Our
hearts and prayers go out to the families who have lost their loved ones in the
recent Ferry tragedy in South Korea. While we
mourn the lives lost and get angry over the heinous acts of the captain and
some of the crew members there was one crew member who was faithful to her duty
all the way to her own death. 22 year
old “Park Ji- Young” put the lives of others above her own safety she literally
gave up her life so that others might live.
As the
ship began to sink Park Ji Young showed the passengers a way to safety. Park
handed life jackets to the students and rushed them to rescue boats, "When asked by a student why she wasn't putting on a
life jacket, Park reportedly replied that the crew should be the last to leave
the ship and assured the student that she would make her way out after helping
the passengers to safety."[1]
Through her selfless; courageous; faithful act of duty Park
Ji Young saved nearly 50 people a third of all those who survived the tragedy.
Parki Ji Young who remained faithful till the end of life will go into the
history books as a faithful martyr whose life saved fifty lives.
We have
been going over the letters written to the seven Churches in Asia Minor in the
book of Revelation. So far we learned about a Church who was on fire for the
Lord at first but in the end have lost their first love for God and for others.
Today we will learn about a Church that was poor and undergoing persecution yet
were encouraged by the Lord to remain faithful unto the end. What is the reward
for those who will remain faithful unto the end?
Rev 2:8-11 “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 the crown of life. 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”
I. WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT SMYRNA ?
At the time of writing the church in Smyrna was undergoing persecution during the reign of
Domitian. Rome had given the Jews the right to
practice their religion and they did not want this precious privilege
threatened. In addition in the 80s
Judaism excommunicated the Christian “heretics” from their synagogues and they
wanted nothing to do with them. In A.D 155 the famous bishop of Smyrna , Polycarp, was burned alive for refusing to call
Caesar “Lord”[3]
II. THE GREAT REVELATION
Vs 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. Here Jesus was
referred to as the First and the Last and once dead, but now alive. In Isaiah
44:6 and 48:12, God is projected as the beginning and the end and there is no
one who is equal to him. By Jesus saying I am the first and the last he is
ascertaining that he is equal to God. He went further and said “I was once dead
and now I am alive.” What do you think those words must have done to those who
were seeing Christians getting martyred for their faith? I am sure they must
have injected faith and hope to the persecuted Christians.
III. THE GREAT PARADOX
Smyrna is a church that
is experiencing both afflictions (persecution) and poverty. Christ said, “I
know your affliction and your poverty yet you are rich.” What has
contributed to their poverty? Due to their uncompromising faith they found it
difficult to make a living in a pagan environment.”[4] The
linking of persecution and poverty together suggests that poverty may be more
than just lack of employment or under employment, but a lack of the basic needs
that sustain life.
This is a similar situation
today for many Christians in China, Cuba, India and many Muslim countries. Because of their commitment to Christ, these
Christians are unable to find good employment, to receive housing or food
allotments from the government, and in some cases even medical assistance is
not available. This is what the church at Smyrna was experiencing. However, God
was referred to them as being “Rich” This is an obvious example
of paradox. We used to have a fine Christian woman coming from a very poor
background work for us at home; doing household work. In spite of her abject
poverty she maintained certain dignity and integrity. She was radiant with
Christ. I am sure if Christ has to look at her situation He would say to her,
“I know your affliction and poverty yet you are rich.”
By and large the Christian
life is a life of paradox isn’t it? We
are called the sons of the living God yet we get sick, struggle financially;
may not rank very highly in society; people may ridicule; hate and even kill us
because of our faith.
Let’s see how this life
of paradox played out in one of the veteran missionaries of Christendom the
Apostle Paul. 2 Cor 6: 3-10, “We put no stumbling
block in anyone’s path, so that our ministry will not be
discredited. Rather, as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way:
in great endurance; in troubles, hardships and distresses; in beatings,
imprisonments and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights and
hunger; in purity, understanding, patience and kindness; in the Holy
Spirit and in sincere love; in truthful speech and in the power
of God; with weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the
left; through glory and dishonor, bad report and good report;
genuine, yet regarded as impostors; known, yet regarded as unknown;
dying, and yet we live on; beaten, and yet not
killed; sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many
rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything.”
