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Reflecting on Charlie Kirk’s martyrdom, Christ’s redemptive blood, radical forgiveness, and the apostles’ costly faith—calling believers to take up the cross with courage, surrender, and hope.

On 10 September 2025, Charlie Kirk walked up to his tent podium at Utah Valley University. He did not know that day he would be speaking his last words and that he would soon be martyred for his faith.

Charlie Kirk’s blood is still speaking to us today as we celebrate the 4-month anniversary of his cruel assassination on Saturday, 10 January 2026.

In the Bible, blood is holy because it represents life given by God. God declares, “The life of the flesh is in the blood” (Leviticus 17:11).

The first time blood is said to speak is in the account of Cain and Abel. After Cain murdered his brother, God said, “Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground” (Genesis 4:10). Abel’s innocent blood spoke a cry for justice, revealing that God hears the testimony of shed blood.

Throughout the Old Testament, blood was required for atonement because sin brings death, and life must be given for life. These sacrifices pointed to Jesus Christ. In the New Testament, Scripture says that the blood of Jesus “speaks a better word than the blood of Abel” (Hebrews 12:24).

Abel’s blood cried for judgment; Christ’s blood cries out for mercy, forgiveness, and reconciliation. Blood is holy because it carries life—and through Jesus, it now speaks salvation.

Who better to interpret a man’s blood than a man’s wife? The one with whom he is one.

I was shocked, and the world was shocked, when Erika Kirk spoke in front of many millions of people after her husband’s murder.

“That man, that young man… I forgive him,” Erika Kirk said, wiping away tears as the audience at Kirk’s memorial at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz., erupted in applause. “I forgive him because it was what Christ did and is what Charlie would do.”

I was shocked, but God was not, because He and His son were working together. John 3:16 spells it out, “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

Jesus said these words as he was dying on the cross, hanging naked between two thieves, his only adornment a crown of thorns. The blood was running out of his body, yet he found the strength to say these amazing words, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”

The message of Jesus, as Hebrews says, was carried in his blood which came to us through the cross, a simple message of love and forgiveness.

The Twelve Apostles: Following Jesus All the Way to the Cross

When Jesus called the twelve apostles, he did not offer comfort, status, or safety. He offered a cross. In the first century, a cross was not a metaphor for inconvenience or hardship. It meant one thing and one thing only: death by crucifixion.

To carry a cross was to walk toward the most painful, humiliating execution the Roman world could devise. Convicted criminals were forced to carry their own crosses to the place of death, enduring mockery, shame, and public disgrace along the way (John 19:17).

So, when Jesus said, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me,” he was calling his followers to absolute surrender—even to death.

The twelve apostles understood this call. After the resurrection and ascension of Christ, they did not retreat into safety. They followed in his footsteps, proclaiming the Gospel in hostile territories, confronting religious and political powers, and paying the ultimate price for their faith.

James, the son of Zebedee, was the first apostle to be martyred. Around AD 44, he was executed by the sword under King Herod Agrippa I (Acts 12:2). His death confirmed that following Jesus would indeed cost lives.

Peter, the bold leader of the apostles, preached the gospel across the Roman world. According to early church tradition, he was crucified in Rome under Emperor Nero, requesting to be crucified upside down because he did not consider himself worthy to die in the same manner as his Lord.

Andrew, Peter’s brother, preached in Greece and Asia Minor. Tradition records that he was crucified on an X-shaped cross in Patras, preaching the gospel to the crowds until his death.

Thomas, remembered for his doubt but transformed by faith, carried the gospel eastward, as far as India. There he was reportedly pierced by spears while praying, becoming a martyr far from Jerusalem.

Philip preached in Phrygia (modern-day Turkey) and was reportedly crucified or executed for his faith after boldly confronting pagan worship.

Bartholomew (Nathanael) is traditionally believed to have taken the gospel to Armenia and parts of India. He was martyred by being flayed alive and then beheaded—one of the most brutal deaths attributed to the apostles.

Matthew, the former tax collector, preached in Ethiopia and Persia. Early sources say he was killed by the sword for his witness to Christ.

James, the son of Alphaeus, sometimes called James the Less, is believed to have led the church in Jerusalem and was eventually stoned or beaten to death for refusing to deny Jesus.

Thaddaeus (Jude) preached in Mesopotamia and Persia. Tradition holds that he was killed with arrows or clubs for his faith.

Simon the Zealot is believed to have preached in Persia and was martyred there, possibly sawn in two.

Matthias, chosen to replace Judas Iscariot, proclaimed Christ faithfully and was reportedly stoned and then beheaded.

John, the beloved disciple, stands as the exception. Though persecuted, he was not martyred. According to early tradition, he was thrown into boiling oil in Rome but miraculously survived. He was later exiled to the island of Patmos, where he received the revelation recorded in the book of Revelation. He died of old age, faithful to the end.

Jesus warned his followers plainly, “Whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it” (Matthew 16:25–26). The apostles took these words literally. They lost their lives, but they gained eternity and an eternal harvest of souls.

Charlie and Erika were each carrying their cross.

One to widowhood, and Charlie to martyrdom and the shedding of his own blood, but his blood still speaks today!

My wife and I pray for Erika Kirk each morning for comfort in her loss. We also pray for the courage to follow in the footsteps of the Apostles and Charlie Kirk. It is a scary story and a scary prayer. I might add that I am not good at this prayer, but I am working on it.

Both Charlie’s and the Apostles’ stories remind us that the call to take up the cross is not symbolic comfort—it is total surrender. Yet the reward is matchless multiplication. As Tertullian’s words remind us, “The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church,”

The apostles followed Jesus to the end, proving his words of wisdom found in John 12:24, “I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat is planted in the soil and dies, it remains alone. But its death will produce many new kernels—a plentiful harvest of new lives.”

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Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.