It happened 1848 years ago this very day. February 23, 155. His name was Polycarp and he was the bishop of the city of Smyrna. As a young man he had been a disciple of the Apostle John, but he was no longer a young man as a matter of fact he was eighty six years old. And February 23rd would be his last day to live. Through the years the Christians of Smyrna had come under persecutions and this time it was no different, public opinion had been stirred against the Christ followers and the Roman Governor was taking actions. As a matter of fact it provided a great opportunity to please the crowd and entertain them at the same time. And so the Christians would be brought to the stadium and executed in any number of ways but the favourite of the crowd was for the Christians to be fed to wild beast. And the cry went up from the crowd for the leader of the Christians, Polycarp to be brought for execution. The story goes that when the Roman troops arrived at the Bishop’s home he asked to be allowed to pray alone for an hour before he was taken away. At the same time he ordered the very best food and drink available to be brought to those who had come to arrest him. Needless to say that came as a surprise to the soldiers. Tradition tells us that when Polycarp was led into the arena to meet his fate that a voice from heaven was heard to say “Be strong, Polycarp, and play the man.” And play the man he did.
When the Roman Proconsul or Governor was confronted with this senior citizen he wasn’t sure what to do with the 86 year old bishop, it hardly seemed sporting to feed him to the lions and so he offered him a chance to recant. “Deny Christ” he said “And I’ll let you go free.” Polycarp just looked at him, “Deny Christ” he replied, “I have served him eighty-six years and in no way has he dealt unjustly with me; so how can I blaspheme my king who saved me?”
The governor tried again, “Act your age and wisdom, praise Caesar, change your mind, say, ‘Away with the atheists.’” Polycarp looked at the pagans surrounding him and waved his hand as he replied “Away with the atheists.” Not exactly the response that the governor was looking for. And then Polycarp said “If you vainly expect that I will swear by Caesar’s Genius, as you suggest, and pretend to be ignorant who I am, listen to what I openly say to everyone here: I am a Christian. If you want to learn the teaching of Christianity, name the day and hear about our beliefs.”
That was all that was needed, the governor demanded of Polycarp, “Don’t you realize that I can have you thrown to the wild beasts.” And Polycarp said “Go ahead.” Well if the old man wasn’t afraid of a relatively quick death by the animals then maybe he would fear fire, and so it was that Polycarp was sentenced to be burned alive. Which of course would be better then having his head cut off because a hot steak is always better then a cold chop. Anyway, the Bishop was led to the platform where the execution was to take place, normally the prisoner would be nailed to the stake to secure them in place, I don’t know what it was with Romans and nails. But as they approached Polycarp with the hammer and nails he said and I quote "Let me be as I am; for he who makes it possible for me to endure the fire will also make it possible for me to remain . . . unmoved without the security of nails." And he did. And so on February 23 1848 years ago Bishop Polycarp died a martyr in the city of Smyrna.
Now maybe you are wondering “So what?’ Well the “so what” is that history tells us that Polycarp was a disciple of John the Apostle and that he was a part of the church that the letter of the Revelation in General and the portion that Heather read earlier in particular was addressed to, the church in Smyrna. When I first read the account of Polycarp I wondered if he remembered the words that had been read in his church a life time before.
It was the second of the Seven, perhaps that was simply an accident of geography it was the next city on the route the messenger was to take, or perhaps it was by design. You see if it were natural that Ephesus be the first city mentioned then it is only proper that Christ should speak to Smyrna next. The historians tell us that Smyrna was the most beautiful city in all of Asia. The city was referred to as the Flower of Asia, the Crown of Asia or the Jewel of Asia. Smyrna stood on the trade routes to the Far East, if we pull up a map here you can see that it was situated just north of Ephesus but still on the Aegean Sea. As a matter of fact they had one of the safest and most convenient harbours in all of Asia. Here is a picture of the harbour which was at the end of a long narrow channel, during times of war they would actually run a chain across the neck of the channel to keep the enemy from sailing in. Here’s a picture of the hills surrounding the city. One ancient writer said the harbour was Smyrna’s feet, the valley her body and the hills her head which was crowned with temple built to various gods.
