March 17 Sermon: Faithful Unto Death

This week, we look at Revelation 2:8-11 and explore the resilience of early Christians who embraced persecution, drawing strength from their faith and the promise of eternal life, as exemplified by martyrs like Stephen and Polycarp. Join us as we delve into the spiritual riches and the eternal crown that await those united to Christ.

Consider these questions as you listen to this week’s message from Revelation 2:8-11:

1. How do the church's story in Smyrna and figures like Polycarp exemplify the triumph of faith over worldly suffering?

2. What is the role of daily preparation in a Christian's life to face spiritual challenges and potential persecution?

3. How does the concept of an "eternal crown" in Christ contrast with the fleeting crowns of the world?

Transcript:

As we've been making our way through the book of Revelation thus far, I've been emphasizing that the book of Revelation is a word of hope to these seven churches who, in the first century, were going to experience great persecution at the hands of the Roman Empire. To first appear in the face of persecution is something that most believers desire to do. No one stops and thinks about persecution and says man, I hope if persecution ever comes, I'm the first one to sell Jesus out. That's not the way we think. No one wants to be the first one to give up their faith. In fact, our aspiration is actually the exact opposite. We see faithfulness as a very important virtue. To have a conviction, to have beliefs and to hold to them is something that we greatly value.

In Scripture we read stories of martyrdom. Specifically, we think of Stephen in the book of Acts. He was boldly proclaiming the gospel in the face of persecution. We also know that there are stories from church history of people who stood strong, and one of the most famous examples of standing strong in the face of persecution is Polycarp of Smyrna, when persecution came for him in the second century. He has a famous statement that it's often quoted Now. Polycarp was a disciple of the apostle John, and persecution came for him in the middle of the second century and he was quite old at this point and he made a very well known statement here. He said 86 years I have served him and he has done me no wrong. How then can I blaspheme my king and savior Now if we were threatened with torture or death? We hope that we would persevere, that we would exhibit the faith like Polycarp or Stephen, but we know that actually standing strong, that actually staying firm in the faith in those situations, is much harder than saying I'm going to do this or thinking that we could do it. We know that actually doing it is hard, and this is why stories of martyrdom are so well known. This is why we say these quotes from people like Polycarp, because they did what we hope we will be able to do if persecution ever comes for us. We hope that we would have the courage to stand strong like they did.

Now, as we come to this address to the church in Smyrna, this idea of standing firm to the end is what comes through more than anything in these few verses today. So let's line out the three points that we have and we'll get into what the Lord had to say to this church. The first thing that we are reminded of is who Christ is. He is the victorious one. We're reminded that he's sovereign over all things. And secondly, the emphasis is that we see the reality of suffering. When you remain faithful, our minds naturally think that faithfulness to God is going to lead us to some sort of easy path. Well, we're going to be faithful to God and God is going to bless us. Life will be easy, but the testimony of Scripture, the testimony of history, is that faithfulness to God is often the path to persecution and the path to suffering. And then, finally, as the passage closes up, we're going to see that, despite suffering and persecution, we have assurance. We have assurance that Christ is victorious and because he's sovereign, he is able to promise the crown of life to those who endure hardship for his sake.

So as we come to this passage today, we find a formula similar to what we saw last week. We're told that this message is to the church in Smyrna and then we have a reminder of the superiority of Jesus. We saw the same thing last week with the address to the church in Ephesus. Last week, we saw that there were some things happening. They were praised for the things that they were doing well, but there was a challenge for them to return to their first love. And here we're going to see something very different. But first we have this familiar statement, this familiar reminder of the power of the Lord Jesus, and the words that are going to follow are words that have power and authority behind them. That's the idea that we want to see the authority of Jesus, reminded of that picture from Revelation 1, and he is the one speaking these words. So we should listen Again.

