THE JOURNEY. Introduction. Scripture: Revelation 2:8-11. The Lord s Prayer Jesus Letter to the Church in Smyrna. The Church in Ephesus

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1 THE JOURNEY The Lord s Prayer Jesus Letter to the Church in Smyrna The Church in Ephesus You have abandoned the love you had at first Repent and do the work you did at first, if not, I will come to your and remove your lamp stand from its place, unless you repent. The Church in Smyrna Imitate Jesus faithfulness Jesus knows his sheep Jesus wants and reward his people Introduction Scripture: Revelation 2:8-11 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 Smyrna 1

2 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. Polycarps Words! Eighty-six years I have served Christ, and He never did me any wrong. How can I blaspheme my King who saved me? I remember a number of years ago Valerie, Josh and I were in Singapore for a meeting. One night we went out for something to eat. On our way out, we met a group of Christians handing out invitation to their revival meeting. I stop and chatted with them. They first witness to me, but I informed them that I was a Christian and a missionary. One of the ladies then asked me; do I speak in tongues. I responded by saying; in fact I can speak three types of tongues. She was impressed and ask what kind. I said, Samoan, Native New Zealand, and English tongues. She was offended, more so annoyed, at me. Then she said this to me; You are not a real Christian if you do not speak in tongues. Then, I proceed to ask her; please tell me which verse in Scripture did you find this in. She said it doesn't matter, that s what our church believe. Now, we know that the Scripture doesn t say that if you don t speak in tongues you are not a believer. But what she was really getting at was the question of; "Are you a real Christian? And this is a real question we find in Scripture also. Are you a real Christian? If you are; what proofs do you have to show that you are a real Christian? These are tough questions, and boarder line offensive to whom its directed to. In the New Testament we find Paul asking similar tough Polycarp of Smyrna 2

3 questions to his Jewish community. Take for example the question he ask; Who are the children of Abraham? Are they all his physical family (in which case, what about the descendants of Ishmael and Esau?), or the larger, worldwide family which God promised to Abraham? Are they Abraham s children based on the faith of Abraham, or are they Abraham s children based on their birth rights which include Ishmael and Esau s and not just Jacobs. It was not least the scandal of a community which gave the second answer (Abraham s family are now multi-national) which led Saul of Tarsus to persecute the early Christians violently, and which then got him into the same trouble when he changed sides. In western Turkey, by the time this book was written, Revelation, it is likely that the church contained a fair mixture of Jews and non-jews. But there was a large and lively synagogue community as well, whose members did not believe that Jesus was God s Messiah, sent to Israel to announce God s kingdom, and raised from the dead to prove the point. Since the nub of the Christian faith was not that this was a new religion, invented out of nothing, but rather that it was the fulfillment of the ancient promises to, and hopes of, the people of Israel, this immediately cause a major problem. The problem is highlighted in this question; Who is the true Jew? Was it the Jews who faithfully carried on the practices of the synagogue or the Jews who gave up all other agendas and follow that of Jesus agenda as the Messiah of the Kingdom of God? Jesus did not replace the Jewish religion, instead He fulfilled the reason why Israel was created, and he realigned the Israelites back in its rightful place, connected with the Kingdom of His Father. Paul in Romans 2:25-29 gave us the answer to this question. A true Jew is not one that is just outwardly and performs all the rituals, but instead a true Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter-law (Romans 2:29). Jesus Letter to the Church in Smyrna This what Jesus letter is all about to the Church in Smyrna. To the Church in Ephesus Jesus tells them to repent and go back to loving him and his mission, or else he will take their light away from them. However, to the Church in Smyrna Jesus tone is different. As Jesus walks among the Church in Smyrna he points out a number of things for them to consider. Imitating Christ s Faithfulness First, Jesus reminds them of who He is; The words of the first and the last, who died and came to life (Rev. 2:8). Jesus points our, in a typical Middle Eastern round about way, of his faithfulness to loving his Father, and his obedience to his Father s will. I have set an example for you to follow and that example is; Be faithful in loving and serving the Father even unto death. 3

