Pastor Thanael Certa-Werner
Scripture | Revelation 2:8-11 (NIV)
8 “To the angel of the church in Smyrna write: These are the words of Him Who is the First and the Last, Who died and came to life again. 9 I know your afflictions and your poverty—yet you are rich! I know about the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. 10 Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you life as your victor’s crown. 11 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who is victorious will not be hurt at all by the second death.”
Just miles south of the city of Ephesus was the jewel of Asia Minor, the city of Smyrna. By the time Revelation was written, Smyrna had been one of the most important cities in Asia Minor. It was a center of worship and an economic power house. It competed with Ephesus and Pergamum to be the “city of Asia.” Roman historians called it the flower of Asia, a rainbow, and a city reaching up to the heavens. Just like Ephesus, it too was home to the Imperial Cult, having a temple for the worship of Emperor Tiberius. Beyond that, the city had been loyal to Rome for centuries. It contained temples to the goddess Roma, as well as many temples to the traditional Greek gods, such as Zeus, Aphrodite, and Apollo. It was a city which was filled with beautiful temples to various gods – a jewel in the eyes of the Romans.
Also present in the city was a large population of Jews – possibly a whole colony. These Jews had a synagogue present in the city and were one of the many different faiths which were present in the city. What is interesting about the situation is that it seems that these Jews had connections to the Romans and were willing to work with the state. In fact, it seems that the leaders of the Jewish community in Smyrna had some influence with the Romans and were on good terms with their overlords.
This led to a potent mixture for the Christians living in that city. It seems clear from the letter that there was a strong church in the city. This would be in spite of many of the same things which the Christians in Ephesus were experiencing. The worship of the Roman gods and leaders, the pagan temples – all present in both Ephesus and Smyrna. But what was different was that there was now also a strong Jewish community as well and for the Christians of that time and place, this was not a good thing.
Many Christians of the early Church did not consider themselves not Jewish. In fact, most did think of themselves as Jews who had found their messiah. But for the mainstream Jewish community, Christians were seen as heretics who were deceiving people into believing in a false messiah. For the Jewish leaders, the Christians were idolatrous and were cut out of the Jewish community.
This proved to be a potent mixture for the Christians of Smyrna because normally the Romans viewed Christians as Jews. This meant that they saw them as a part of an ancient and worthy religion that was okay to continue existing – at least at first. But what the Romans believed in the most was quelling insurrection. You were allowed to practice your beliefs as long as you didn’t create problems. So when Jewish leaders came before the Roman officials to claim that the Christians were causing problems and leading to anti-Roman thought, the Romans took action.
We know that the Romans would often bring people to jail and leave them there for a time so they could investigate more about the situation. Often, during these spells in jail, people would be tortured for information about others and about their connections. The thought of Roman torture alone was enough to discourage most people from getting in the way of Rome. With this all in mind, let’s turn to the letter to the Smyrnaeans.
“To the angel of the church in Smyrna write: These are the words of Him Who is the First and the Last, Who died and came to life again. 9 I know your afflictions and your poverty—yet you are rich! I know about the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. 10 Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you life as your victor’s crown. 11 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who is victorious will not be hurt at all by the second death.”
What we can gather from this letter is that the Christians in Smyrna were in fact suffering. It seems that they have been ostracized by their community, making it hard for them to live their daily lives. This may mean that they can’t find work, that they are kept from buying things, or that they are taxed harshly and are forced into poverty. We also see what is the main motivator of this problem for the Christians at Smyrna. There are those who are trying to remain faithful to God by snuffing out the Christian faith. But in doing so, they are opposing what God is doing and have taken on the title of Satan – which means “the one who opposes.”
Beyond the problems that the Smyrnaean Christians are already experiencing, it seems that there is more to come. In fact, it seems that they already know that worse problems are arising and are afraid of what’s to come. Christ tells His followers that some will be thrown into prison – meaning that they will likely experience the Roman torture that people who got in the way of Rome experienced. Yet, Christ is calling them to faithfulness, even to the point that they might be killed for being faithful. And He gives a promise for that faithfulness – that if they can remain faithful, they will receive the victor’s crown in heaven, that they will not be touched by the death of the Day of Judgment but will be welcomed into eternal life.