Call your mind back to that image from the end of chapter 1. Jesus is glorious, he is powerful, and we saw that there's Old Testament language there that's connecting Jesus to the ancient of days, this idea of God in the Old Testament having power and authority. And here specifically, we're reminded that he is the first and the last, he is the Alpha, he is the Omega, the beginning, the end, he is before all things and he remains throughout eternity. We're to be reminded of that nature of God, that he is over all things for eternity. But this is not the only description of power of Jesus that we see here. He is also the one who died and came to life. So John tells us that, yes, in his flesh he suffered death, but unlike anyone before him, he was victorious over our greatest enemy, death, and he was victorious over death in his flesh as well. He has power and authority over death itself Again our greatest enemy, our greatest problem. So this is a great word of comfort for anyone, because we all know that our lives are but a vapor. Right, we try to distract ourselves from this truth with all kinds of things that we chase in this life, but the fact is is that the curse comes for every last one of us. We can't avoid it.

The victory over death, though, is a great comfort to those who are experiencing persecution. Yes, victory over death is a comfort to everyone who has been united to Christ. But think if you're facing the threat of persecution and the threat of death, the news of the gospel would be particularly sweet to you, wouldn't it? And even think about the suffering that we experience, not just persecution, but the suffering that we have in our life. Is the gospel not sweeter when you hear it after you've lost a loved one who was in Christ? Is that message not more powerful? In those moments, again, the gospel is always a comfort, but when you are experiencing suffering, it becomes particularly relevant. It reminds us that, despite what we currently face, there is a hope beyond the moment from the one who is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. And when we're in a moment when we are in a moment when we can't be victorious, when we know that our human ability fails, we have the comfort that Christ is victorious. He has already won victory over our greatest problem.

For us, and all of the churches mentioned in Revelation are facing persecution, but we'll see that the words of Jesus to this church give us an idea that they will face a particularly difficult level of persecution, that it's coming for them in a very strong way, and so we can understand why they are being reminded not only of the power of Jesus, but also of his victory over death, that he is the one who died and came to life. As a reminder of what I've said previously, we have to remember what is going on with this persecution. It isn't that they are worshiping something different. That isn't the only reason. In the Roman Empire, it was a pluralistic society. They didn't care what you worshiped. As long as you could say Caesar is Lord, as long as you could basically worship the Roman state, right.

Well, the city of Smyrna was particularly faithful to the Roman state. In fact, there is a story that at one point the people of Smyrna literally gave the clothes off their backs to provide clothing for the struggling Roman army. And Roman statesman Cicero said that Smyrna was one of Rome's most faithful and most ancient allies, and so you can understand why perhaps persecution was going to come for them in a different way. They are really loyal to Rome, and we see that the reason persecution comes isn't because these people are walking around Smyrna saying Jesus says love one another. Persecution is coming for them because they're saying Jesus is Lord, not Caesar, and so these people in Smyrna who are loyal to Caesar, are bringing this persecution in a way different. Maybe that is going on in other places, but we also get the idea, as we move on to verse nine, that there's maybe more than just this threat from the people who are loyal to the Romans.

As Jesus speaks to the church in Smyrna, he reveals his sovereign knowledge of what they're experiencing. He knows of their tribulation and their poverty, and he also says that they are rich, and what he's implying here is that they have what truly matters in the greater scope of eternity, and they may experience tribulation and they can have everything taken from them, even their lives. But because they have Jesus and they are faithful to him, they are rich in a way that the world can't even fathom. But it is in the next statement that shows us the degree of tribulation that the church in Smyrna is experiencing. It says that they are being slandered by those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. Now, this is a powerful statement that gives us the idea that this isn't just a persecution coming from everyday Roman pagans who are big into Caesar worship and loyal to the Roman state. It shows that they are being persecuted severely also by those Jews in Smyrna who have rejected the Lord Jesus as Messiah.

