The Church at Smyrna

In AD 197, the Church Father, Tertullian, wrote a booklet called Apolegeticus, a defense of the Christian faith to the Roman Empire. At that time, Christians were coming out from a long period of Empire-sanctioned persecution, mostly related to their conviction that they refused to bow down to a political leader — the emperor — believing that to do so would be a breach of their faith that Jesus the Messiah alone is Lord of their lives.

Anyway, Tertullian wrote this memorable phrase in his work: “We multiply whenever we are mowed down by you; the blood of Christians is seed.”

You may have heard it’s modern adaptation, “The blood of the saints is the seed of the Church.”

Go ahead and turn to Revelation 2; we’re looking at Jesus’ letter to the church at Smyrna this morning. Our text is on page 698 of the white pew Bible.

Suffering, persecution, and martyrdom have been the calling of the Church of the Lord Jesus somewhere among the nations throughout her entire history.

Older saints here have probably read Foxe’s Book of Martyrs, a catalogue of the stories of men and women who gave their lives for Christ. Today, organizations like Voice of the Martyrs and Open Doors update us on the persecution and sufferings of our brothers and sisters around the world. Afghanistan was ranked as the most dangerous place to be a Christian for the first time in 2022. North Korea, Somalia, Nigeria, Eritrea, and India are all included in the 10 countries with the most extreme persecution. Imprisonment, torture, suffering, even martyrdom have followed those across the globe who have become disciples of Jesus. For some, this is the normal Christian life.

This morning, we’re going to see that life in the first-century church which gathered in a city called Smyrna. It was another important town, wealthy, and a seat of religious and political syncretism. While Jesus was on earth, Smyrna won an empire-wide bid to build the first temple to worship the emperor, Tiberius Caesar. That allegiance to the Roman Empire paired with a large-population of well-connected Jewish population bred an environment which was incredibly hostile toward disciples of Jesus.

It was a church that needed encouragement. They were being persecuted and they were suffering. And they were one of the only churches in this series of letters to whom Jesus does not give any rebuke. In the midst of this persecution and suffering, they were exactly where they were supposed to be. And Jesus tells them things are going to get worse.

But, he gives them a bold and dramatic strategy for overcoming the persecution brought upon them by a godless culture - Jesus wants them to respond boldly to a culture that would silence Christian voices, that would restrict Christian involvement in the public square, which would coerce Christians to violate their consciences. Jesus says I know your suffering, I know your pain, I know your affliction and I am going to give you two commands which will, in the midst of these circumstances where your rights are being violated, when the government is oppressive toward you, when they are trying to silence God in the public square, Jesus says you will conquer and declare the glory of God to all who are watching.

Does that sound like a strategy which we ought to get behind?

Look at the first and the last sentence of verse 10:

“Don’t be afraid of what you are about to suffer.”

“Be faithful to the point of death.”

Because Jesus defeated death and promises victory, a healthy and vital church rejects fear and embraces quiet faith.

Let’s read the whole of our text, starting in verse 8:

Revelation 2:8–11 CSB

“Write to the angel of the church in Smyrna: Thus says the First and the Last, the one who was dead and came to life: I know your affliction and poverty, but you are rich. I know the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. Don’t be afraid of what you are about to suffer. Look, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison to test you, and you will experience affliction for ten days. Be faithful to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life. “Let anyone who has ears to hear listen to what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who conquers will never be harmed by the second death.

PRAY

Jesus calls the church at Smyrna, and all churches and all his disciples throughout the earth, to stop being afraid of what’s going on in the world and to persist in quiet faithfulness, even to the point when they give up their life.

But before we get to what Jesus calls us to do, it is crucial that we see the basis upon which that fearfulness is rejected and faithfulness is built.

Without a solid foundation, our faith will be made a shipwreck and we will languish then drown in the sea of fear. But Jesus, the Messiah and the Son of God is the sure foundation upon which our faith can rest because, as John writes in verse 8: He is the Eternal God and He is the resurrected Lord who has conquered death.

