Be faithful unto death

Sermon for midweek of Transfiguration

Revelation 2:8-11

On Sunday, in the account of the Transfiguration, Jesus showed us a brief glimpse of the glory and the crown that await all those who bear the shame and the cross here. It’s really the same message we have before us in this evening’s reading from the book of Revelation. The letter before us this evening, to the angel of the church in Smyrna, is full of praise and hope and encouragement from the One who walks among the lampstands.

To the angel of the church in Smyrna, write: These are the words of the First and the Last, who was dead and now lives. There are two things about Himself that Jesus wants the church in Smyrna to focus on: That He is the First and the Last, and that He is the One who was dead and now lives. The First and the Last, which is the same as the Alpha and the Omega. Nothing came before Jesus and nothing will come after. No one will get rid of Him or outlast Him. Even when His enemies thought they had gotten rid of Him and defeated Him and outlasted Him when He died and lay in the tomb for three days, they were proven wrong. He was dead, seemingly defeated. But now He lives, and has shown the world why He allowed Himself to die in the first place, not because His enemies defeated Him, but because He chose to die as the once-for-all sacrifice for the sins of the world. And now He lives and is seated on His throne, and the One enthroned in heaven laughs at the powerful men and women of this world who think they’ve defeated Christianity once and for all, who think they are in control of this world. Christ is the Last. He’ll be standing, together with His Church, the members of His body, as all His powerful enemies come to ruin in the end.

I know your works, Jesus says. Just like He knew the good works of the Ephesians. It’s as Paul once wrote to the Ephesians: For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. All Christians have been saved by grace, through faith, and all Christians have been recreated in Christ Jesus for good works. He is the Vine, we are the branches. If a man remains in Me, Jesus says, and I in him, he will produce much fruit. So the Smyrnan Christians were clearly remaining in Christ, because they were doing the good works for which they were created, living as penitent, believing Christians, walking the path of God’s commandments.

I know your tribulation. I know your troubles, everything you’re suffering, especially what you suffer for the sake of being Christians in a godless world. Jesus knew it, but, notice, He didn’t immediately remove their tribulation from them, even though He reigns over all things. Tribulation, trouble, is exactly what He told His people ahead of time they would face in this world. St. John wrote Jesus’ words in his Gospel: In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world. In other words, Jesus rules even over and in the midst of the tribulation.

I know your poverty—The Christians in Smyrna were poor; they didn’t have much money or the security that comes with it. The context suggests that their poverty may be the result of having their livelihoods and resources stripped away from them because of their faithfulness to Christ. They denied themselves. They gave up earthly fame and fortune, jobs and sources of income when faithfulness to Christ required it. But you are rich! Jesus says. Rich in the things that really matter: in faith, in God’s favor, in spiritual gifts and spiritual possessions, including an inheritance stored up in heaven for them, where moth and rust cannot destroy.

And I know the blasphemy of those who say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan. The Christians in Smyrna were being slandered and lied about by the local Jews. The same thing had happened in many of the cities where St. Paul did his missionary activity; the synagogues would turn on him and any who followed him into the Christian Church and would do their best to get the Christians in trouble. The Jews were once, of course, the people of God, the people who were given the first chance to know and to receive the Messiah. But once they had heard the Gospel of Christ and rejected it, they were no longer considered by God to be the people of God. Instead, they’re called here a “synagogue of Satan,” even as Jesus once referred to the unbelieving Jews as “children of the devil.”

But Jesus has some encouragement for the Smyrnans in the face of the persecution they still have to face: Do not be afraid of any of those things that you will suffer. Behold, the devil will throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested; and you will have tribulation for ten days. The Lord tells His people that they’re not done suffering yet. He isn’t going to step in to prevent further suffering. He simply tells them not to be afraid of it. Why? Because Jesus is still in control of it and will use it for His good purposes. One of those good purposes is that you may be tested, not tested so that Jesus can see whether they’re genuine believers or not, but tested as fine gold is tested in the fire, to reveal its purity to everyone. There is a great benefit to the world when people see Christians willing to suffer loss, and prison, and even death for the sake of Christ. It has a healthy effect on the world, just as it has a detrimental effect on the world when someone who claims to be a Christian refuses to bear the cross. But Jesus will limit the Smyrnans’ suffering to “ten days,” to a short period of time. He’ll cut it short before it can do any damage to their precious faith.

Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life. Be faithful. Faithful in Greek means both “full of faith” and “faithful,” as in, proving yourself worthy of what has been entrusted to you. Here it really captures both meanings. Be believing, even up to the point of death. Don’t lose faith when it gets hard. Keep trusting in the One who walks among the lampstands. And, be faithful even to the point of death. Don’t shrink back from the cross. Don’t deny Christ, don’t deny or compromise the truth in order to save your earthly life. Keep confessing the faith even if it means you have to die for it. Because, in the end, you won’t really die. I will give you the crown of life. The crown goes to the victor, to the one who wins, to the one who overcomes. Except that, in this fight, you don’t overcome by saving your earthly life. You overcome by being willing to lose it for Christ’s sake, and then your reward in eternity will be great.

He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who overcomes will not be injured at all by the second death. The first death is the death of the body. And yes, we grieve when people die that first death, even for Christians. But our grief is softened by this truth, that a Christian who overcomes, who faces death having remained faithful, will not be injured at all by the second death, which is eternal death, separation from God, and suffering in hell. For the one who overcomes, who is faithful unto death, his or her victory is sealed. They can never be harmed again, never be tempted again, never risk becoming unfaithful ever again. It is the final victory for the Christian to reach death having remained faithful, which is why we say that, at that moment, their soul enters the Church Triumphant—triumphant and victorious over every evil, every enemy, every danger, every tribulation. There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, Paul writes. Only a crown of life.

So hear what the Spirit says to the churches. Carry these encouragements and promises with you, to do the works that God prepared beforehand that you should walk in them, to bask in the riches that are yours through faith in Christ, to bear suffering and persecution with patience and with trust and without compromising the truth, and to continue in it all until the end of your earthly life, knowing the glory and the crown that await you on the other side. Amen.