– In a religious sense, it is suffering inflicted on a person, sometimes even death, for his adherence to faith.
– In the OT the martyrdoms of Eleazar and the seven brothers are narrated along with their mother:
2Mc 6,18-31 : There was a certain man, already advanced in years and of handsome appearance, Eleazar, who sat in the first place.
2Mc 7,41 : Following in the footsteps of all her children, the mother perished last.
– Isaiah prophesies about the sufferings of the mysterious Servant of Yahweh, applied by the Holy Fathers to the Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth.
– At the threshold of the NT, the martyrdom of John the Baptist is recorded for having denounced Herod’s misconduct:
Mt 14,1-11 : At that same time, the tetrarch Herod heard about Jesus. And he said to his courtiers, “It is John the Baptist who has risen.”
Mk 6,14-29 : It was said: “John the Baptist rose from the dead and therefore the power to work miracles operates in him”.
Lc 9,7ss : Herod heard about all that Jesus did and was perplexed. Some said: “It is John who rose from the dead”.
Lk 3,19s : Herod the tetrarch, rebuked by him on account of Herodias, his brother’s wife.
– The massacred children who died in place of the Child Jesus are the first Christian martyrs:
Mt 2,13-18 : Arise, take the child and his mother and flee to Egypt; stay there until I let you know.
– Jesus Christ, the great martyr of Calvary, died on the cross to save us. He preferred to die rather than give up his doctrine of love for all the world:
Mt 27,32-50 : On their way out, they met a man from Cyrene named Simon, whom they forced to carry the cross of Jesus.
Mk 15,21-23 : A certain man was passing by […] named Simon […] and they forced him to carry the cross to him.
Lc 23,26-46 : They stopped a certain Simon of Cyrene, who was returning from the countryside, and imposed the cross on him.
Jo 19,17-30 : He himself carried his cross out of the city, towards the place called Calvary.
– In the wake of Jesus, the first martyr after his Ascension to heaven was Stephen:
Acts 6:8–7 :60 : Stephen, full of grace and strength, performed great miracles and wonders among the people.
– Then Herod had James, the brother of John, killed:
Acts 12,1-3 : Herod ordered the arrest of some members of the Church […]. So he killed James the brother of John with the sword.
– And arrested Peter:
Acts 12:3-5 : Seeing that this pleased the Jews, he had Peter arrested.
– The apostles, in their almost totality, including Paul, suffered martyrdom:
Phil 2:17 : Even if I have to shed my blood on the sacrifice in honor of your faith, I rejoice and congratulate you.
2Tm 4,6 : As for me, I am on the point of being sacrificed and the moment of my liberation is approaching.
Heb 10:32 : Remember the days of old, when you were enlightened. How long and painful struggles have you sustained.
Heb 11:36 : Others suffered mockery and scourging, chains and imprisonment.
Heb 12:4 : You have not yet resisted to the point of blood in your struggle against sin.
1Pt 4:12 : Beloved, do not be troubled by the fire of trial, as if something extraordinary had happened to you.
Rev 2:13 : You did not disbelieve me, even in those days when my faithful witness Antipas was killed.
Rev 6,9.11 : When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of men immolated because of the Word of God.
Rev 7 :9: After that, I saw a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language.
– See RESCUE, TESTIMONY.
