By Brent Russett – Asbury Free Methodist
May 20th, 2022 – Revelation 2:2-11
I am happy to bring God’s word to you this morning. I have been out of the pulpit and we have paused our series on the churches of Revelation for a couple of weeks. We resumed the series this morning by looking at the church in Smyrna.
Smyrna was a city noted for its beauty located in modern-day Turkey. It was one of seven cities that competed for the honour of building a temple dedicated to the emperor of the Roman empire. It won. So 50 years before this letter it started construction. Smyrna was one of the centers for the worship of the Caesars. This letter was written at a time when emperor worship was at its height.
Everyone in the city was required to go to the temple and says Caesar is Lord. Of course, the Christians could not do this. There is only one Lord –
Romans 10:9 (NIV)
9 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
As a result of living in a city that was the center of emperor worship and unwilling to worship the emperor, the Christians were persecuted.
Suffering for Jesus is nothing new. Last year there were 5110 Christians killed for their faith, and that is a conservative estimate. The country that killed the most Christians was Nigeria.
Last year 6175 Christians were detained without trial, arrested sentenced and imprisoned. 3829 Christians were abducted. About 219,000 people were forced to leave their homes or go into hiding for faith-related reasons. An additional 25,000 were forced to leave their countries.
Where Churches Were Attacked or Closed Most:
1. China: 3,000
2. Nigeria: 470
3. Bangladesh: 200
4. Pakistan: 183
5. Qatar: 100
6. Central African Republic: 100*
7. Burkina Faso: 100*
8. Mozambique: 100*
9. Burundi: 100*
10. Angola: 100*
*Estimate | Open Doors reporting period: Oct. 2020 to Sept. 2021
Where Christians Were Martyred Most:
1. Nigeria: 4,650
2. Pakistan: 620
3. Name withheld: 100*
4. Burkina Faso 100*
5. Democratic Republic of Congo: 100*
6. Mozambique: 100*
7. Central African Republic: 29
8. Cameroon: 27
9. Tanzania: 25
10. Indonesia: 15
*Estimate | Open Doors reporting period: Oct. 2020 to Sept. 2021
Persecution is not new. It happened in Smyrna and it is happening today. Here is the thing about living out the gospel – Where you live and the context of your lives will affect what it means to be a Christian. Being a Christian in Smyrna meant poverty and persecution. Meanwhile, the church in Laodicea, the last church we will look at in Revelation, was rich.
Part of what Jesus meant when he said
Matthew 16:24 (NIV)
24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.
Part of what taking up the cross is living out the gospel in the context you find yourself in. Carrying your cross is very different in Smyrna as opposed to Laodicea. It is different between Perth and Nigeria or China. I would note, however, that Smyrna was one of two churches in Revelation that Jesus had nothing negative to say to it. Laodicea was called out by Jesus for being lukewarm.
Carrying your cross, living out the gospel, will be different if you live in a home where people are trying to follow Jesus, or a home where people are only pretending to follow Jesus, or a home where people are hostile to Jesus. Context matters. Our lives are different.
So what does Jesus say to Smyrna? Does he say, I am going to make you rich? I am going to make life easy. I am going to take your suffering away. Not really.
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.
Jesus says, “I know.”
I know your afflictions
I know your poverty
I know about the slander
I know what Satan is trying to do
I know what is to come and it is not going to be easy.
You may think that you are forgotten, but you are not. You may even feel abandoned, but you are not. You may feel all alone but you are not. I know. I care, says the Lord.
I know that there are some of you who need to hear this. If you are walking through grief – you can have all kinds of people around you but we all grieve differently, so it can feel like you are all alone. Jesus would say to you, “I know, I care.”
There are some of you who are walking through some trying times with your health. There are others of you who are caring for those who are really sick. That is a whole different kind of journey. It is easy to feel all alone. Jesus would say to you, “I know. I care.”