4 One of the ministry we fail to see in Paul s life is this ministry, of what I call, imitation. Paul informs us that everything he did, he did by imitating Christ, his Lord and Savior. Jesus said the same words about his Father. The Apostles also practiced the same ministry of imitation; Paul writes to the Church in Corinth saying; Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ (1 Corinthians 11:1). Again he tells the Church in Corinth, I am your father in the faith, therefore I exhort you, be imitators of me (1 Corinthians 4:16). Peter writes; For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps (1 Peter 2:21). Paul to the church in Ephesus; Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children (Ephesians 5:1). Again Paul writes in Hebrews; So that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises (Hebrews 6:12). Paul to the Church in Thessalonians writes; For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us, because we were not del when we were with you, nor did we eat anyone s bread without paying for it, but with toil and labor we worked night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you. It was not because we do not have that right, but to give you in ourselves and example to imitate (2 Thessalonians 3:7-9). Again to the church in Thessalonica writes; And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit (1 Thessalonians 1:6). John writes; Whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked (1 John 2:6). In a round about way, Jesus says to the Church in Smyrna imitate me in how I have been faithful to the Father and to the Father s will. We too are to me imitators of Christ our Lord. But in order for us to imitate Jesus, we need to know who Jesus is and his mission, and how he lived his life before the Father. Jesus Knows His Sheep Second, Jesus informs the Church in Smyrna; 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 (Rev. 2:9). The Church in Smyrna were properly made up of poor Jews and Gentiles. They were seen as the lowest of the lowest in both parts of the Jewish and Gentile community. They were stuck in the middle. Tribulation came from both sides of the world for the early church. The Jewish community rejected them because of a number of reasons. First, because they believed in Jesus as the Messiah, and were faithful to the message of Jesus. They had no other agendas, but that of Christ. They had no one else to imitate but Christ and his disciples. Second, they were rejected because, in following Christ they were taught to be inclusive and not exclusive. Paul writes this in Galatians; For all of you who were 4

5 baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's descendants, heirs according to promise (Galatians 3:27-29). There was no other group in the times of the early church that were inclusive then the followers of Christ. Third, and last, they were rejected because they were consider as not real Jews. The local Jewish synagogues where slandering them for their non or their new Jewish practices. Slander literally means the satan, the one that accuse the Christians of all kinds of wickedness. In a city where Roman imperial presence and influence was everything, the Jews would have been exempt from taking part in the festivities of the imperial cult and they my well have been accusing, to the authorities, the Christians who were claiming that exemption as well. Perhaps it was accusations like that, with social and political consequences, that had given Smyrna s Christians a test of poverty in an otherwise rich city. On the other hand, the Gentile community rejected them because they were monotheism, and were not pantheism worshiping idols and Caesar. Philip Schaff, a historian, recorded that in the time of John, Marcus Aurelius was the Emperor of Rome. Marcus Aurelius was considered as a Stoic philosopher on the throne. For this reason he had no sympathy with the Christians, their message and their way of life. He hated the Christian doctrine of the immortality of the soul, with its moral consequences, as vicious and dangerous to the welfare of the state. In fact, he passed a law punishing everyone with exile who should endeavor to influence people s mind by fear of the Divinity, a direct target of the Christians. Thus, this lowly, unwanted, and rejected group, is in the mind and heart of God Himself. He doesn t call them Satan, in stead He walks among them and He says to them; I know your tribulation and your poverty... but in me you are rich. We often forget that in our times of trouble, when we have been rejected by the world around us, because of Christ in us, Jesus is right there walking among our mist telling us that He knows what you are going through. Not Fear, But Faithful Unto Death Third, Jesus warns the Christians living in Smyrna of persecution; 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. (Rev. 2:10). There is a sense of compassion but courage in the words of Jesus. I have spoken to a number of poorer churches around Asia, Africa, South East Asia and Middle East. I have spoken in Churches that were in the heart of slums, outside of a rice paddy fields. Churches with no roofs, and no walls, no building. I have seen Sunday Schools classes taught under coconut trees, with water buffaloes wondering to and forth. Yet in the mist of these churches, you can sense the strong presence of the Spirit of Christ among these poor yet faithful believers. 5