The city had actually been destroyed around 590 bc and for the next three hundred years had existed as simply a collection of villages. In 290 bc Lysimachus rebuilt the city as one of the few planned cities in Asia, it’s streets were wide and straight and the entire city had been designed to be aesthetically pleasing. Is it any wonder when Jesus addressed this city he referred to himself in Revelation 2:8 as The one who died and is alive: A reference not lost on the residents of this city that had been reborn. The other description that Jesus gave of himself was the First and the Last. This is a title that Jesus has used before to signify his eternal nature, however it would have had special meaning to the people of Smyrna who considered their city to be the greatest thing since sliced bread, that is if they had of had sliced bread. He was saying “You only think you are the first, I am.”
Prophetically the church age represented by the Smyrnian church was the age of persecution which lasted from approximately 95 ad until 311 ad. The church in this beautiful city on the coast of Asia Minor did not have a pleasant existence. The words of Christ reveal a great deal when we read Revelation 2:9 “ I know about your suffering and your poverty—but you are rich! The modern Evangelical heresy that if you are Born again and are committed to serving Jesus Christ that you will achieve worldly and financial independence would not hold much water in Smyrna.
Today Preachers and Evangelists tell us that all our desires will be met, that we will never experience trouble or sorrow. That our marriages will be perfect that our kids will be perfect and that all our dreams will be fulfilled when we faithfully serve Jesus. It’s at that point that we need to open our bibles and realize that the word persecution is used over thirty times in relation to Christians. Jesus did not promise the church that life was going to come up roses, he did not promise that there would never be any problems but if you turn in your bibles you will find in Matthew 5:11 “ God blesses you when you are mocked and persecuted and lied about because you are my followers.” Not if you are mocked and persecuted and lied about but when you are mocked and persecuted and lied about.
Sometimes it bothers me that we are so accepted by society, what are we doing wrong? It’s like the world doesn’t perceive us to be a threat. The church in Smyrna was a persecuted church and the Christians even though they were solid, spiritual, dedicated followers of Jesus Christ were poor. And the risen Christ doesn’t give them a pep talk and tell them “Cheer up things could be worse.” Instead he says “Cheer up things will get worse.”
Jesus had no criticism of this church at all. They were only fifty kilometres away from the church in Ephesus which Jesus condemned for losing their first love, but he had no such complaint against this church. Instead he focuses on their faithfulness, and specifically how they’ve been faithful in the face of three distinct challenges.
1) I Know About Your Suffering We have discussed a little bit the persecution that these early Christians went through. Very early in the church the Roman Government had been their friend. Christianity was seen as a sect of Judaism which was a recognized religion. And so in the initial growth of the church we see the Government stepping in to protect the church and believers on several different occasions. But things have changed, Caesar worship has become the norm. What the emperors had seen as an amusing foible had gotten out of hand. Originally the Emperor had been venerated because of the many benefits brought by the Roman Empire. It was worship in the same way that a Pop Idol or Movie Star might be worshipped, maybe the way Princess Di was viewed by many.
However when the Domitian became Emperor he took Caesar worship very seriously indeed and demanded it of everyone. When his proclamations were read they began with the words “Our Lord and God Domitian commands. . .” Everyone who addressed him in speech or in writing was to begin with the words: Lord and God.
All over the empire the decree was that everyone must utter the words Caesar is Lord, or die. Now the persecution wasn’t a constant, the Christians might live in peace for a number of years and then the persecution would be stirred up for any number of reasons. And so it was the constant threat of persecution that hung over the church in Smyrna. The Greek word that was used here for suffering literally meant to be crushed. So have you been crushed lately for your faith?
2) I know About Your Poverty In the Greek there were two very distinct words that could be used for poverty, the first was Penia and it meant that you had nothing extra. A modern equivalent would be to be broke. You can only afford basic cable, no calling features on your phone, dial up connection for your internet, going out means the special at McDonalds. You do understand that what we think of as the bare necessities in this country would be considered serious wealth in 90% of the world. I’m not trying to make you feel guilty, just understand that it’s hard sometimes to take the claims of poverty serious in 2003 Canada.