There are some of you who are battling depression. In the middle of the darkness it is really easy to feel all alone. But Jesus would say to you, “I know. I care.”
But Jesus does more than say I see you. Look at how he introduces himself.
Revelation 2:8 (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.
You may remember from the first sermon in this series that John had this amazing vision of Jesus in Revelation chapter 1. Then Jesus uses part of that vision when he speaks to each of the churches. That part is what that particular church needs to know about who he is, and who he wants to be for them.
To Smyrna, the church that was experiencing persecution, he writes. “I am the First and the Last.” People from Smyrna, here is what I want you to know about me. I am over time. I was before all things, and I see the end. I know you are feeling the pain of the present, but I am the one who can see the big picture.
Things are not easy, they are not fair, and they are not just right now. But I will make it right. This time is not all there is and this life is not all there is.
If you are in high school or university this can be a really tough concept to grasp, if you are going through a difficult time. It is hard to see through the break-up with your boyfriend or girlfriend, or past the bullies at school, or past the embarrassment or shame that happened.
If you are there, trust Jesus who is over time. Things will not always be as they are. Some of you older people have learned this lesson. You have seen hard times come and go. You made it through things that you wondered you would ever get through. But some of you have to learn this lesson afresh. There are some things that will not be made right until heaven. You serve a God who is over time. Jesus says, “I am the first and the last. You can trust him when things feel unjust.
Jesus also said to the church in Smyrna – I am the one who died and came back to life again. The people of the church would know the suffering that Jesus went through. They would know that Jesus could identify with their suffering. He also reminded them of the resurrection. Jesus tells them I am alive. You don’t have to fear death, because I have walked through it before you. I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live even though he dies, and he who believes in me will never die.
That is who I am. I am Lord over death.
Revelation 2:9 (NIV)
9 I know your afflictions and your poverty—yet you are rich!
There is our view of what rich and poor are and then there is Jesus’ view about what rich and poor are. It is not that Jesus is unaware of poverty. But Jesus wants to change their perspective. He wants them to focus on what really matters. They are monetarily poor, but they are spiritually rich.
You will notice that Jesus doesn’t promise to make them monetarily rich. There are some television preachers who would tell you that if you had enough faith or if you gave the right amount, then God is going to make you rich. But Jesus looks at the people in Smyrna and sees their poverty and doesn’t promise to do anything about it. What he does promise is to give them something far more valuable – he gives them what they need to be rich in spirit.
If you have bought the lie that money is the wellspring of life then you are not going to believe this. If you have bought the falsehood that money is the way to happiness, then you are going to have trouble seeing this.
But if you know that the best life is not made up of what you have, but it is made up of joy in your heart. Your best life is made from a life that is at peace with God, at peace with yourself and as far as it depends on you, at peace with those around you. Your best life experiences a deep love between God and yourself, and you know how to give and receive love from those who are walking with God. You know how to give love to those who are around you.
You know your best life is live out of a conscience that is free from guilt, where you walk in the freedom that is Christ given, and your Spirit is filled with the Spirit of God. If you understand that, then you know what it means to be rich regardless of what is in your bank account.
I have had the privilege to travel to visit the people of God in South America, in Africa, and in Cuba. I have witnessed the truth of what Jesus was saying here. They were rich even though they were poor. I have also seen the people of God in Canada, and too often we are poor even though we are rich.
***
They were rich, even though their bank accounts were not their only problem.
Revelation 2:9 (NIV)
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.
People were slandering them. They were saying all manner of evil against them falsely. But you will notice where the slander came from. It came out of the mouth of people but it came from the pit of hell. They were not struggling against flesh and blood but against the principalities and powers. They were in the middle of spiritual warfare – and they were poor, yet they were rich.
Not only that but their future wasn’t looking too bright.
Revelation 2:10 (NIV)
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.
We don’t know what the 10 days is all about. But what we do know is that suffering was in the future. They were going to be imprisoned. Some of the church might even be put to death.
