Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost

Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost
October 3, 2010

Jesus Brings More of Everything
Revelation 2:8-11

To the angel of the church in Smyrna write:
These are the words of Him who is the First and the Last, who died and came to life again. I know your afflictions and your poverty—yet you are rich! I know the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes will not be hurt at all by the second death.

Dear friends,

The final book of the Bible is a book that is filled with comfort. Jesus' revelation to St. John is a message of free forgiveness and accomplished victory. We see this victory that was won on the cross when Jesus introduces Himself as the Savior who died and came to life again.

He died and came back to life. He died and came back to life. This is too good to be true, but God does impossible things. So He died and came back to life. This is Jesus talking and when He speaks, we listen.

And this is what Jesus says. He tells you that He knows you, just like He knew each individual believer who lived in Smyrna around AD 90. (Smyrna was a port city on the eastern coast of Turkey. It was the location of an early Christian church.)

Jesus says that He knows your problems, just like He knew the problems in Smyrna. And listen carefully: He doesn't know about your problems; He knows your problems. We often know about the problems of others. And maybe for a moment we feel bad. But Jesus' concern and empathy—feeling the misery of others—isn't a fleeting feeling. He knows our problems, because He has experienced the same problems and suffered from them, too.

Hebrews 2:9, 17, 18 says that Jesus suffered death, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone... For this reason He had to be made like His brothers in every way, in order that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that He might make atonement for the sins of the people. Because He Himself suffered when He was tempted, He is able to help those who are being tempted.

Jesus knows how you suffer. And in this revelation to the church in Smyrna, Jesus knew the suffering that came to them because they were Christians. This kind of suffering is different than the suffering that believers and unbelievers alike endure from disease, calamity, and other people.

Jesus is telling those in Smyrna, “You are standing firm in My hidden glory because I have made you My people. Stand firm until this suffering is over. What waits for you when this is over is My glory made visible in you to all the earth.” Here's how He actually said it: I know your afflictions and your poverty—yet you are rich!

We are poor and rich at the same time. We look poor to the world. We look poor to our children and friends. We even look poor to ourselves. We look poor to everyone because bad things do happen to us.

The Christians in Smyrna faced evil words, jail time, and violence. Today we face cruel words. Christians face these things because we follow Jesus. We look poor because we are Christians. Our lives are more difficult because we are Christians.

When an unbelieving relative dies, we can't sugarcoat it by pretending that they'll be in heaven. We take this tragedy personally and it hurts. Unbelievers can lie to themselves, but we can't. Knowing the truth can bring more pain into your life. But knowing the truth of Jesus and His cross also bring us peace.

As Jesus' followers we have more of everything: more pain, but also more peace. Just go to the deathbed of a believer and be amazed at the peace they possess and confess in Christ. They know they have a crown. Jesus gave them this crown. It is a crown that proclaims that they are forgiven. This victory wreath on top of their heads shouts that when Jesus died and rose from the dead, they too were connected to this victory in Baptism. Perhaps they remember their confirmation verse: Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life. What sweet comfort this sentence gives!

Our suffering and pain often threaten to hide our crowns. But in a strange way, they are marks of our Christian faith. When you are agonizing over a sin that you know is too cruel to be forgiven, remember that you are in agony because you take God's Word seriously. John's fellow apostle Peter urged his fellow believers to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. (1 Peter 2:11)

When you feel this war in your soul, remember not only the Law, but also the Gospel. Hear the words of Paul in Romans 5 as he rejoices: The law was added so that [sin] might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more, so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 5:20-21)

This grace, this crown which He puts on your head, these riches that He pours out on you are gifts from Jesus. He wants you to have them because He knows that since you belong to Him, your life will tougher. You will suffer more. You will experience more pain. So He gives you more comfort, more peace, more joy because He died and came back to life. He died and came back to life.

Amen.