Revelation

Polycarp was born in the year 69, about 1900 years before me.

His name means much fruit.

He occupies a very important place in the history of the Christian church,

and particularly the early Christian church.

He is among the earliest Christians whose writings still survive today,

nearly 2,000 years later.

According to one scholar, Polycarp may have been the one who compiled and edited

and published the New Testament for the first time.

He was an elder of an important congregation,

which has a large contributor to the founding of the Christian church

and the spreading of the Christian gospel in the very early days.

His ministry was also crucial in its timing because after the apostles had died,

a number of new teachings flooded into the early church,

and it was Polycarp who was regarded as the most significant defender of the apostolic faith,

the orthodox Christian faith in the second century.

He is, however, most famous not for his life but for his death,

and his death at the hands of the Roman Empire.

He initially managed to escape the authorities once he heard that they were after him.

He was discovered by a child.

Soldiers came and arrested him, and when they came to arrest him,

he cooked a feast for them, put on a big banquet for them.

They sat and scoffed the food down while he spent.

He got permission to spend an hour in prayer, but his prayer was with such fervency,

and they obviously had lots to eat, and they allowed him to pray for two hours.

And in the process of him praying while they were eating,

and they could hear it all, the soldiers who came and arrested him were absolutely stricken

by the fact that they were arresting such a godly and fervent man,

someone who they held in high esteem, and in fact they repented of that,

but they ended up taking him nevertheless to the Roman proconsul,

kind of like a judge guy, and he was condemned to be burned at the stake.

So Polycarp, the Roman proconsul, when he was there talking to Polycarp,

he encouraged him to save his life and to denounce Jesus.

And Polycarp answered with his now famous statement,

The proconsul then threatened him a number of times.

He threatened to throw him to the wild beasts,

but apparently those gains were over, so it was illegal for him to do that.

And so the crowd insisted that Polycarp be burnt to the stake.

And Polycarp says, away you go.

He was threatened with the burning of the stake, and his response was,

The fire you threaten me with only burns for a short time, and then it goes out.

You are ignorant of the future fire of judgment, which is never put out,

and which is reserved for the ungodly.

And so what are you waiting for?

Do what you want to do.

Polycarp was let out to be burnt at the stake,

and as was the normal custom, they tied the person to the stake,

but they also nailed them to the stake.

And they didn't do that for Polycarp.

He said to them, Leave me as I am,

for he that gives me strength to endure the fire

will also enable me, without your securing me,

to remain in it without moving.

So he says, I'm not going to run.

I'm going to run away.

And so on the 23rd of February in the year 156,

the fire was lit, Polycarp died,

and in dying he received the crown of life.

Now Polycarp was discipled by the Apostle John,

who wrote Revelation that we're looking at right now.

And it was the Apostle John who ordained Polycarp

as the Bishop of Smyrna.

And so in Revelation 2, verse 8,

Revelation 2:8

Jesus tells John to write to the angel of the church in Smyrna.

And he says in verse 10,

Do not be afraid of what you're about to suffer.

Be faithful, even to the point of death,

and I will give you the crown of life.

The message of these three verses,

the message of the life of people like Polycarp

and many thousands who have followed him,

is that Jesus is more precious than life itself.

I announced, sorry, I didn't announce,

I mentioned last week when I was preaching

that each of these messages to the seven churches,

although written to specific situations,

to specific churches,

were in fact, were for all the seven churches

in Asia Minor.

And also for us too.

They are letters for us.

Each one of these messages,

the seven churches in Revelation 2 and 3,

are messages for us too.

I also mentioned that each of them

had a specific structure.

For instance,

notice that they all begin

by stating something

about the aspect of Jesus' glory

that John saw in his vision of Jesus

from Revelation chapter 1.

Revelation 1 · chapter mention

And in each case,

the aspect of Jesus' glory

that is mentioned

at the beginning of each one of the seven churches

is relevant for the content

of the rest of that particular letter

for that church.

So last week,

Jesus is mentioned as the one

who walks among the seven golden lampstands

as the Lord of the church.

And then a little later,

he threatens to remove the lampstand

from that church in Ephesus

because of their lack of love.

Connection between who Jesus is

and the application for the church.

And so writing to the church in Smyrna,

in verse 8,

we see Jesus identifies himself

as the first and the last

who died and came to life again.

