Scholarly Reflections
Daly, Robert J. "Part 3: The Early Christian Literature Before Origen: Chapter Two: The Treatises on the Passover and the Acts of the Martyrs in the Second Century." Christian Sacrifice: The Judaeo-Christian Background Before Origen. Washington, D.C.: The Catholic University of America Press, 1978, 373-388.
Daly identifies two second century Christian commentaries pertaining to the Pascha which are intact (Daly 1978, 373). These each contain an exegesis of Exodus 12 and an exposition discussing Christ, with a focus on his passion (Daly 1978, 374). Daly considers the exegetical portions to be very rich. He comments on them in ome detail. Much of the material finds ways to allegorize the events of the Pasch so as to associate them with Jesus. This, in turn, easily is related to the events of the Eucharist. Daly thus finds the Pasch, Jesus' sacrifice, the eucharist, and the eating and drinking of the Christian all related to eternal nourishment (Daly 1978, 377).
The Acts of the Martyrs, also from the second century, connect the sacrificial death of martyrs with the eath of Christ (Daly 1978, 378). Daly sees this as connected to the late Jewish view that martyrdom played an atoning role. The martyrologies, further, use the verbs typical of sacrificial offerings, describing the act as θύειν (Daly 1978, 380). Additionally Daly describes a number of elements in accounts of martyrs before saying, "In brief, the view of martyrdom, or of martyrdom as sacrifice, which is presented in these works can be described as a kind of Christ-mysticism" (Daly 1978, 382).
Martyrdom is also sometimes cast in terms of a gladiatorial contest. In this fight, the adversary is the devil (Daly 1978, 383). The martyrdom itself is often seen as an act which the martyr offers to God, though this is expressed by implication and not directly (Daly 1978, 384).
Because God is not limited by space, the martyrs themselves, notably Justin, Carpus, and Appolonius, describe themselves as not offering only a physical sacrifice but also a spiritual sacrifice.They are conscious that the Body of Christ is not limited to physicality but that worship is in spirit and truth (Daly 1978, 386).