These are the unnamed heroes of faith in Hebrews, although some of them are named in the Old Testament. Two women are recorded as having a child raised to life again.
What was achieved by their sufferings? When the Roman Catholic church burned martyrs, it was often a long and cruel procedure lasting hours. It glorified God that people were willing to die for him. It would have maintained and confirmed the truth. ‘They stick to their beliefs’, the people would have said. It would have challenged the pagans watching; it would have been a challenge to other believers. The martyrs derived great joy even dying in agony, there is a special experience for those who suffer for the Lord. We have to endure so little by comparison. Surely we can stand. They knew there would be a bodily resurrection. No doubt they believed that had they not known the Lord, they would have endured eternal pain. The words ‘better resurrection’ suggest reasoning and comparison going on in the mind of the sufferers. We are not Stoics: when we experience suffering, we put up with them because something much better is in store, an eternal weight of glory. We will see and enjoy things much greater than any we experience now. It is a great assurance to suffer well for Jesus Chris, for we realise that we could not have stood without his help. The trial will show that the enemy of souls has failed and was wrong in what he said about the stability of the saints, and so this brings glory to God.