And then in verse 10,

he says to this church,

Do not be afraid of what you're about to suffer.

Be faithful,

even to the point of death,

and I will give you the crown of life.

Jesus,

I was dead,

I'm alive now.

Be faithful to death,

and I'll give you the crown of life.

In every case,

it is the vision of Jesus,

his splendor and his glory

that drives the application

for each one of these churches.

Now there is a depth

in the vision that John received here

of Jesus

and that gets reflected here

in this church at Smyrna

that really just cannot be plumbed

by mere mortals like us.

He identifies himself

as the first and the last

who died and came to life again.

And so as far back as your mind can go,

and Jesus was there before all of that,

he is the first.

He was the first,

before all else,

before anything else was,

he was.

He cannot be preempted.

Now you need to be careful

because thinking about him

as the first and the last

will tax your mental capacity

until your brain kind of wants to explode.

Or in my case,

I turn on the TV and get distracted.

Jesus is bigger

than our ability to understand.

He is also the last.

Nothing will endure beyond Jesus.

He is before and after everything.

He is the master over all things,

over all time and space.

He stands as Lord of all of that.

He is the one who died

and came to life again.

Now that blows your mind.

How does the one

who is the first and the last,

who never had a beginning,

never will have an end,

also die?

He is before and after all that is

and yet he enters into the progress of history.

He was killed and rose from the dead.

There are no categories

in the philosophies and the religions of the world

that makes this stuff fit,

that makes claims like this.

The death and resurrection of Jesus

ultimately means that death has now power over him.

He is bigger than death.

Our last and final enemy,

Jesus has conquered it.

He is bigger than it.

And if he is bigger than death,

he is also bigger than life.

And so after Jesus announces himself in verse 8,

he says in verse 9

that he knows three things

about this church in Smyrna.

He knows their afflictions,

their poverty,

and the slander that's made against them.

What could be more comforting

than for this Jesus,

the first and the last one

who's dead and alive again,

to come to this church in Smyrna

and say,

I know.

I know it all.

I know what's going on.

Jesus does not trivialise their suffering

by telling them,

it's not really that bad after all.

He doesn't demean them

by telling them

if they were a little bit stronger,

they wouldn't be feeling it so much.

They wouldn't bother them so much.

He doesn't cheapen their experience

by offering them unsympathetic advice,

you know,

well, you know,

it'll be better one day.

Jesus honours their suffering

with a simple and comforting words,

I know.

I know.

Your afflictions.

One of the most discouraging impacts

of suffering

is the feeling of loneliness.

And Jesus here reminds this church

of his presence.

I'm with you.

I know your afflictions.

Jesus also knows their poverty.

The irony is that Smyrna

was known as the glory of Asia.

It was an affluent city,

a highly regarded city,

an up-and-coming city.

And the church in this city

stood in stark contrast.

The church was poor.

Their affliction most likely

came from the people of influence

in Smyrna.

They opposed Christianity

because they thought

it was not going to appease

the gods of the Roman Empire.

They thought it wasn't going to make

Caesar happy.

And they thought

it wasn't going to do

the reputation of Smyrna

any good either.

And so this little church

in Smyrna

was opposed

by the power structures

of the empire.

It had no financial resources,

no influence in society.

Or so it seemed.

Jesus says to them,

I know your affliction.

I know your poverty.

This means

that the true Lord of Lords,

the King of Kings,

the one whom

Caesar

will bow the knee to,

knows them.

He knows their need.

And he says,

despite how it looks,

you're rich.

It's the same paradox

that the Apostle Paul expressed

when he describes himself

in 2 Corinthians 6 verse 10

2 Corinthians 6:10

as poor

and yet making many rich,

as of having nothing

and yet possessing

everything.

In Jesus,

we are rich

because we have

what will save life

into all eternity.

the only thing

that will matter

is whether or not

you have the gospel.

And if you have the gospel,

you are rich

because you have life.

You possess

eternal life

and this wealth

is yours

if you trust

in Jesus.

Jesus also knows

the slander

of those who say

that they are Jews

but they are not,

but are of the synagogue

of Satan.

You see,

the Roman Empire

had exempted Jews

from participating

in the Roman Imperial cult,

you know,

the sort of pagan idolatry

of the Roman Empire.

Jews sort of got

like a free ticket,

didn't have to be part of that.