6 The Church in Smyrna would easily have been one of these churches that I had the greatest privilege to visited. As Jesus visits the Church in Smyrna is sees nothing wrong with their worship and love for Him. In stead Jesus tells them they will be persecuted, thrown into prison, tested, with tribulation. Not only that they have been rejected by Jewish and Roman communities, but they will physically be persecuted as well. We don t see Jesus telling the Church in Smyrna to stand up for the their human rights, or to arm yourself and protect what is left of their pride. Instead, Jesus tells them two things. First, Jesus tells them Do not fear what you are about to suffer. If this was me I would be praying and fasting for Jesus to stop this suffering. But his is part of the imitation that we imitate of our Lord Jesus Christ. It was through the suffering of Christ on the cross, that evil was confronted and defeated for what it is. It is through the suffering of the saints that the Gospel of Christ is advance, evil defeated, and the Kingdom of God extending itself on earth. It is within these poor churches, that I visited in the slums, that I found some of the bravest saints of the Body of Christ in our times. I taught Church planting courses in the slums with each of the students in that particular class have already been persecuted for their faith. One student had his entire hip dislocated because he was badly beaten because of his faith and ministry, yet he was preparing himself to go back to the same community that had beaten him in the first place. Jesus words do not fear were words of comfort and not of fear itself. It reminded the Christians in Smyrna that the Creator of the world knows what they are going through and they will be rewarded for their faithfulness. Second, Jesus tells the Church to be faithful unto death and I will give you the crown of life. John in the end of Revelation taught the Churches that their will be two forms of death. The first is the bodily death. We will face this first death, the bodily death. The second form of death is for those who steadfastly and deliberately refuse to follow Jesus, to worship the one God who is revealed in Christ Jesus. It is through these persecutions that Christ our Lord, hopes, for the persecutors and the spectators to come to accept Jesus as the Messiah and king of the world. This is why Jesus tells the Church in Smyrna not to fear these pitiful persecutions, because if they remain faithful, they will not face this second form of death, instead they will receive a crown of life and at the process spread His gospel among those that persecute the Churches. Application What then is a true Jew or a true Christian? Paul has written extensively about this topic. But in the light of Jesus Letter to the Church in Smyrna, a true Jew/Christian are those who; Imitate Christ s faithfulness to His Father and to his Father s will (Revelation 2:8). Known by Jesus Himself (Revelation 2:9). Jesus warns and rewards his sheep (Revelation 2:10). 6

7 We know of one individual that lived around the time when John wrote Revelation. John wrote Revelation around mid-60s A.D. This individual is call Polycarp. Polycarp - (AD ) Polycarp was a Bishop of the Church in Smyrna that received Jesus letter through John. Polycarp was faithful in imitating his Savior, Jesus Christ, throughout his life. At the age of 80, Polycarp was tortured and executed for his faith by the Romans. As Polycarp was being taken into the arena for his execution, a voice came to him from his Lord and Savior Jesus: Be strong, Polycarp and play the man! When the citizens of Smynra heard that Polycarp is awaiting execution, there was an uproar. The Proconsul tried to persuade Polycarp to renounce his faith in Jesus Christ, saying, Have respect for your old age, swear by the fortune of Caesar. Repent, and say, Down with the Atheists! (Christians used to be call atheists). Polycarp looked at the crowd, and gesturing towards them, he said, 86 years have I have served him, Polycarp declared, and he has done me no wrong. How can I blaspheme my King and my Savior? That same crowd gathered woods and they tied Polycarp to a tree and burned him alive, simply because he was imitating his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Polycarp imitated his Savior s obedience to the will of the Father, he know that his Lord and Savior knew full well the suffering he was about to enter into, he also knew full well that death was the door for him to enter the presence of God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Polycarp, like his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, have set for us examples to follow. It is our job to study the life of Jesus so that we can imitate His life to the world around us, like that of Polycarp. I pray that you will be true imitators of Christ our Lord, because He knows who you are, and that He will reward your faithfulness to Him and His mission, Amen! Here is a short video document about the life of Polycarp: 7