The other Greek word that was used was Ptocheia and it meant having nothing at all. We might say destitute. This person doesn’t have little, they have nothing. And that was the word used here. Now I’m sure there was a little bit more then nothing, but not much. There may be a couple of explanations for the poverty of these believers. The first is that they very well may have been on the bottom of the economic ladder, and in the Roman Empire there was a vast chasm between the haves and the have nots. But even if that wasn’t the case, even if the believers belonged to the merchant class the persecutions that had broke out would certainly have an impact on their lives. Stores would have been looted and customers who weren’t Christians wouldn’t want to be seen patronizing the stores of the Christ followers. Life was not easy for the Christians in Smyrna. And yet Christ reassures them that while they may be poor in material things they are rich in spiritual things. Which of course goes back to Matthew 6:19-20 “ Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where they can be eaten by moths and get rusty, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where they will never become moth-eaten or rusty and where they will be safe from thieves. So where do you keep your treasures?
3) I Know About the Slander. Sticks and stones may break my bones but names will never hurt me. If you were like most children growing up that was probably your mantra at one time or another. And even though we repeated it ad nauseam we never really believed it. The power of words is incredible, and while the truth sometimes hurts it’s when the words spoken are lies that it really hurts.
That was the problem with the church in Smyrna, the critics had nothing negative they could say about the church that was the truth and so they fabricated faults. Within the early church there were six slanderous charges that seemed to be brought against the church at various times. It is probably safe to assume that these were some of the lies that the believers in Smyrna were dealing with. And as is the case with the very best lies these were all partly based on truth.
1) On the basis of the words spoken during the communion service, this is my body and this is my blood, some said that Christians practiced cannibalism. Do you know when the cannibal child was allowed to leave the table? Not until everyone was finished.
2) Because the early Christians referred to their common meal as the Agape or the “Love Feast” the rumour circulated that it was an orgy and Christians practiced sexual immorality.
3) Because it was true that Christianity could separate families when one member became a believer and others didn’t Christianity were accused of tampering with family relations.
4) The Romans accused the Christians of being atheists because they couldn’t understand a worship which had no images of it’s god. Remember that the various gods that the Romans worshipped all had temples dedicated to them and statues.
5) Because the Christians refused to call Caesar Lord they were considered to be unpatriotic or even treasonous.
6) The Christians were accused of being arsonists because of the talk of the fires of the end times.
And you thought you had it rough when people called you a holy roller. Here’s the promise Matthew 5:11 “ God blesses you when you are mocked and persecuted and lied about because you are my followers. Again the word is when not if. So what are people saying about you because you follow Jesus?
4) The Promise to Smyrna
So Jesus has said, I have seen that you are persecuted, poor and lied about, but here’s the good news. Revelation 2:10 Don’t be afraid of what you are about to suffer. The Devil will throw some of you into prison and put you to the test. You will be persecuted for ‘ten days.’ Kind of “Cheer up things could be worse, and I cheered up and sure enough things did get worse.” The term ten days is not to be taken literally it simply means that the persecution will not be indefinite that it will last for a set period of time, then it will end. Jesus is saying “This won’t last forever.” It would be wonderful if that was the promise wait long enough and everything will work out we will always make it through the troubles that life throws our way. You will be victorious over Persecution, illness, abuse but that isn’t the promise. Here is the promise: Remain faithful even when facing death, and I will give you the crown of life. Time and time again the word tells us “Remain Faithful” “Don’t give up” “Persevere”. And then you win, you get to live forever, without pain and without fear. Even if you are burned at a stake, even if you die of a horrible disease, even if everyone abandons you, he won’t. So remain faithful.
5) The Promise to Us
And this promise is not just for those believers who lived in a city in Asia Minor 2000 years ago, here’s your promise Revelation 2:11 “ Anyone who is willing to hear should listen to the Spirit and understand what the Spirit is saying to the churches. Whoever is victorious will not be hurt by the second death.
Can you claim that today, whatever happens God is still in control, if you are one of his children then ultimately you will be with him. What happens in this life is just a shadow of eternity; don’t trade the whisper of today for all of your tomorrows. Remain faithful, don’t give up, persevere.
To close we are going to listen to a song written by Ray Boltz, the words will be on the screen. I want you to stand, and if the chorus is your prayer today then sing along.
Closing song: I pledge Allegiance to the Lamb.
Hope you found this sermon helpful. PowerPoint may be available contact me at denn@bccnet.ca
If you could build a church for a dollar. . .
would you?