But Jesus says, don’t be afraid. Don’t be afraid. You are going to suffer but don’t be afraid.
If I hear that I am going to suffer, my natural reaction is fear. Yours probably is too. But Jesus says, you know who I am. I am over time, and I have walked through suffering before you. You don’t need to be afraid.
Here is my promise to you. Be faithful to me and I will give you life as victor’s crown. He is promising them not only spiritual riches here, but life in the world to come. His exhortation is to “be faithful.”
There are some of you here for whom life is challenging. You may be experiencing affliction or poverty, or relational difficulty. You may even be suffering – and some of you may be facing death – not from persecution but from age or health issues.
Jesus would say to you. Be rich in the things of God. Be rich in joy, in peace, in love, in relationships. Be filled with the Spirit and walk with a clear conscience. Be rich in the things of God.
The other thing that he would say to you is “be faithful.” Be faithful in loving God. Be faithful in prayer. Be faithful in service where can. Be faithful in loving others. Be faithful to Jesus. Don’t cost towards the end of your life. Push into faithfulness.
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History tells us that the church in Smyrna did experience persecution. It continued for decades.
Let me tell you about Polycarp. Polycarp had actually been discipled by the Apostle John. He then became a pastor and then became the bishop of Smyrna.
Polycarp lived to be 86 years old. The church had to continue to meet in hiding. Towards the end of his life the authorities were closing in. Polycarp’s disciples persuaded him to move out into the countryside. The Roman soldiers eventually discovered his whereabouts and came to his door. His friends urged him to run. But Polycarp said, “God’s will be done,” and he let the soldiers in.
He was escorted to the local proconsul, Statius Qaudratus, who interrogated him in front of a crowd. Qaudratus urged Polycarp to recant his faith and declare that Caesar is lord. He offered Polycarp his life and his freedom. But Polycarp replied, “I have served Jesus for eighty-six years and He has done me no wrong. How then can I blaspheme my King and savior now?”
Quadratus lost his temper and threatened Polycarp by saying he would be thrown to the wild beast, he would be burned at the stake and so on and so on. Polycarp looked at Quadratus and said, “your fires last but a while, but the fires of judgement reserved for the ungodly cannot be quenched.”
He was sentenced to death. The soldiers then grabbed him and were going to nail him to a stake where he would be burned alive. Polycarp stopped them and 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 of your nails.
Whether this following part happened or whether it was the stuff of legend I cannot say. But it is said that the soldiers lit the fire and Polycarp stood there and would not burn. The flames made a temple around him. Seeing that he would not burn, a soldier came along and stabbed him with a spear, and Polycarp died. What is plain is that Polycarp’s death was remembered by everyone. The recorder said, “he is even spoken of by the heathen in every place.”
I think I will close off this sermon by reading the last sentences that Jesus spoke to the church of Smyrna, because he would speak the same to us this morning as well.
Revelation 2:11 (NIV)
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.
Be rich in the things of God and be faithful to the end.
Sermon Questions – May 22nd, 2022
The Church of Smyrna – Revelation 2:8-11
Introduction
1. What are you praying about?
2. What are you giving thanks for?
Digging in.
3. Read Revelation 2:8-11. How would you describe the context that the Smyrna church found itself in?
4. Why would it be wrong for followers of Jesus to say, “Caesar is Lord?”
5. What kind of persecution are Christians experiencing in our world?
6. The church in Smyrna experienced poverty, while the Laodicean Church was wealthy. (Rev. 3:17) What does that tell you about people’s experience of the Christian life?
7. Read Rev. 2:9. Jesus says “I know” twice. How does that help when you are going through trouble?
8. Read verse 8. What aspect of himself does Jesus reveal? What does it mean? How does it help?
9. Read verses 9 and 10. Where is their trouble coming from? Would that have been apparent to the church in Smyrna?
10. In verse 10, Jesus’ exhortation is to “Be faithful.” What does that mean? What would that mean in our context?