Everyone else

was required

to participate

and obviously

Christians would not

want to participate

in Roman idolatry

and all their festivals

and celebrations

and it seems

that the Jewish

slander here

probably has to do

with the Jews

dobbing in the Christians

for not participating,

taking them

to the authorities,

you know,

ringing up the police

and saying the guys

they're not there

enjoying in the festivities.

Jews.

And so the might

of the empire

is coming upon them.

And what Jesus

says here

is that he denies

the status

of Jew,

a person of God

to those

who do not serve

the Jewish king

Jesus himself.

He identifies

their true allegiance.

He said,

they are those

who gather

in synagogues

in churches

to celebrate

Satan's kingdom

and not God's.

all who oppose

King Jesus

are aligned

to a rebel kingdom

whose Lord

is a liar

and a murderer

who hates

those who serve Jesus.

You see,

Satan's plan

is to wreak havoc

upon the people

of God

and Jesus says,

I know,

I know it.

In times of hardship

and affliction

for the gospel,

I think frankly

we need to know

that he knows.

He wants us

to know

that he knows.

It's a word of comfort.

But also

what Jesus does here

is he brings perspective

to this church

at Smyrna.

At first,

at the beginning

of verse 10,

he tells them,

do not be afraid

what they're about

to suffer.

And the only thing

that will keep them

from fearing

is what Jesus

has already told them.

who he is,

he's announced

himself as the first

and the last

who died

and came to life again.

And he's assured them

that he knows

about their suffering.

He knows

who their enemies are.

And they don't need

to be afraid

because of who he is,

what he's done,

that he knows

and that he is near.

That's a bit of perspective.

The second bit

of perspective,

he identifies

who's at work

in their suffering.

It's the devil

who will put some

in prison.

There is no question here

about who's in the right

and who's in the wrong.

The devil has a plan

to perpetrate evil

against God's people.

He wants them

to be faithless to Christ.

And so the purpose statement

following the announcement

that Satan,

the devil,

is going to put

some of you

in prison,

there's a purpose statement

there that follows.

It says,

to test you.

I don't think

that's Satan's purpose.

I actually think

that's God's purpose.

It seems

it's one of those

texts in Revelation,

in fact,

in the Bible,

that indicates

that God is using

Satan to accomplish

his good purpose.

What Satan wishes

for ill,

God turns around

and uses for good.

God is using

the devil's persecution

to test

and to approve

his people

the hardship

is God's

polishing cloth,

if you like,

on his people.

And when his people

come through the test,

they make Jesus

look magnificent.

They make Jesus

look more valuable

than life itself.

because only God

could preserve them

through such a trial.

There was a lady,

this was written,

I remember the first sermon,

you might,

this is taking you back

a little bit,

very first sermon here

in Revelation.

this was written

in the time

of the Emperor

Domitian.

He was the kingpin

in the Roman Empire.

And one of the,

one of the acts

of Domitian

was he

persecuted

a Christian family.

There was a Christian

lady who had

seven sons.

and he

had each,

put each one

of these

family on trial

and particularly

persecuted the mother

who was a known

of the high society

as a quite,

a famous Christian lady.

And the way

he persecuted her

was to line up

her seven children

and kill them

one by one.

Declaring each one

of these children

to give up

on their faith

in Jesus.

And none of them

would.

And he didn't

just do it,

denounce Jesus,

no,

God,

denounce Jesus,

God.

It wasn't just

a flash in a moment,

it was over

the course of months.

He stretched it out

to try and force

her to break.

And so one by one

in front of her,

her children

were killed.

One thrown

over a cliff,

another one

fed to the lions,

two beaten

to death

with clubs,

couple burned

at the state.

Until finally

all her kids

dead,

tortured for

another bunch

of months,

she refused

to give in

until it was

her time

for execution.

and she

died,

committed

to Christ

and

the Roman

Empire,

people in

Rome,

watched it

all happen

over the

course of

months.

And when

she died,

the gospel

just spread.

She died

with joy

and made

Jesus look

magnificent.

Her kids

died with joy

and made

Jesus look

magnificent.

and so

God was

glorified.

What the

devil

perpetrates

for evil,

God uses

for his

good,

for his

glory.

And Jesus

brings further

perspective to

them when he

said that

they will

suffer persecution

for ten

days.