Jesus calls himself the First and the Last which, if you know your Old Testament, is a title that is used for God Himself through the prophet Isaiah:

Isaiah 44:6 CSB

This is what the Lord, the King of Israel and its Redeemer, the Lord of Armies, says: I am the first and I am the last. There is no God but me.

Isaiah 48:12 CSB

“Listen to me, Jacob, and Israel, the one called by me: I am he; I am the first, I am also the last.

The covenant God of Israel, YHWH, calls Himself the First and the Last and here Jesus picks up the same title and applies it to Himself when speaking to the church at Smyrna.

Jesus says, “I am the eternal lord over all of history. I will have the last word and in fact I AM the Last Word.”

Jesus has always been aware of the circumstances of His people and He knows the situations they are going through right now. Your future is plain in His sight and He holds your future. Jesus is one you can trust today and tomorrow and for eternity.

Ans specifically, Jesus is one you can trust in the midst of struggle and affliction that will inevitably fall upon you. Because, Jesus has taken the sting from Death and the Grave.

Jesus never promised that his disciples would be free from pain or free from suffering. In fact, he promised just the opposite. “If the world hates me, it will hate you, too,” he told the Twelve.

And the church in Smyrna was feeling this promise acutely. And, as we’ll see in a moment, the comforting words that Jesus gives them is, “Be faithful to the point of death.”

That doesn’t sound very comforting unless you’ve seen the words at the end of verse 8: “Thus says…the one who was dead and came to life.”

Jesus experienced death for us, a far more horrible death than any Christian will ever know. Jesus not only experienced the physical death that is common to humanity, He also bore the full judgment and wrath of God for the sins of the world, as the Gospel of John tells us.

While he was alive, He was subject to slander, persecution, rejection, and death. He tells the Church at Smyrna, and you believer, I’ve walked this road before. I’ve tasted death. But I am alive! I tasted death and I conquered it! Therefore, Paul says, there is no need to fear it. the Grave does not have victory, Death has no sting for the disciple of Jesus!

This church may walk the road of persecution and suffering like Jesus did. They may even walk the road of an unjust death like Jesus did. But because of what Jesus did, they don’t have to lose heart. They don’t have to give in to fear of oppression or persecution. To live is Christ and to die is gain. There is no way to lose in Jesus, because He won. If we live, he is with us. If we die, we are with him. That’s why Jesus can tell the church at Smyrna that, verse 11, “the one who conquers will never be harmed by the second death.”

To be a conqueror for the church at Ephesus, which we looked at last week, was to recover the love they once had for God and for people. For them to conquer was to be faithful in the mission to make disciples of Jesus out of love for Him.

For the Smyrnans to conquer was for them to stop being afraid of what might happen and remain quietly faithful when they were inevitably led to their earthly death in the name of Jesus. Because, if the song was written in their day, they could sing the truth just as we did this morning, “One with Himself, I cannot die. My soul is purchased by His blood.”

That is the foundation upon which our faith rests, the finished work of Jesus who made atonement for our sin before the Father, robbed the Grave of its victory, and conquered Death for us by laying down His life, by dying.

It ought not surprise us, then, that our Lord calls us to go in His way — to remain faithful to the point of death. If Jesus conquered through suffering and death, then so shall we.

Now, lets look at the two commands that Jesus gives the church and then move into some specific application that I feel compelled to give.

First, he tells them not to be afraid of the suffering that is coming.

A Healthy, Vital Church Puts Away Fear of Persecution

Jesus tells this church in verse 9 that he knows what their going through. He sees their affliction (by the way, that word can also be translated tribulation, anticipating the tribulation that John would speak of in Revelation 7, Jesus says I know you are going through that great tribulation and I see it and I’m here). He sees their poverty — in the midst of an affluent city, it’s likely that these faithful Christians had a hard time engaging in the marketplace trade because they refused to be branded as those who worshipped the emperor. They wore the mark of Christ only, not the mark of the Empire.

