How do we determine the value of something? If I have a sports card with an estimated
value of $1,000.00, but my friend John will not pay more than $100.00 for it,
how much is it worth? I would say that
it is worth $100.00 to John, because the value someone places upon something is
determined by the price they are willing to pay for it. I bring that up today in order to ask you
this question: how much is Jesus worth to you?
If we follow this logic, Jesus is only as valuable to you as the price you are willing to pay for Him.
In Revelation
2:8-11, Jesus charged the church
in Smyrna to pay the ultimate price
for His name’s sake. He called them to be
fearless and faithful in the face of suffering and death, and He could ask this
of them because Jesus is worth following even into suffering and death. We must remember just how much Jesus is worth
today because believers are still called to be fearless and faithful in the
face of suffering and death should we have to face it. My prayer is that God would use this text
today to help us see Jesus as a King worth dying for.
“And to
the angel of the church in Smyrna write: ‘The words of the first and the last,
who died and came to life. “‘I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you
are rich) and the slander of those who say that they are Jews and are not, but
are a synagogue of Satan. Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the
devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and
for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give
you the crown of life. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to
the churches. The one who conquers will not be hurt by the second death.’ (Revelation
2:8-11 ESV)
I.
Hearing the Text:
Again, each of these seven addresses to the
churches has the same basic structure: an introduction
(8), addressed to the angel of the church and containing a description of
Christ, a body (9-10), containing a
diagnosis of the church and a prescription for faithfulness, and a conclusion (11), containing a closing
exhortation and a promise. The theme of
each address is a call for the church to persevere
in order to experience eternal life.
a. Introduction
(2:8)
This address is given “to the angel of the church in Smyrna” (9a). Smyrna was a beautiful and proud Roman city
where worship of the imperial court was pervasive. It was home to temples dedicated to the
goddess Roma, Zeus, Cybele, and Tiberius.
There was also a large Jewish population in Smyrna that was actively
opposed and hostile towards Christianity. These two factors made for an
environment in which a faithful church would suffer greatly, which is exactly what we see in this passage. This was a persecuted church.
This again reminds us that those who truly belong to Jesus will suffer in a world hostile to Him.
We’re
not even a full two chapters in yet and this is the third time we have seen
this theme of the church being a people that are “siblings” and “partners”
in patiently enduring persecution and suffering for the sake of Christ’s
kingdom (1:9, 2:2). Probably none of these seven churches
identified with this reality more than the church at Smyrna.
This reality also helps us see why Jesus describes
Himself as “the first and the last, who
died and came to life” (9b). This
would speak volumes to these suffering believers, reminding them that Jesus is the Sovereign Ruler and Victor
over suffering and death. He RULES over
all history as “the first and the last,”
controlling the past and the future. He
RULES over suffering and death, having displayed this power in His own
resurrection from the dead. As we saw in
Revelation 1:17-18, Jesus is the one
who holds “the keys to Death and Hades.” What an encouragement to believers who are
suffering for His sake!
b. Body (9-10)
What is interesting about the church at Smyrna is
that it is one of only two churches that receive no rebuke from Jesus in these addresses. That means that this was a faithful church, and this faithful
church would also be encouraged by Jesus’ diagnosis of their current
situation. Here Jesus reminds them that He is fully aware of His people’s suffering. Remember that a major truth we learn from the
letters to the churches is that Jesus KNOWS His church. He has omniscient
knowledge of their situation. We see
first that He knows the content of
their suffering. The suffering of the
church at Smyrna is described as their “tribulation,”
their “poverty,” and their “slander” (9a). In the book of Revelation, “tribulation” refers to persecution when
it concerns believers (which is does here) and God’s judgment when it concerns
unbelievers. Part of the persecution
that these believers suffered included property destruction, loss of
employment, and being barred from buying or selling in the local trade guilds,
leaving them in “poverty.” Notice that even though these believers are
experiencing poverty, Jesus also knows that the greater reality is that they
are “rich” in Him! The church at Smyrna also experienced “slander” from a group of people who “say that they are Jews and are not.”
