Monday
Monday
The Letter to Smyrna—Suffering
Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer…. You will suffer persecution.
Revelation 2:10
If the first mark of a model church is love, the second is suffering. A willingness to suffer for Christ proves the genuineness of our love for him.
The town of Smyrna (now Izmir) is about thirty-five miles up the coast from Ephesus. It was the next town the postman would reach on his circular tour of the seven churches. It was well-known for its splendor and for its sensitivity to the rivalry of Ephesus.
The church of Smyrna was a suffering church. Jesus assures them that he knows their afflictions, their poverty, and the slander of their enemies. It seems probable that their sufferings were associated with the emperor cult. For Smyrna boasted of her temple in honor of Emperor Tiberius. From time to time citizens were required to sprinkle incense on the fire burning before the emperor’s bust, simultaneously confessing that Caesar was lord. But how could Christians call Caesar lord when they had confessed Jesus as Lord?
This was the dilemma that in AD 156 confronted the venerable Polycarp, bishop of Smyrna. In the crowded amphitheater the proconsul urged him to swear by the genius of Caesar and revile Christ. But Polycarp refused, saying, “For eighty-six years I have served him, and he has done me no wrong; how then can I blaspheme my King who saved me?” The proconsul persisted, warning him of death by wild beasts or by fire if he would not change his mind. But Polycarp stood firm. So the fire was lit, and the saintly bishop thanked God for counting him worthy to share the cup of Christ and be numbered among his martyrs.
More than half a century before this, Christ had already warned the Smyrnaen church of prison and even death. “Be faithful, even to the point of death,” he wrote to them, “and I will give you the crown of life” (v. 10).
For further reading: Revelation 2:8–11