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,
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.
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.
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
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.
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
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.
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.