth." —Acts of Apollonius
Saint Nereus and Saint Achilleus (late 1st or early 2nd Century)
"Nereus and Achilleus the martyrs had given their names to the military... but suddenly they threw away their shields, their armor, and their blood-stained spears. Having confessed the faith of Christ, they rejoiced to carry his triumph." —Epitaph of Pope Damasus
Saint Julian of Alexandria and Cronion (c. 250 A.D.)
"They were praised for their gentleness, for they refused to strike back at those who tormented them, following the example of the Lord who was led as a lamb to the slaughter." —Eusebius, Church History, Book 6, Chapter 41
Saint Polyeuctus (c. 259 A.D.)
"I have now become a soldier of the King of Kings. I despise your earthly honors and your weapons of war." —Acts of the Martyrs
Saint Maximilian of Tebessa (295 A.D.)
Dion (Proconsul): 'Serve and receive the seal [the military mark].'
Maximilian: 'I shall not receive the seal. I already have the seal of Christ my God... I cannot serve the world. I have already told you: I am a Christian.'
Dion: 'In the sacred retinue of our lords Diocletian and Maximian, Constantius and Maximus, there are Christian soldiers and they serve.'
Maximilian: 'They know what is fitting for them. But I am a Christian, and I cannot do evil.'
Dion: 'What evil do they do who serve?'
Maximilian: 'You know what they do.'
"Maximilian: 'I will not serve. You may cut off my head, but I will not serve the powers of this world; I am a soldier of my God.'
—The Acts of Maximilian
Saint Typasius the Veteran (c. 297–298 A.D.)
"I have already told you that I will not serve. I am a Christian; I cannot serve the world; I cannot be a soldier of the emperor, but only of my God." —Passio Sancti Typasii Veterani
Saint Marcellus the Centurion (298 A.D.)
"I throw down my arms; for it was not right that a Christian man, who serves the Lord Christ, should serve in the armies of the world... I cease from this time to be a soldier of your emperors." —Acts of Marcellus, 1
"I am a soldier of Jesus Christ, the eternal King. From henceforth I cease to serve your emperors... it is not right for a Christian to serve the armies of the world." —Acts of Marcellus, 2
Saint Cassian of Tingis (298 A.D.)
"Marcellus has been condemned by a most unjust sentence... I will not serve your emperors, nor will I be a minister of your laws, which are written in blood." —Acts of Cassian
Saint Misas (c. 300 A.D.)
"I am a soldier of the living God. I can no longer serve the emperor in the shedding of blood." —Acts of the Martyrs of the East
The Egyptian Church Order / Apostolic Tradition (c. 300 A.D.)
"A soldier in the command of a magistrate shall be taught not to kill; if he is commanded to do so, he shall not do it. If he will not follow this instruction, let him be rejected [from the church]." —The Egyptian Church Order, 16
Saint Tarachus (304 A.D.)
Maximus (Governor): 'What was your rank in the army?'
Tarachus: 'I was a soldier, and I was born a Roman; but because I am a Christian, I have chosen to be a civilian.'
Maximus: 'Do not tell me of your God, but tell me if you will serve as a soldier.'
Tarachus: 'I have left the military service of the earthly king to serve the King of Heaven... I will not perform your military service, nor will I sacrifice to your gods.'
—Acts of Tarachus, Probus, and Andronicus
Saint Julius the Veteran (304 A.D.)
"During all the time that I was, as it appears, in the service of the world, I never committed a crime. And now, do you think that I, who was faithful in the lower service, can be unfaithful in the higher?" —Acts of Julius the Veteran
Saint Achilleus (c. 304 A.D.)
"I have been a soldier of the king of this world. But I have now become a soldier of the King of Heaven. I can no longer take the lives of men." —Acts of the Martyrs (General Collection)
The Thebaid Martyrs (c. 304 A.D.)
"They received the final sentence of death with gladness and exultation and laughter; so that they sang and offered up hymns and thanksgivings to the God of the universe until their very last breath." —Eusebius, Church History, Book 8, Chapter 9
Saint Theogenes (c. 320 A.D.)
"I am a Christian. I cannot serve in the army. I cannot do what is wrong." —Acts of Saint Theogenes
The early Christians did not distinguish between "religious" and "secular" violence. In other words, they did not say that if you were being persecuted for your faith that you should take it in stride, but if you are being violated by any other means you should defend yourself. The early Christians believed the prohibition against violence was absolute, extending beyond mere religious persecution to include cases of self-defense, the protection of property, and the defense of family. Lactantius summarized it well: "If a man is 'just,' he cannot kill even a guilty person who is attacking him, because the act of taking life is a violation of God's creative prerogative."
Western Christians, especially American Christians, desperately need to learn this truth and appropriate it unto themselves. They have this false, unbiblical idea that they have the "right" to defend their person, their property, and their family from any and all harm. The early Christians of the first three centuries would contend greatly against such assertions! They were consistent in their conviction that one should never sin (commit murder) to prevent a sin (being mugged, a break-in, the rape of one's own daughter, etc.). That is what the law is for, if the law is just.
