And to the angel of
the church in Smyrna write: “The words of the First
and the Last, who died and came to life.”
Revelation 2:8
Jesus Empathizes with Us in Our Suffering
At the very beginning of each of
these letters, Jesus introduces Himself in a purposeful way in order to make a
point. To the church in Smyrna He tells them that He once died and then came to
life again. This may sound strange, but it makes more sense as we continue
reading through the letter that was written to these people. Why? The answer is
because some of them are about to be thrown into prison and even martyred for
their faith.
The reason Jesus introduced
Himself in this way was to remind these believers that, even as the eternal Son
of God, He met the very same fate. He too was killed for standing on the Truth;
and the encouragement that He offered these men and women is that they will be
raised to life in the exact same way (cf. Rom. 8:11).
This letter reminds us all that
we are never alone in our struggles. God not only knows our pain, but He feels
it in the same way we do. As we go through trials and tribulations, He goes
with us. This is even more clearly expressed in Christ’s statement to Saul on
the road to Damascus in Acts 9:4. There He is quoted as saying, “Saul, Saul,
why are you persecuting Me?” By
reading the passage you will note that Jesus was already in Heaven at this
point and Saul was only searching for those who followed Jesus. Yet here is the truth: Christ is so intimately
connected with us and involved in our lives that any amount of pain and
heartache that comes our way directly impacts the Most High God.
Jesus Calls Us to Remain Faithfully Steadfast
However, it is not just physical
tribulation and poverty these believers are facing, but verbal abuse as well.
Satan is using some of the Jewish people to slander these believers in the
public sector. It looks like a pretty significant number of Jews in this area
were slandering them by seeking to ruin their reputations through fake news.
From just glancing at the text, it seems like these aggressive individuals were
doing everything in their power to turn the public eye against them.
While they were not made aware of
everything that was about to happen, Jesus did give them some insight into the
upcoming days. He informed them that the trials and tribulations are about to
get much worse and, for ten days, there will be an even greater attack on them
as Christians living in this area of the world. However, they were encouraged
to know that Christ was standing by them, feeling with them, and waiting for
them on the other side. He exhorted them to remain faithful unto death, and
they would be rewarded with the crown of life.
·
The Church in Smyrna
(2:8-11)
- They were acknowledged in who they were and what they were suffering. They were not praised or rebuked. Just encouraged.
- They were warned about upcoming danger.
- They were exhorted to remain faithful even unto death.
Are You Willing to Trust Him?
Are you willing to die for Jesus?
Are you willing to allow your family to die for Jesus? These are both difficult
and fearful questions, but I think it is good and necessary for each one of us
to verbally declare the answer to ourselves. God forbid the time ever comes
that you are forced to make such a choice, but it might; and in that moment,
what will you choose to do? What will you say?
Continue on to read about the church in Pergamum.
Continue on to read about the church in Pergamum.
*Click here to read the purpose of this blog series.
No comments:
Post a Comment