Pastor Dalton Stoltz
In Revelation 2 and 3, Jesus delivers seven letters to seven real churches located in the Roman province of Asia. Each congregation faced unique challenges, but the church in Smyrna stood apart. Smyrna received the shortest of the seven letters and one of only two containing no rebuke from Jesus. This congregation was not prosperous, comfortable, or powerful. Its members were poor, persecuted, and pressured because of their commitment to Christ. Yet their suffering did not corrupt their faith, instead, it revealed and refined it.
Before Jesus told them what they would face, He reminded them of who He is:
“The words of the first and the last, who died and came to life.” — Revelation 2:8
Jesus is the First and the Last. He existed before their suffering began, and He would remain after it ended. He had also experienced death and overcome it. Jesus was essentially telling them, “I have already been where you are going.” Death was not unexplored territory for Jesus. He had been there, and He came out alive.
Jesus Knows Your Pressure
Jesus begins His message to Smyrna with two deeply comforting words:
“I know.”
He knew their tribulation, poverty, and the slander being spoken against them. The word translated “tribulation” carries the idea of being pressed, squeezed, or crushed. These believers were facing crushing external circumstances because they refused to compromise their faith. Smyrna was fiercely loyal to Rome, and emperor worship was woven into the culture. Christians could not declare that Caesar was Lord because they had already settled the issue: Jesus is Lord. That conviction could cost them socially, economically, physically, and even cost them their lives.
There is also something significant about Smyrna’s name. The Greek word for Smyrna is the ordinary word for myrrh, a valuable fragrance associated with suffering and burial. Myrrh releases its fragrance when it is cut, crushed, or burned. What a picture of this church. They were being crushed, but what came out of them was faithfulness.
“Sometimes pressure does not destroy what is genuine. Sometimes pressure reveals what is genuine.”
The same remains true for believers today. Pressure has a way of revealing what is really inside us. Difficult circumstances can expose weaknesses, but they can also demonstrate the strength of a genuine faith rooted in Jesus.
Jesus Redefines Your Riches
Jesus told the believers in Smyrna:
“I know your tribulation and your poverty—but you are rich.” — Revelation 2:9
Their poverty was real. Jesus did not minimize it or pretend that their circumstances were painless. These believers experienced deep poverty, likely made worse by economic exclusion because they refused to compromise their convictions. Jesus did not tell them they were not poor. He told them poverty was not the only measurement that mattered. Earth has a scoreboard, and heaven has a scoreboard. Sometimes the scores look completely different.
Our culture often overvalues what is visible and undervalues what is eternal. We measure success through money, position, possessions, appearance, influence, and recognition. Jesus measures our lives according to what will still matter in eternity. Rome looked at the believers in Smyrna and called them poor. Jesus looked at them and called them rich.
The ultimate question is not, “What does my life look like to everyone else?” The question is, “What does Jesus say about my life?”
Jesus Calms Your Fears
Jesus did not promise the church in Smyrna that nothing difficult would happen. In fact, He told them plainly that more suffering was coming:
“Do not fear what you are about to suffer.” — Revelation 2:10
Jesus was not offering them an escape from every painful circumstance. He was commanding them not to allow fear to control their faithfulness. We may not face the exact persecution experienced by the church in Smyrna, but we still struggle with fear. We fear rejection, criticism, discomfort, standing out, losing opportunities, and what obedience may cost us.
The question is whether our greatest desire is to remain safe or to remain faithful.
I had the opportunity to train ministry leaders in the Horn of Africa. Many of them were former Muslims who had placed their faith in Jesus, and several had been imprisoned because of their faith. Their primary question was not, “How do we stay safe?” It was, “How do we stay faithful?” That is the spirit we see in Smyrna. Jesus does not always promise safety, but He continually calls His people to faithfulness.
Jesus Limits Your Suffering
Jesus warned that some of the believers would be thrown into prison and experience tribulation for ten days. Whatever the exact nature of that period, the message was clear: their suffering was real, but it was bounded. Christ did not minimize what was coming. He placed a boundary around it. The enemy was active, but the enemy was not sovereign. Jesus was and still is working on our behalf.
Every difficult challenge in the letter to Smyrna is met with a greater comfort:
- Crushing pressure: but they were rich.
- Prison: but the testing had a purpose.
- Ten days: but not forever.
- Death: but life.
- A trial: but a crown waiting on the other side.
Jesus sees, names, and limits the suffering of His people. Sometimes God removes the furnace, but other times He reveals what is genuine within the furnace. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego knew God could deliver them, but they had already decided they would not bow even if He did not. Esther declared, “If I perish, I perish.” Stephen remained faithful as stones fell around him because he could see Jesus standing at the right hand of God. Faithfulness does not require knowing how the story will end. Faithfulness means deciding in advance that Jesus is King.
Jesus Calls You to Finish Faithful
Jesus gives the church in Smyrna the command that defines the entire letter:
“Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.” — Revelation 2:10
Not faithful until life becomes uncomfortable.
Not faithful until culture changes.
Not faithful until someone criticizes you.
Not faithful only when following Jesus is convenient.
Faithful unto death.
Smyrna was known for the beautiful buildings surrounding Mount Pagos, which created the appearance of a crown above the city. Its people took great pride in the “Crown of Smyrna.”
However, Jesus promised His people a better crown, the crown of life.
One crown was temporary. The other was eternal. One could be given by Smyrna, but the other could only be given by Jesus. Jesus also promised that those who conquered would not be harmed by the second death. Rome could threaten their freedom, possessions, and physical lives, but it could not touch their eternity.
Several decades after Revelation was written, Polycarp, the elderly bishop of Smyrna, was brought before Roman authorities. He was offered a way to save his life: renounce Christ and honor Caesar. Polycarp refused.
According to the historical account, he declared:
“Eighty and six years have I served Him, and He never did me any wrong. How then can I blaspheme my King who saved me?”
The church that received the command to be faithful unto death eventually produced a pastor who demonstrated what those words looked like. Death came, and he remained faithful. That was the true crown of Smyrna, not its buildings, beauty, influence, or wealth, but its faithfulness to Jesus.
Our calling is the same. Whatever pressure comes, whatever following Jesus costs, and however our circumstances appear according to the world’s scoreboard, we are called to finish faithful. Jesus sees our suffering. Jesus defines our riches. Jesus calms our fears. Jesus limits our trials. And Jesus promises the crown of life to those who remain faithful to Him.
If you’re ready to take your next step, whether that’s baptism, or something else, fill out a Connection Card or visit one of our campus locations. We would love to pray with you, baptize you, or help you get connected.