But in that affliction and in that poverty, they were really rich because they had the eternal life purchased by Jesus. Earthly goods were inconsequential compared the to treasures that were laid up for them in the life to come.

And Jesus sees the slander toward them. At this point, Christianity was still understood as a sect of Judaism (which is not entirely wrong. Christianity is the perfect end of the Jewish faith). But to distinguish themselves, it seems that many traditional Jews were speaking falsely about Christians and denouncing them in the public square. Jesus saw that.

And He says to them, it’s about to get worse, but I don’t want you to be afraid. Some of you are about to get thrown in prison, but I don’t want you to be afraid. Nothing happens outside of my sovereign rule as the First and the Last. You are about to experience affliction for 10 days (that’s symbolic of just kind of a short period of time. Apocalyptic literature often uses time in a symbolic sense — 10 days, weeks, the millennium — all symbolic for various lengths of time). And Jesus is letting them know that for some duration in the near future, there will be affliction or distress or tribulation, but there was no reason to fear. There was no reason to fear the suffering or the anticipation of suffering, because He is sovereign over all things, including tribulation.

If we want to be a healthy and vital church, if we want to be healthy and vital individual disciples, we have to put off the fear.

We have to reject the fear that many are calling us to. We listen to too many radio stations that tell us to be afraid. We watch too many news networks that tell us to be afraid. They may not say it outright, but they preach fear by repeatedly reminding you that people not like you are trying to take over and replace you. They tell you that the public school teachers are trying to make your kids transgender. They tell you that libraries are all trying to make your kids wear drag. They tell you the the elites in the government are stealing children and sucking out their life force to live forever.

Ultimately, it boils down to them selling you the lie that your values, your faith, the gospel, the Bride of Christ is under seige by a lost world. There are actually preachers who preach that from the pulpit Sunday after Sunday as though they have never read what Jesus said to Peter in Matthew that He was going to build His church and that the gates of Hell would not overpower it.

The Church is not under threat by the world, the gates of hell are under threat by the power of the Good News of redemption in Jesus Christ. Jesus said so. Anyone who says differently is a liar and a fearmonger. Do not listen to them.

Let me speak plainly as an example: QAnon is an extremely dangerous group who spread baseless conspiracy theories and promote violence against those with whom they disagree. I am urging you, as someone who has been given responsibility for your soul as the pastor of this church, stop listening to that and other entities whose intent is to drive fear into your heart.

Jesus is on his throne and reigns over all. We have nothing to fear from the world. I would urge you to take some time to sit quietly, alone, and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal where you are allowing fear to drive your politics, your church participation, the way you raise your family, the neighborhoods you drive through.

Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. Jesus is clear that suffering will happen. But he promises to comfort us in the midst of the suffering and he points to the promise that lies ahead on the other side of the suffering.

Jesus tells the church at Smyrna not to be afraid of the impending suffering, but instead to be faithful to the point of death.

A Healthy, Vital Church Embraces Quiet Faith in Suffering

Again, Jesus is not denying that suffering will happen, quite the opposite. And likewise, I am not saying that the increased secularization of the world won’t push faithful Christians further into the margins. I am certain that it will. The Church has been in the margins for most of its existence.

The world will say that we are wrong. They will call us bigots and dangerous and they will say that we are anti-choice, homophobic, intolerant, hypocritical, and hateful. I think we can rightly expect economic challenges and being social outcasts in the future.

The question, though, is how ought we to respond to that?

The faith response is to stand firm, trusting that God is in control.

Responding in fear looks like invading the capitol building after an election doesn’t go the way you wanted it to. Responding in fear looks like hoarding weapons and ammunition. Responding in fear looks like withdrawing from the world and setting up little “Christians-only” communities.

Let me speak plainly again into our context: Responding in fear looks like Christian Nationalism. Christian Nationalism is not a faith-filled response to affliction we face from society.

And I understand that the Christian Nationalist and the Christian Dominionists like Doug Wilson, Rod Dreher, Megan Basham, William Wolfe, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Lauren Boebert…they say “Well, we’re out here trying to advance the Kingdom of God. To make it on earth as it is in heaven.”