All I can say after reading that is, wow. Imagine what it was like to hear these words. To hear that you would likely be thrown in prison, tortured, maybe killed because of your beliefs. Your logic and common sense would start to scream to get out of it in any way that you could. Tell them your not a Christian any more, leave the church, do anything to avoid that pain!
You know, we as humans have an aversion to pain. I remember when I was in middle school, I fell on a waterfall in a state park and broke my wrist while dislocating my elbow. It was a terrible experience which led to pain throughout my arm, pain when I had to have doctors move parts and remove supports, pain as I started moving my arm again after it had healed, and small pains that I still get every so often from my wrist. That pain kept me away from that state park for almost five years. Even though it was one of my favorites to go to, I stayed away because of the fear of that pain.
Our fear of pain is what keeps us from many things – it can keep us from relationships, new experiences, putting ourselves out there, seeking promotions or raises, even standing up for what is right and what we believe in. In fact, its that very truth that the Romans counted on to keep people in line. If they feared the pain that the Romans could inflict upon them enough, they would never stand up against them. So what Christ is calling His followers to here makes no sense!
Christ is telling people to expect pain – to be ready for it because it is coming, and He is telling them to preserve through it and to remain faithful. In fact, we see throughout the Bible that Christians are called time and time again to be ready for pain, to be ready to work hard and to struggle and to experience setbacks and trouble and hatred and even death. It is estimated that at least 100,000 Christians die every year for their faith today. This isn’t something we want to hear. We want to be able to follow God, to love Christ, and be led by the Holy Spirit in the ways of life. We want to be like Christ, to follow Him – but not necessarily follow Him to the cross.
But that’s the essential problem then. If we claim to love Christ, if we choose to follow Him, then there is no other outcome. What else can we expect if we pray to be like Christ than the cross? The world murdered the Son of God for being the Son of God. If we are the children of God, we can expect nothing else but to be hated and killed for being the Children of God. In fact, if we are truly like Christ, then there can be no other course of action, no other result, no other way than the way of the cross. This is what Jesus is promising the Christians in Smyrna and this is what Jesus is promising His followers here and now. The cost of faith is sacrifice and suffering.
In our world today, it can seem that there is no way that suffering can be a good thing. There is no way that that kind of sacrifice can be twisted to being something redemptive. There is no way that suffering is liberating. And yet, our whole religion – the faith of Christ is built upon the lynch pin of suffering which led to the Redemption of the world. Christians have hope because Christ’s sacrifice has opened the doors of heaven and of eternal life. In the same way, there is redemption in the sacrifice and suffering of the Church because there is redemption in faithfulness and perseverance.
In the letter, Jesus says, “Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you life as your victor’s crown. 11 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who is victorious will not be hurt at all by the second death.” The blessing here is double fold.
In one hand, when we are faithful to God, God is faithful to us. What I mean is that when we acknowledge that God is our head, that Jesus is our Lord, that the Holy Spirit is our Guide, then God will acknowledge us in heaven. We will be welcomed into His permanent presence and experience the continual joy of eternal peace and unfathomable love. This is not just a ploy to get into heaven, it is the want to continue to be in the presence of God and the earnest want to be with Him forever.
On the other hand, there is blessing in knowing that God is a God of Justice. The people who do wrong on this earth – the people who violate the sacred laws of morality, who represent the very depths of human depravity and do not repent will receive their punishment. There is justice in God’s Kingdom.
When we remain faithful and persevere through the hard times that we experience, we can do so knowing that we follow in the footsteps of Christ Himself. That Christ has experienced the pain of rejection, the hurt of poverty, the depravity of humanity, and the sting of death. Yet, Christ overcame those pains and rose to eternal life, making possible for us to do the same.
This has been the Christian witness from the very beginning and it has helped the faithful through all points of history. In fact, in Smyrna itself, the Christians would experience this as the bishop of the town, Bishop Polycarp, would be martyred for his faith. Yet, he could face the uncertainties and pain of the future knowing that Christ walked beside him. The same is true for the hundreds of millions of Christians who have persevered through suffering for and because of their faith.
Paul, in his letter to the Hebrews, says it this way,
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before Him He endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:1-2).
Yes, may we run and not grow tired. May we look to the eyes of Jesus and remember the joy that waits for us as we persevere and come to know peace. Amen.