When Following Jesus Could Get You Killed

Today the cross is jewelry, but for Jesus and His disciples, it was an execution device. In this episode of IDKMYDE, B Daht separates scripture from tradition to find out what we actually know about how the Twelve died and just how dangerous it was to say, "I follow Jesus."

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome back, know-it-alls, to another episode of the most anticipated
podcast on the Black Effect Podcast Network. It is entitled,
I Didn't Know. Maybe you didn't either. I am your host, B-Dot,
and boy, we've been on a deep dive in the
New Testament. Yeah, this is the last episode on the
trilogy of the disciples. Well, again, like we learned in

(00:23):
the first episode of this trilogy, anybody who followed Jesus
at the time was a disciple, but Jesus handpicked 12 apostles.
And like we learned last episode, Luke, John the Baptist,
nor Paul were part of that 12. So episode one,
we introduced those 12 cast members. And this final episode

(00:43):
of the trilogy will explain how they all have their
final scenes. But before I give you three of the
most useless facts you'll never need in life and today's episode,
we got to go back to mailbag. Got another DM
and I wanted to share it with you. But before
we get into the mailbag, I've got to take off
my black cardigan and put on my Carolina blue ones.

(01:06):
I've got to kick off these retro one Jordans and
slip on those comfortable lugs. I've got to sit down
in my chair and kick my feet up on the
desk and read my message. This message comes from 100
Dewflower on Instagram. She says, good day, B-Dot. And her

(01:29):
second O in good was a sunflower. I am B-Dot.
thoroughly enjoying the Bible facts featured on your podcast. I
often share Bible trivia with my family and friends, and
I consider your podcast to be among the very best,
and not just within the Black Effect Network, but overall.
Please continue the excellent work. And to 100 Dewflower, I'd

(01:53):
like to say... I will continue the excellent work, and
I appreciate you taking time out of your day to
send us a message. Hear it. I didn't know. Maybe
you didn't either, Headquarters. I, too, am enjoying this series,
and not only am I enjoying it, but I'm also learning.
I'm learning. I'm enjoying. I'm learn-joining. All right, that's enough.

(02:19):
But before I get into these three useless facts, I
want to let you know, I've been enjoying this deep
dive in the Bible. Somebody on Threads told me it
was like Bible study with B-Dot. I'm not opposed. So today,
as I give you three of the most useless facts
you'll never need, not a day in life, we preview
the next two episodes. Up first, Jesus probably didn't have

(02:41):
that shampoo commercial hair that we see in them paintings. See,
in 1 Corinthians 11, 14, Paul wrote that long hair
on a man was considered dishonorable in his cultural context. Now,
that don't prove Jesus' exact haircut, but it does make
that herbal essence, curly, flowy hairstyle we've been seeing for

(03:02):
the past 400 years worth questioning. Your second useless fact, Moses'
mother actually got paid to nurse her own son. Yeah,
after Pharaoh's daughter found baby Moses in the Nile, Moses'
sister helped arrange for a Hebrew woman to nurse him.
And who was that woman? His own mama. So Pharaoh's

(03:25):
daughter then tells her she'll pay her wages to nurse
the child, her child. So Pharaoh's attempt to kill Hebrew
baby boys indirectly results in Pharaoh's household paying Moses' mama
to raise Moses. Now that's crazy. And your third useless fact,
the Bible says nobody knew where Moses was buried. Deuteronomy

(03:50):
34 says Moses died in Moab and was buried in
a valley. But to this day, nobody knows where his
grave is. one of the most important people in the
entire Bible, and there's no known tomb of Moses. Those
have been your three useless facts to preview the next
two episodes to come. But for today's episode of Bible

(04:10):
Study with B. Dot, do you know how all of Jesus'
original 12 died? I told you last episode how John
the Baptist met his fate, but what about Luke? What
about Paul? Because I didn't. I didn't know, maybe you
didn't either. See, you got to understand something. In those times,

(04:36):
following Jesus wasn't safe. Like, we didn't turn the cross
into jewelry. In that time, that was a legit execution device.
John the Baptist, I told you last episode, got beheaded
at the bequest of Herodias. Of course, you know Jesus
got crucified. James, the son of Zebedee, the book of
Acts says King Herod Agrippa had him killed with the sword. Peter,

(04:59):
he got crucified, but he got crucified upside down because
he said he wasn't worthy to die the same way
Jesus did. andrew they crucified him on an x-shaped cross
thomas got speared bartholomew got skinned alive and here's something
else i didn't know most of those details ain't even
in the bible some come from early christian traditions some
from traditions written much later and some conflict with each

(05:21):
other so i'm not gonna turn church tradition into bible
facts but we do know from scripture that james was
executed judas dies after betraying jesus some said he hung
himself some said his body exploded when he hit the
ground suggesting that he might have jumped off a cliff. Now, traditionally,
they say John is the only one who is believed
to have lived to an old age, died of natural causes.

(05:44):
But there is no equally strong historical evidence telling exactly
how every one of the 12 died. And honestly, we
don't know is sometimes the most truthful answer. But here's
what I do know. These weren't 12 stained glass window characters.
They were real people. And that's how I started looking
at the Bible. These weren't just characters in a book.

(06:04):
These were real people. Peter was emotional. Andrew was a connector.
James and John, they were sons of thunder. They was
basically security for Jesus. Philip was practical. Thomas was skeptical.
Matthew was a tax collector. Folks hated him. Simon was
a zealot. Bartholomew? James, the son of Alphaeus, Thaddeus. Judas
was a betrayer. Different personalities, different backgrounds, probably different politics,

(06:29):
all at the same table. And at that time, they
had no clue that Christianity would become the largest religion
in the world. There weren't churches on every corner. There
weren't crosses hanging from chains. Hell, the cross wasn't even
jewelry yet. being a christian at that time meant rome
could kill you and these men watched what happened to
the person they were following and kept following them man

(06:51):
it just hit different when you stop seeing them as
12 names you supposed to memorize and start seeing them
as 12 characters in a real story oh yeah never
forget that paul wasn't one of them and luke wasn't
one of them and somehow john the baptist wasn't one
of them and i didn't know maybe you didn't either
i didn't