Coming back
to the believers in Smyrna whatever may be the reason for their poverty the
comforting thought is that Jesus took note of it and he says to them that they
were actually rich. In other words, in spite of the affliction they were going
through, God has given spiritual riches beyond their wildest dreams.” The same
is true for you! The only reason why we might not be experiencing these
blessings is unlike the early Christians we are distracted by many other
attractions. The early Christians put their eyes on what is unseen more than
their troubling circumstances therefore they were ready to pay the price and
willing to endure hardships. Let’s talk about paying the price; and how it will
reward us in the end.
III. THE GREAT PRICE
& REWARD
When we are
about to cut a business deal or taking up a new job we naturally ask this
question; what is in there for me? In other words how is it going to profit me?
I
am sure the believers in Smyrna may have asked themselves the same question;
they may have been aware of the price they had to pay yet they decided to
become Christians. I wonder how many people in the West are being made aware of
the price that one may have to pay for following Christ.
When someone makes a
decision to follow Christ or join a church, I wonder what they are looking for.
Are they only looking at the blessings
of following Christ and not at the high price and are they unwilling to suffer
for Him? The truth of the matter is that; yes there are indeed great blessings
in following Christ but at the same time God never promised total ease and comfort.
Jesus said to his disciples that they must deny themselves and take up their
cross daily and follow Him.” (Luke 9:23) Paul writing to the young Timothy uses
these words. 2 Timothy 3:12, “In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life
in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” The message cannot get any clearer than
this.
The irony of our
churches today is that the emphasis has been so much on prosperity theology and
very little or no theology of suffering and hardships. Yet down through the
ages in Church history, Christians have suffered for their faith; and many were
killed. There is a whole book written of them called the “Fox Book of Martyrs.”
The 2nd-century Church Father Tertullian wrote that "the blood of martyrs
is the seed of the Church," It is estimated that 100,000 people are
getting killed because of their Christian faith every year and these numbers
will only increase. So dear friends if we want to follow Christ we must be
willing to pay the price even if it means losing our very lives.
It is somewhat bearable
and justifiable when opposition comes from pagans but when it comes from the so
called people of God or our own Christian brothers and sister in the family;
who can bear such opposition? That was exactly what the church in Smyrna was
enduring. Christians were being accused by zealous Jews. Jewish opposition to
Christianity was quite common in NT. Several scriptures in the book of Acts
indicate that the Jews were the primary opponents and caused many problems to
Christians. (e.g., Acts 13:45-52; 14:19; 17:6-9) With its large population of
Jews in Smyrna, this opposition against Christians reached its heights.”[5]
Vs 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 the crown of life”.
Here Jesus is encouraging the believers to be faithful even to the point of
death. He promises a great reward, the crown of life which should be understood
in the sense of “I will crown you with eternal life.”. As I read this letter to
the church in Smyrna I cannot help but wonder; we American Christians, who
always get what we want; who do not want anyone to tell us what we should do or
should not do. How will we be able to
handle it when real persecution hits us?
Jesus’ exhortation to the
believers then and now is the same; “To be faithful till the end.” God will
take care of the circumstances. Our obligation in every situation is to
maintain our faithfulness to Him- even to the point of sacrificing our lives. The
letter to the church ended with these words “He who has an ear, let him hear
what the Spirit says to the churches” indicating that this message is even
relevant for all of us today. Shall we then heed the voice of the Spirit
that is saying unto us today “Be Faithful to the End!” Amen
[1]
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2014/04/22/305830690/as-korean-ferry-sank-some-crew-members-fought-to-save-lives
[3]
Grant R. Osborne, Revelation,
commentary on NT, (Baker Academic: G.R. Michigan, 2002), 127.
[4]
David E.Aune, World Biblical Commentary
52 A, Revelation 1-5, (Word Books Publisher: Dallas Texas, 1997), 161.
[5]
Ibd., Grant R. Osborne, Revelation, commentary on NT, (Baker Academic: G.R. Michigan,
2002),131.