It seems

that ten

days here

points to

a full

but a

limited

amount of

time.

The point

is to

communicate

to these

Christians

in Smyrna

that Jesus

knows that

they're

suffering.

He knows

how long

they're

suffering

for,

how long

it's going

to last,

and it

is relatively

short in

comparison to

the second

death.

And it's

on the

basis of

that perspective

that Jesus

brings to

this church

in Smyrna

that we

have this

audacious

command,

be faithful,

even to

the point

of death.

Only Jesus

could make

that kind

of command.

Only

Jesus has

the authority

necessary to

place this

kind of

obligation

upon his

people.

He is

the master

of all

history.

He is the

one who has

laid down

his life.

He is the

great martyr

himself,

the one who

was dead

but is alive

forever.

he knows

what these

Christians in

Smyrna are

facing and

he says,

be faithful.

Notice,

this is not

a letter of

condolences to

the church at

Smyrna.

Jesus isn't

saying that it

was infinitely

sad what they

were facing.

He wasn't

saying, I'm

so sorry for

getting you

into this.

He didn't

say, I don't

know what went

wrong.

He's calling

his church to

take up their

cross and be

faithful to

him.

He's calling

to press on,

to run the

race and

finish the

course with

joy because

Jesus is

greater than

life.

Only Jesus

has the

ability to

reimburse

those who

would obey

this command.

The command

to be

faithful to

death means

that it

is more

important to

be faithful

to Jesus

than it is

to go on

living.

Because of

who he is

and what he's

achieved for

us through

his death,

Jesus is

worth dying

for.

And if he's

worth dying

for, then

he is certainly

worth living

for.

Only those

who are

gripped by

something

worth more

to them than

life itself

will be truly

courageous.

encourages

precisely here

what Jesus

calls this

church in

Smyrna to

in this

command.

He is

proclaiming

that he

is better

than life

itself.

It's what

the psalmist

said, Sam

read out to

us from

Psalm 63,

because your

love is

better than

life, my

lips will

glorify you.

The great

irony here is

that Jesus

promises life

to those who

are faithful

to death.

Faithful to

death, I'll

give you

life.

It's in

verse 10,

be faithful

even to the

point that I'll

give you the

crown of

life.

The crown

of life.

Now the

crown here is

not the crown

that you would

put on the

head of a

king or a

queen.

This is the

crown, the

wreath if you

like, that was

put on the

head of the

victor of the

games.

It is the

reward, the

prize, the

gift of the

victor, the

one who has

overcome.

He says, keep

running, keep

going, keep

enduring, keep

being faithful,

and I will

give you, and

this is the

literal translation,

the Stephanus of

life.

That's what my

name means.

Stephen means

crown.

And these

Christians, these

early Christians,

would have

known about

Stephanus, the

first Christian

martyr, who

was crowned by

Jesus with

eternal life.

And Jesus

is saying, it

isn't just for

Stephen, it is

for all who are

faithful, all who

are faithful receive

the victor's

wreath.

This crown

imagery here is

so significant for

this church in

Smyrna.

You see, this

city in which

they lived, this

city of Smyrna,

had gone through

a very significant

transformation.

700 years before

this, it was

destroyed, flattened.

And it laid

flattened for

300 years.

And then it was

rebuilt.

And it was

rebuilt quite

significantly.

It had been

regarded as a

city that had

come back from

the dead.

And it was

the crowning

jewel of the

Roman Empire, a

city of affluence

and beauty.

A very

significant city.

And one of the

symbols for the

city of

Smyrna was

the crown.

And Jesus

offers this

church in

Smyrna an

alternative.

Deny me and

pursue the crown

of Smyrna.

Smyrna, take

your place in

the society of

Smyrna, or

remain faithful to

me and receive

the crown of

life.

It's quite

significant for

Jesus to

promise his

church, suffering

at the hands of

this city, the

crown of life, the

other side of

death.

Because death is

the only way to

life.

life.

Jesus dies on

the cross and

he rises to

life.

Jesus dies on

the cross and

gives us eternal

life.

And the great

irony is that

death is the

only way to

life.

Death to

self, death

to sin.

When we are

dead to self

and dead to

sin, then we

will be dead

to the world

and we'll be

dead to fear.

But we'll also

be alive to the

power of the

spirit through

faith in Jesus.