This shows us that Jesus also knows the source of their suffering. He knows who is persecuting them, their true
identity, and the ultimate power behind them.
Jesus says these slanderers that are claiming to be Jews but are really
not are actually part of a “synagogue of
Satan.” This is a reference to the
Jewish presence in Smyrna that was hostile to Christianity. History reports that these Jews would often
align with the Romans and encourage them to persecute Christians. As Paul would explain in Romans 2:28-29, these Jewish people were not truly “Jews.”
Though they claimed to be the people of God, they were in fact tools of
Satan, the ultimate source of their
persecution. We’re reminded here that “we do not wrestle against flesh and blood,
but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over
this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly
places.” (Ephesians 6:12) In the book of Revelation, we learn that Satan
desires to attack the church both from within (corruption) and from without (persecution).
Jesus’ prescription for this church reveals that
He also knows the extent of their
sufferings. They are “about to suffer” even more (10a). The “devil”
is going to throw some of them “into
prison” and they are going to have to be “faithful unto death” (10b).
I take this to mean that some of them are going to have to die for their
faithfulness to Jesus. Church history
records that a later pastor of this very church, Polycarp, would be burned alive
for his faithfulness to Christ. But
notice that as severe as this suffering will be, it is not something that they
should fear. I’m reminded here of Jesus’ words in Matthew 10:26-33: [26] “So have no fear of them, for nothing is covered that will
not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. [27] What I tell you in
the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on the
housetops. [28] And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill
the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.
[29] Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall
to the ground apart from your Father. [30] But even the hairs of your head
are all numbered. [31] Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than
many sparrows. [32] So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also
will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, [33] but whoever
denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.
This prescription also alerts us to fact that
Jesus knows the purpose of their
sufferings. Their sufferings are so that
they “may be tested” (10c). As Sovereign Ruler over suffering and death,
Jesus uses our suffering and dying in order to test us. This “test” works in two ways: it distinguishes genuine believers from
nonbelievers and it strengthens the faith of genuine believers through the very
tests that they endure. This is what is
means to be more than a conqueror in
Christ (Romans 8:37): to have the
very trials that we endure serve only to conform us more into the image of our
Savior Jesus Christ!
A final thing we see in this prescription is that
Jesus knows the reward of their
suffering. This reward is implicit in that their sufferings will
be for a period of “ten days” and explicit in that their sufferings will
be rewarded with “a crown of life” (10d). The reference to “ten days” is an allusion to Daniel
1:12-16, and describes a brief period
of time. The allusion to Daniel 1:8-20 is extremely
important. Basically, king
Nebuchadnezzar instructed his chief eunuch to take these young Jewish boys and
turn them into good pagan boys. Daniel
and his three colleagues were being tempted to compromise with the pagan
religion around them and to recognize the king as divine. When they refused, they were tested for ten days. So here Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and
Azariah chose the possibility of being persecuted and even killed for their
faith over partaking in the idolatry around them. After their testing, God exalted them. I think this allusion is meant to remind
these believers that if they will be faithful for their “ten days,” that they will be exalted as well.
The crown of life is a metaphor for eternal
life. It refers to a victor’s garland,
or wreath, that someone would win at athletic games or military victories. It means that they will be crowned, or
rewarded, with eternal life. This
promise reminds us that the Christian life is a race (Hebrews 12:1-3) in which death is the finish line that Jesus
stands at with open arms. It is meant to
remind us of what Paul said in Romans
8:18: “For I consider that the
sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is
to be revealed to us.”
c. Conclusion
(11)
Jesus issues another promise to the churches for
those who have ears to hear. He promises that the one who conquers will
not be hurt by “the second death” (11). This is a reference to “the lake of fire,” or the place of final judgment for the wicked (Revelation 20:11-15, 21:8). This is another promise of eternal life. It is interesting to note that “cowards” are listed among those who
will experience the second death, because what being a “conqueror” will mean for these believers will be refusing to be a
coward and remaining “faithful unto
death.” Again, in Revelation,
someone who conquers is always someone who perseveres
(remains faithful to God) to the very end, because true Christians persevere.
II.