Now, to be fair, this was not only the case in Smyrna. This was going on in the early, persecuted the church throughout all areas of the Roman Empire. But there's actually evidence from history that this was maybe more severe in Smyrna. As I started out, I showed you that quote from Polycarp and when he was martyred he was in Smyrna. He was Polycarp of Smyrna and there is historical record of there being a Jewish contingent of people at his martyrdom who are particularly full of zeal that he was being killed. They were really enjoying that he was being murdered.

Now, this was more than likely just because they didn't like that he was saying Jesus is the Messiah. It's probably more to that just because in the Roman Empire there was a longstanding understanding. There was an understanding for a long time that as long as things stayed pretty status quo, the Hebrew people could have their religion. They could be Jews, they could worship God however they wanted. Just don't upset the apple cart.

Well, here we have, in the middle of the first century, jesus coming and starting to upset all this, and then they killed Jesus. And yet these people insist that he is alive, that he is Lord, and the first group of them are Hebrews. They are Jews, and so you can understand. Everything is very connected ethnically here with who they worship, and so you have these Hebrews running around saying that Jesus is Lord, not Caesar, and suddenly there's some confusion. The people who want to continue to worship as Jews are likely saying I know they're Hebrews over there, they're ethnically Hebrews, but we don't believe what they believe. Don't take away our Hebrew religion, our Jewish religion. This was why the Jews were persecuting, because this whole balance they had with Rome of keeping things up was under threat because of all these Christians who were now proclaiming that Jesus was Lord. You can understand, it would have been hard for the Romans to make a distinction between the Christians and the Jews, and so this was the threat that the Christians were gonna upset the peace that the Jews had with Rome.

But regardless of the reason for this, jesus has little time for the reasons and he addresses what is going on, and he does it in very harsh language. He says that they're slandering the church at Smyrna and they claim to be Jews, but they are not. Again, it's not that they are pretending to be ethnically Jewish and they're not. That's not the point. The idea expressed here by Jesus is that they are claiming to be those who worship the one true God of Israel, but by their rejection of Jesus and their actions against the church in Smyrna, they're not a synagogue that is in service to Almighty God. Instead, they are a synagogue that is in service to Satan, and this is a very scathing statement.

Rejecting Jesus and persecuting his followers as far from an activity that should be seen as morally neutral. This is not passive activity. It is doing the work of Satan, and Jesus doesn't mince words here, and it reflects his statement in the Gospels where he says that you are either with him or against him, against him. Rejecting Jesus is to oppose him and be in rebellion against his call to repentance. And so we've seen the power and knowledge of Jesus here in these opening two verses of this address to this church in Smyrna, and as we move on to the second point, that suffering is a reality when you're faithful to Jesus, we see the Lord telling them that they should not fear what they are about to face.

Now, this statement telling them not to fear what they are about to suffer is an interesting statement, because if I came up to you and said, hey, you're gonna be suffering here pretty soon, but you don't need to worry about it, I know how I'd react. My over-imagined mind and my overthinking would come up with all kinds of things and the last thing I would do is fear, not right. I would fear more because of that statement. I would be thinking I want some assurance that the suffering isn't gonna be too terrible. That would cause me not to fear. But Jesus doesn't give much other than a few words about what is gonna happen, and he tells them that they're not to fear.

In order to really understand this, we need to once again call back to chapter 2, to chapter one and that vision of the Son of man. Why is it that they can fear not? Why can Jesus say this? Well, it's because of the powerful, sovereign, mighty Son of man who is speaking these words to this church Do not fear, because the one who holds the keys of hell and death, he is the one who is speaking and he is on your side. You need not fear, man, because Jesus is with you. He is the one speaking these words and, yes, it's going to go bad.

The word suffer is not an easy word to soften. We're talking prison, we're talking torture, we're talking death. This is what this group of people is going to have to endure. In fact, jesus tells them clearly that some of them are going to be thrown into prison. In fact, he says it's the plot of the devil that they're going to be tested. And if the word suffer wasn't bad enough, we then have the word tribulation thrown in there with it. In this verse, though.

