Watching this video Should Christians OPPOSE the Death Penalty?! (What Bible Says…) ft. David Nasser | Live Free, pastor talked about Telemachus and a cross in the Colosseum which made me want to explore who this is. Walk into Rome’s Colosseum and you will see a large wooden cross standing on the arena’s northern side. Many people link the cross to Telemachus, a monk said to have died trying to stop gladiatorial combat. The earliest account comes from Theodoret of Cyrrhus, a fifth-century bishop and church historian (Ecclesiastical History, Book V, chapter 26). According to Theodoret:
- Telemachus lived an ascetic, monastic life and traveled from the East to Rome.
- He entered an arena during a gladiatorial contest and tried to separate the fighters.
- The enraged spectators stoned him to death.
- Emperor Honorius honored him as a martyr and ended the gladiatorial spectacle.
That is the historical core: a Christian peacemaker stepped into public violence and became its victim.
What the Bible says about people like Telemachus
Telemachus is not in Scripture, but his story echoes Scripture’s pattern in several ways.
Peacemakers step into the danger
Jesus says, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God” (Matthew 5:9). He adds a blessing for those persecuted for righteousness (Matthew 5:10-12). Peacemaking in the Bible is rarely safe.
- Abigail rode out to meet an armed David and stopped a massacre, taking the blame on herself (1 Samuel 25:18-35).
- Jonathan stood between David and his father Saul’s violence (1 Samuel 19:1-7).
- Esther risked her life before the king for her people: “If I perish, I perish” (Esther 4:14-16).
Evil is overcome by good
Paul writes, “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (Romans 12:21). The pattern runs through Scripture. Joseph tells the brothers who sold him that they meant evil but God meant it for good (Genesis 50:19-21). David spares Saul when he could have killed him (1 Samuel 24). Jesus prays for his executioners: “Father, forgive them” (Luke 23:34).
Love that lays down its life
“Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (John 15:13). John applies it directly: “we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters” (1 John 3:16).
The closest biblical parallel to Telemachus is Stephen. He was stoned by an angry crowd and prayed for his killers as he died (Acts 7:54-60). Like Telemachus in Theodoret’s account, Stephen died by stoning, and his death did not end his witness. Acts shows his death scattering believers and spreading the message (Acts 8:1-4).
Others in Scripture were willing to die rather than compromise. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego trusted God whether or not he rescued them (Daniel 3:16-18). Jesus told the church in Smyrna, “Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you life as your victor’s crown” (Revelation 2:10).
A place of violence, a place of remembrance
The cross in the Colosseum gives this reflection a physical setting. A site associated with public cruelty became a place to remember Christ’s self-giving love. The Bible has promises that fit this movement:
- God promises “a crown of beauty instead of ashes” (Isaiah 61:3).
- He promises that swords will be beaten into plowshares and nations will not learn war anymore (Isaiah 2:4).
- And he promises to wipe away every tear (Revelation 21:4).
The pattern is older than the Colosseum cross. Golgotha was a place of public execution before it became the center of Christian hope (John 19:17-18).
Why the story matters
Hebrews describes those who were mocked, flogged, stoned and killed, “of whom the world was not worthy” (Hebrews 11:35-38). It then says we are surrounded by “such a great cloud of witnesses” (Hebrews 12:1).
We may never know exactly where Telemachus died, what he said, or how the crowd reacted. The Bible’s promise does not depend on that. God does not forget acts of costly love: “God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him” (Hebrews 6:10). Jesus says even a cup of cold water given in his name will not go unrewarded (Matthew 10:42).
Telemachus, at the least, is remembered as someone who walked into another person’s suffering at personal risk. That call is not limited to monks in ancient Rome. It is the invitation of Matthew 5:9, Romans 12:21 and John 15:13 to everyone who follows Jesus: make peace, overcome evil with good, and love when it costs something.
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