Professing "Christians" today think that the most extreme situations (e.g., the rape of your wife or your daughter) are supposed to sway you. The early Christian response to such a horrific scenario was based on three specific pillars that differ significantly from today's modern perverse "just war" or "self-defense" theories:
- The Martyr Ethic: They believed that the highest form of protection for a family was not physical violence, but intercessory prayer and the willingness to die with or for them. They viewed death as a transition, not an ultimate defeat.
- The Definition of Defilement: To the early Christians, being a victim of sexual assault was a "passion of the body" that did not defile the person's standing with God. However, killing was a "work of the soul" that directly violated the commandment "Thou shalt not kill." They argued that you cannot "save" someone by destroying your own soul through homicide.
- Trust in Divine Vengeance: They took literally the verse, "Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord" (Romans 12:19). They believed that the perpetrator would face a far more terrifying justice from God than any human sword could provide.
In short, the early Christians' answer was that a Christian should use their body as a shield, offer their own life in place of their wife or children, and endure any horror rather than take up the sword, believing that Christ would ultimately vindicate the innocent in the resurrection.
There is significant historical evidence that sexual violence (the rape of wives and daughters) was used as a tool of humiliation and punishment against Christian women during the Roman persecutions. In the Roman world, the "honour" of a woman was inextricably linked to her sexual purity. Roman authorities were aware that for Christians, virginity and chastity were not just social virtues but sacred commitments to God. Consequently, threatening a woman with sexual assault was often seen as a more effective way to break her will—or the will of her family—than physical execution alone. Observe:
1. Documented Judicial Sentences:
The Case of Saint Agnes (c. 304 A.D.): "According to tradition, when the teenage Agnes refused to marry the son of a prefect or sacrifice to pagan gods, she was ordered to be stripped and sent to a brothel." —Acts of Saint Agnes
Saint Potamiana (c. 205 A.D.): "Eusebius records that a beautiful young woman in Alexandria named Potamiana was threatened by a judge with being handed over to gladiators for sexual abuse if she did not recant." —Eusebius, Church History, Book 6
Theodosius I and the 'Law of Prostitution': "Later historical records mention that Roman law allowed judges to condemn women found guilty of certain 'crimes' (including Christianity) to work as prostitutes. This was so prevalent that Emperor Theodosius I eventually had to pass laws specifically abolishing the practice." —Socrates Scholasticus, Ecclesiastical History, Book 5
2. Sexual Humiliation in the Arena
Saint Perpetua and Felicity (203 A.D.): "In the Passion of Saint Perpetua and Felicity, these two women were stripped naked and placed in nets to be gored by a wild cow. The crowd was so disturbed by the sight of their bodies—highlighting their motherhood and femininity as a means of shaming them—that authorities were forced to provide them with tunics." —The Martyrdom of Perpetua and Felicity
Blandina of Lyons (177 A.D.): "Eusebius describes Blandina, a slave girl, being hung from a stake in the arena. The phrasing used by historians often emphasizes the exposure and 'spectacle' of the female body as a specific layer of the torture." —Eusebius, Church History, Book 5
3. The Evidence of Pagan Critics
Even the enemies of Christianity documented this. The pagan philosopher Celsus and various Roman officials mocked Christians for their "weakness" and noted that Christian women were vulnerable. The fact that people like Augustine and Jerome had to write long theological defenses explaining why a woman who is raped is not "defiled" in the eyes of God proves that these events were occurring frequently enough to cause a massive crisis of conscience within the community.
Eusebius of Caesarea records specific threats of brothel-confinement in Church History. In City of God, Augustine of Hippo addresses the mass rapes during the Sack of Rome, looking back at the precedents of the martyrs. The Acts of the Martyrs consist of historical legal transcripts—though often stylized—that document Roman judges systematically threatening women with sexual violence as a judicial tool to force them to recant their faith. Roman Law records lenocinium (pimping) being used as a judicial penalty for women of "low status" or "criminals." Extreme situations are not excuses to violate the teachings of Jesus!
It was not until after Emperor Constantine that professing Christians began to entertain ideas of "just war," to which ignorant individuals like C. S. Lewis even prescribed to and defended. If the early Christians would not defend Rome as their native country, what makes Americans, Australians, Britons, and Canadians think that they need to defend America, Australia, Britain, or Canada? Christians should have no part in such things as they are citizens first of the Kingdom of God! Our allegiance is to Christ our King! Not to America! Not to Australia! Not to Britain! Not to Canada! No Christian should be a "patriot" to the country they are born to or have immigrated to! No Christian should serve in the military! Those who did, did not brandish weapons against the enemies, but kneeled in prayer.
If you profess to follow Jesus, if you profess the name of 'Christian,' then imitate Jesus!