And so this

letter to this

church at

Smyrna closes by

calling those who

have ears to

hear what the

spirit says to

the churches.

And then the

promise of life

in verse 10 is

reinstated in

different language

in verse 11 where

it says,

he who overcomes

will not be hurt

at all by the

second death.

death.

As one of the,

I think it was

Saint Jerome,

one of the

martyrs of the

Roman Empire

said,

you may take

my life but

you will not

hurt me in the

second death.

Overcoming here

means from

remaining faithful

to Jesus even

to death.

death.

And we see

what the second

death is in

chapter 20 verse

14 where it

says the lake of

fire is the

second death.

If anyone's name

is not written in

the book of life,

he was thrown

into the lake of

fire.

And the second

death is infinitely

worse than dying

a first death.

And the only way to

avoid it is to put

your trust in Jesus,

to give your life

to the one who

offers you life

forever.

And so God

gets the glory

for his martyrs

because he is the

one who has

convinced them that

his love is better

than life.

He is the one

who's worth their

death to declare.

He is the one

who has so

satisfied their

hearts,

so filled them

with joy and

contentment that

they cannot deny

him.

His love is

greater than life.

In April

2007,

five young

Muslim men

stormed into

the office of a

Christian publishing

company in

southeastern

Turkey.

They tortured

and killed three

young Christians

because they

regarded them

as a threat

to Islam

and to their

country.

And these

three young

lives,

which were

taken,

were the

first known

martyrdoms of

Turkish Christians

who had

converted from

Islam since

the founding

of the

Turkish

Republic in

1923.

Days later,

the funeral

for one of

them murdered

was conducted

at the

Anglican

Church in

Esmir.

That was

his hometown.

That's where

he came to

Christ.

Esmir is

modern-day

Smyrna.

And even

now, God

is calling

his people

to be

faithful to

him, even

to death.

Many have,

many still

do.

Many of

us are

aware of

what's going

on right

now with

our brothers

and sisters

in northern

Iraq.

May their

joy be

complete.

more

Christians

died

because of

their

faith in

Jesus in

the 20th

century than

all the

previous

centuries

combined.

Christ is

still calling

people to

be faithful

even to

death.

Nowhere does

the New

Testament

promise

freedom from

suffering in

this life.

In fact,

without the

cross there

is no

crown.

My friends,

we're not

sitting in

northern Iraq,

we're sitting

in Chatswood

and we

need these

verses from

Revelation

Revelation 2 · chapter mention

chapter 2.

Not just

because there

may be some

of us sitting

here now who

may die

because of

Jesus,

but because

all of us

live.

That's why

these verses

are so

essential.

All of us

live.

And because

all of us

live, we

face the

question,

is Jesus

more precious

to me than

life itself?

will I be

faithful to

Jesus and

to carry the

cross even

this week?

And if we're

going to do

that, we

need to know

that Jesus

knows everything

we face.

We need to

know that

Jesus has a

purpose in

whatever we're

going through.

We need to

be full of

confidence in

Jesus and

not resting

on our

own resources

to endure

and to

overcome.

And we

need to

think constantly

on what

Jesus has

promised to

those who

overcome that

victory wreath,

that crown of

life that will

never fade.

Jesus is

bigger than

life itself.

can you say

with the

apostle Paul

to live is

Christ,

to die is

gain?

Can you

say with

the psalmist

because your

love is

better than

life, my

lips will

glorify you,

my lips will

praise you and

honour you and

love you and

esteem you.

when Polycarp

was tied to

the stake for

his execution,

he prayed

this prayer.

It is a

prayer that

expresses that

Jesus is more

precious than

life for him

and far from

being a tragedy,

it was his

joy.

Let's pray.

Let's pray.

Let's pray.

Let's pray.

Let's pray.

Let's pray.

Now, Lord God

Almighty, the

Father of your

beloved and

blessed Son,

Jesus Christ,

I give you

thanks that you

have counted me

worthy of this

day and this

hour, that I

should be part

in the number,

have a part in

the number of

your martyrs,

among whom may

I be accepted

this day.

I praise you

for all things,

I bless you,

I glorify you,

along with the

everlasting and

heavenly

Jesus Christ,

your beloved

Son, with whom

to you and

the Holy Spirit

be glory both

now and to

all coming

ages.

Amen.

Amen.