I think we're naturally drawn to the statement, though, that the devil is the one doing this. The idea is that they're being tested, and it calls our minds back to the opening of the book of Job. Right, how God allowed Satan to tempt Job. You know, we know that God does not tempt us, but he allows us to be tempted, and so we see that there will be 10 days of tribulation for them, and in the midst of all of that, they are called to be faithful, and what we have here can be difficult for us to wrap our minds around.

As I said while lining out the points, we like to think that following God is going to land us on an easy path. If we're faithful, we'll have a little extra money and people are going to leave us alone. But that's not the case. We're not promised earthly prosperity, and we're not promised that being faithful to Jesus will give us any type of easy path. In fact, we're told that it can actually cause us to experience persecution and hardship. We are prone to expecting prosperity, but knowing that we live in a world broken by sin and a world in rebellion against a holy God, we shouldn't be surprised by hardship. The call on us is to push aside those earthly cravings for the easy path and instead pray for faithfulness, no matter what path we are put on.

These sisters and brothers who were in Smyrna in the first century. They were facing tribulation we can barely begin to imagine and yet they endured, and that humbles me substantially. The troubles that I have and I complain about are nothing compared to having to face being thrown into prison for 10 days. The things I think are so bad in my life don't amount to much when I think that there were those who were after them to torture them, to imprison them and even maybe kill them because they were proclaiming Christ as Lord. And I don't know if you have thoughts similar to mine when you think about persecution. Like boy, I don't have it that bad, but I am grateful for hearing stories like this because it gives me that realization.

It causes the Holy Spirit to convict me of my thoughts. It does two things for me it gives me pause to consider that someday I might face trials such as what our sisters and brothers in Smyrna did, and I need to prepare myself to stand firm because our future is not guaranteed and a persecution comes. I want it to be said that I endured, so we should pray for a desire to be built up in faith, that we might be prepared in the event that hardship, like what was faced in Smyrna, if it comes for us, that we are prepared to be faithful. And secondly, these thoughts make me think of Christians who are being persecuted right now, and this convicts me because I have to endure zero hardship for the gospel.

I came here today under no threat of my life, no threat of being mocked or persecuted. I'm here speaking to you freely. I'm being broadcast around the world over the Internet and nobody is going to come in here and try and stop me. It's easy for me to confess Christ as Lord. Yet someone alive right now in another part of the world has done what I'm doing today under a no-transcript. They've given up everything for the gospel, and I've given up nothing their home, their family, their friends, their social status. They have given it all up for Christ. They've abandoned it all because they have become convicted that Jesus is Lord.

And not only does this make my concerns seem petty, but it causes me to desire to pray for them that they might be faithful, that others might hear of what they are doing, that they might be convicted of who Christ is and that they might come to Him in faith and Jesus would receive all the glory for who he is. And it's only because of Jesus that we can endure and it's because of what he has done that we know that the ultimate victory isn't in this life. And that's our third point for today that we can have assurance that Jesus is victorious. And we see this in the last sentence of verse 10 and on into the last verse today, verse 11. Jesus isn't telling them to endure for the sake of enduring. He tells them that he will give them a crown of life, and this isn't a secret formula that Jesus is giving here. If you want a crown of life, then you better get to work at being persecuted, and if you endure, you will get that crown. That's not what's being said here. What Jesus is expressing to this church is that it is far better to be faithful to the one who has saved you from sin and death than to turn away and succumb to the pressures of the world.

