By David Faust
The city of Smyrna (modern Izmir in Turkey) got its name from the word myrrh, a fragrant resin that was used to make perfume, medicine, and incense. Myrrh was one of the three gifts the Magi brought to honor the baby Jesus, and because it was used to embalm bodies, myrrh was one of the ingredients Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus brought when they came to bury Jesus (John 19:39-40).
Smyrna was known for its schools of science and medicine, and it boasted a theater that could seat up to 20,000 spectators. But for Christians in the late first century, Smyrna was a difficult place to live.
Christ sent them a letter that contained no rebukes or criticisms—only encouragement. “I know your afflictions and your poverty,” he told them, “yet you are rich!” (Revelation 2:9, New International Version).
How could anyone be poor and rich at the same time? The believers in Smyrna were poor in money, but rich in faith—poor in the eyes of those who despised them, but wealthy because they were God’s children.
The Lord Knows
The Lord told those suffering saints, “I know your afflictions and your poverty.” Suffering is more bearable when you realize the Lord knows and cares about what you’re going through.
Jesus said that in the Father’s eyes, “even the very hairs of your head are all numbered” (Matthew 10:30). I wonder if Jesus was referring to David’s lament in the Psalms that he faced “troubles without number” and his sins were “more than the hairs of [his] head” (Psalm 40:12). Or maybe Jesus had in mind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who survived Nebuchadnezzar’s fiery furnace and emerged without any harm to their bodies, “nor was a hair of their heads singed” (Daniel 3:27). To say God knows the number of hairs on your head is an Old Testament way of saying he knows all the troubles you face—every insult, every abuse, every trauma you endure.
God knows the anxiety of the mother in India who quietly prepares for the possibility her husband may be imprisoned or killed because he is a church leader.
He knows the stress of the believer in Southeast Asia whose daily activities are monitored by hostile authorities.
God knows the preacher in Central Asia who risks his life to train leaders for the underground church in a nation where open proclamation of the gospel is against the law.
He knows about the young American husband and wife who choose to live under a Muslim regime in North Africa so they can bear witness to their faith in Christ.
God understands the pain of students scorned by professors who mock Christian faith, and he stands alongside teens whose friends ridicule their commitment to sexual purity.
He knows the plight of those who live in poverty-stricken lands where nutritious food and clean water are scarce.
Faithful Till Death
Jesus encouraged his followers in first-century Smyrna, “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 life as your victor’s crown” (Revelation 2:9, 10).
Those words must have inspired a famous martyr who lived in Smyrna. According to a second-century tradition, an aging Christian named Polycarp was arrested in Smyrna and sentenced to die unless he cursed the name of Christ. The arresting officer didn’t want to see Polycarp killed, so he begged the old man, “What harm is it to say ‘Caesar is Lord’ and offer a sacrifice [to Caesar]?” But Polycarp bravely replied, “Eighty-six years have I served [Christ] and he has done me no wrong. How can I blaspheme my King who saved me?” Polycarp was burned at the stake, and he died praying. He was faithful to the point of death.
How many hairs are on our heads? More than we can count—but the Lord knows. How many burdens are on our hearts? Sometimes, more than we think we can bear. But the Lord knows, and he will bear our burdens until this troubled world finally gives way to the kingdom of God in all its glory and fulness.
This is the second in a series of weekly articles based on Christ’s letters to the seven churches in the book of Revelation. Next week: “Where Satan Has His Throne.”
David Faust serves as contributing editor of Christian Standard and senior associate minister with East 91st Street Christian Church in Indianapolis, Indiana. He is the author of Not Too Old: Turning Your Later Years into Greater Years.
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