Heeding the Text:
This is a charge for churches and Christians to be
fearless and faithful in the face of suffering and death. Why can we do so? Why should we do so? Again, the value of
something is determined by the price someone is willing to pay for it. We can and we should because Jesus is worth
following even into suffering and death.
This is the main point that I take from this passage: that believers are
called to be fearless and faithful in the face of suffering because Jesus
Himself and the rewards that He promises are worth paying the ultimate price of suffering and dying.
Make no mistake about it, the call to follow Jesus
is a call to suffer and die. As a matter
of fact, if one is not prepared to do so, they cannot genuinely call themselves
Jesus’ disciples (Luke 9:23-24). Dietrich Bonheoffer said, “The cross is not the terrible end to an
otherwise God-fearing and happy life, but it meets us at the beginning of our
communion with Christ. When Christ calls
a man, he bids him come and die.”[1]
What is troubling to me is why we who would claim to be willing to die for Jesus are not willing to live for Him. It is equally troubling to me why we try so
hard to fit in with this world when Jesus stated clearly that we would hated by all nations for His sake (Matthew 24:9).
Also, make no mistake about this: if the church is
to fulfill it’s mission to preach the gospel to all peoples, then she must be
prepared to embrace suffering and death for Christ’s sake. There’s a reason unreached people are
unreached. Most of them are either
extremely hard to get to or are extremely hostile to Christianity. Consider the story of John and Betty
Stam.
“They were missionaries with China
Inland Mission. Having met each other at Moody Bible Institute, they sailed for
China separately—she in 1931, he a year later. They were married by Reuben A.
Torrey on October 25, 1933, in Tsinan. John was twenty-six; Betty was
twenty-seven.
The region was already dangerous
because of the civil war between the Chinese Nationalist Party and the Chinese
Communist Party. On September 11, 1934, Helen Priscilla was born. Three months
later, her parents were beheaded by the Communists on a hill outside Miaosheo,
while tiny Helen lay hidden where her mother left her with ten dollars in her
blanket.
Geraldine Taylor, the daughter-in-law
of Hudson Taylor (the founder of the China Inland Mission), published the story
of the Stams’ martyr- dom two years after their death. Every time I read it,
the compounding of the preciousness and the pain by the marriage and the baby
make me weep.
‘Never was that little one more
precious than when they looked their last on her baby sweetness, as they were
roughly summoned the next morning and led out to die. . . . Painfully bound
with ropes, their hands behind them, stripped of their outer garments, and John
barefooted (he had given Betty his socks to wear), they passed down the street
where he was known to many, while the Reds shouted their ridicule and called
the people to come and see the execution.
Like their Master, they were led up a
little hill outside the town. There, in a clump of pine trees, the Communists
harangued the unwilling onlookers, too terror-stricken to utter protest—But no,
one broke the ranks! The doctor of the place and a Christian, he expressed the
feelings of many when he fell on his knees and pleaded for the life of his
friends. Angrily repulsed by the Reds, he still per- sisted, until he was
dragged away as a prisoner, to suffer death when it appeared that he too was a
follower of Christ.
John had turned to the leader of the
band, asking mercy for this man. When he was sharply ordered to kneel—and the
look of joy on his face, afterwards, told of the unseen Presence with them as
his spirit was released—Betty was seen to quiver, but only for a moment. Bound
as she was, she fell on her knees beside him. A quick com- mand, the flash of a
sword which mercifully she did not see—and they were reunited.’”[2]
The only thing that can put a
smile on the face of a mother and father facing execution is the persuasion of a better reward and that
those left behind will be cared for by God’s sovereign hand.
Finally, remember that when we speak of
sufferings, especially Jesus’ awareness of them, we must always remember that Jesus’
awareness of our sufferings isn’t only a matter of His omniscience; it is also
a matter of His experience. Jesus is
aware of our sufferings because He has tasted ultimate suffering for us. He has suffered greater affliction than we
ever will for us. It is because of His
victory over the grave that His followers can so fearlessly and faithfully
stare death in the face and press on.
May we see Him as a King worth dying for today.
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