And, who among us here doesn’t want to advance the kingdom of God? That’s what we’re called to do through our mission of making disciples. The difference comes when we remember what Jesus said to Pilate right before He died,

John 18:36 CSB

“My kingdom is not of this world,” said Jesus. “If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would fight, so that I wouldn’t be handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here.”

The implication being that, “So, my servants will not fight.”

In the face of affliction and great tribulation, Jesus was faithful unto death. And he calls us to be, as well.

Yes, we very much want to advance the Kingdom of God, but the question is are we going to advance it by force, by fear, by intimidation, by coercion, by putting people of low character into office so that we can control certain policies…or are we going to advance the Kingdom of God through sacrifice, through service, through love of our neighbor, by speaking up for those who don’t have a voice?

We are called to advance the Kingdom of God, no question. But we are called to do so through loving, sacrificial service, even to the point that we’re willing to lay our lives on the line.

As one pastor said, “I will die for Jesus, but I will not kill for Jesus.” That is, I will gladly give my life in service of Him, but I will not take up arms in His name to try and take back an earthly nation for God.

When Peter drew his sword in the Garden of Gethsemane to protect Jesus, what did Jesus tell him to do? Put it away. And then he healed the one Peter had injured. He healed the one who was taking him to his execution.

There is nothing Christian about Christian Nationalism. Christian Nationalism says to take back America for God. Jesus says put away your sword and be faithful unto death in the face of intense affliction.

We will advance the Kingdom of God through our quiet witness, through faithfully speaking the truth of the gospel to our neighbor, and our loving, sacrificial service toward them.

If we want to be a healthy, vital church we must put away the fear- fear that the devil is going to get us, fear that we’re going lose America, fear that our values and rights are going to be ignored and be quietly faithful to proclaim the good news of deliverance in Jesus our Lord and serve our neighbor, caring for the poor, speaking for the marginalized…all the way to the point of death.

The church at Smyrna would see this attitude put into action just about 50 or so years after John wrote this letter. Their pastor, a Church Father named Polycarp, was well-loved and respected by the people of the church. But the government and the citizens at large of Smyrna did not share that love. In AD 155, Polycarp was arrested, tried overnight, and martyred. He was burned at the stake and then his corpse was stabbed for good measure. He was 86 years old when he was martyred. He didn’t fight it. He told his congregation not to rise up in his defense. When his captors came to nail him to the pyre where he was to be burned alive, he said, “Leave me as I am. For he who grants me to endure the fire will enable me also to remain on the pyre unmoved, without the security you desire from the nails.” He stood there, of his own accord, and in his final prayer he thanked God for counting him worthy to be counted “in the number of martyrs, in the cup of Christ, for the resurrection to eternal life of soul and body.”

Do you want to be a healthy and vital church? It’s going to require intense sacrifice and it’s going to require that we let the Holy Spirit challenge what I imagine are some deeply-seated understandings of what the Kingdom of God looks like. But if you want real life, real community, real communion within God’s church, we must put away the fear of losing and take up quiet faith in the face of affliction.

“Lord God Almighty, Father of thy beloved and blessed Servant Jesus Christ, through whom we have received full knowledge of thee, ‘the God of angels and powers and all creation’ and of the whole race of the righteous who live in thy presence: I bless thee, because thou hast deemed me worthy of this day and hour, to take my part in the number of the martyrs, in the cup of thy Christ, for ‘resurrection to eternal life’ of soul and body in the immortality of the Holy Spirit; among whom may I be received in thy presence this day as a rich and acceptable sacrifice, just as thou hast prepared and revealed beforehand and fulfilled, thou that art the true God without any falsehood. For this and for everything I praise thee, I bless thee, I glorify thee, through the eternal and heavenly High Priest, Jesus Christ, thy beloved Servant, through whom be glory to thee with him and Holy Spirit both now and unto the ages to come. Amen.”

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