And there's significance here in why Jesus speaks about a crown. This is rather interesting. Smyrna had a pagan goddess that was pictured on their coins and she had a crown, and that crown looked like the way the city of Smyrna was fortified, the way the protections around Smyrna were built, the buildings of Smyrna actually, from a distance, looked like a crown on Mount Pagos, and so the idea of Smyrna and a crown is significant, because it kind of looked like a crown around the city. So the idea here that Jesus is expressing is that while the city around you seems to have power, the city around you seems to have authority over you that is greater than what you can imagine. He's saying there is something greater to seek than the power of that city and what they are doing to you. You can receive a greater crown because you are in Christ. You can stand firm against the power of the state and the oppression of the people because you know that there is one who is greater, and one day you will receive a crown that is eternal. Those fortifications of Smyrna, they will crumble, but the crown that Christ gives is eternal.

In verse 11 asserts this as well. We see the familiar formula that we saw last week he who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches, in other words, listen up. This is essential, take note. And for the church in Smyrna the statement is that the one who conquers will not be hurt by the second death. Now, that's an interesting statement, and the idea is that even if they are harmed and they experience the death of their physical bodies, they will receive the crown of life and they will not experience the second death, which is eternal separation from God. Their oppressors might be able to harm their bodies, but as those who have been united to Christ in his life, death, resurrection and ascension, they have the sure and certain hope of the resurrection to eternal life. Their bodies will be restored. They can have confidence that, even if the first death comes for them, they will not be harmed by the second death. And while that is a great hope and a promise, it's still a terrifying proposition to the people who are reading this. It requires that they have faith. They had to have faith as it is defined by the book of Hebrews.

Right Now, faith is being sure of what it's hoped for and certain of what is unseen. You see, I can understand this physical life, I can understand keeping this physical life. That is easy for me to grasp, and so, when persecution might come, that is something that's tangible for me. I know if I don't die, I'm alive. But to have a faith in what is beyond what I can see is far harder. The hope of eternal life is unseen. Again, it's a promise that is far off. To trust for that, in the face of tribulation, requires that we look beyond the temporal and that which is in front of us, and that's hard to do.

And I mentioned this previously that we need to be prepared in the event that we face persecution or hardship. And that doesn't start a few days before we face tribulation. Preparing to stand strong for Christ happens today and every day. When we get up and we resolve to walk in newness of life, in faithfulness to our Savior, when we desire to live a life of repentance and faith, and when we grow in being sure of what is hoped for and certain of what is unseen, that is when we prepare for tribulation. It isn't down the road, it is today. Every day is the day that we prepare for persecution, because to be prepared for persecution and temptation that we would have to renounce the faith is hard, to be ready is impossible. You could never fully be ready. But we can start today by resisting the temptations that we face each and every day when we feel as though we have little faith. We need a desire to grow. A marathon runner doesn't start by running 26.2 miles. They start by being willing to do the hard work, to train a little bit, and at the end they are ready for that long race. The greatest hitters in baseball history English is hard. The greatest hitters in baseball history did not hit 375-foot bombs in t-ball. They go to the cage and they swing the bat and they prepare themselves. Whatever it is that you are skilled at, you're better today than you were when you started.

We should not expect a different process or a magic bullet for our faith. Preparing for persecution and tribulation starts today, and it continues until we know that we are able to face it when that moment comes. And so, as we leave from here today, may we think of the words of Jesus to the church in Smyrna, may we remember what was said, and may we live to be faithful unto death each day, knowing that the Holy Spirit is at work in us through the Word and through the power of God, giving us that ability to endure If persecution comes. If tribulation comes, you will not do it by your power. It requires faith and a trust in the means that God has ordained, his Word and Spirit building us up to endure. So may we have faith in those means that God has ordained, and may we also have confidence of that sure and certain promise that we will have that crown of life.

Amen, let us pray. Great and merciful God, we thank you for the gift of your Word, that in it we not only see the story of salvation, that story that causes us to have hope, even if we were to face death, but we thank you also for the Word of our brothers and sisters who face persecution. We know that we do not endure alone. We not only have one another, that we are united to each other, but we know that we have your Holy Spirit in dwelling us, preparing us each day to be faithful in the face of temptation. Isn't the name of Jesus that we pray? Amen?