Smyrna / Revelation 2:8-11

Hello, church. My name is Mike, and if we haven’t had the privilege of meeting yet, I’m one of the campus pastors here—the AM campus pastor at North. I’m kind of the new kid on the block, so I am really excited to be here with you and get into God’s Word.

The Instinct of Self-Preservation

One interesting thing about me is that my father-in-law is a retired LAPD lieutenant. He flew helicopters for the LAPD, which is exciting—and honestly, the best job on the face of the planet. He was able to take people along with him on ride-alongs, which was one of the biggest perks of dating my wife.

When we were dating, I had never been in a helicopter before. I told Kristen, “Can I go? Can he take me? You ask your dad, because I’m scared of him.” He was a cop, and he owned a gun! She asked him, and he said yes.

We were driving down to the LAPD helipad on the 5 Freeway in real Los Angeles traffic, talking about what it was going to be like. She told me I needed to bring a barf bag because I get airsick, but I said, “I don’t care, let’s go!” We were so excited. I remember praying, “God, please let us get in a high-speed chase.”

We were so excited that I drove right past our exit. We weren’t married yet—and it was her fault, don’t tell her I said that—so I had plenty of grace for her. I said, “Oh, I’ll just get off at the next exit, take a right, and then maybe another right. I can figure this out. We don’t need to ask for directions.” All of a sudden, I realized: we were completely lost. I couldn’t even find the freeway.

I told Kristen, “Call your dad. He knows this area; he’ll tell us exactly how to get back.” This was ten years ago, so she flipped open her flip phone and called him. He said, “No problem, just tell me where you are.” We told him the cross streets, and suddenly his tone completely changed.

He said, “Get out of there. Do whatever it takes. Tell Mike, whatever he does, not to stop at red lights.”

I thought, You’re the police! That is terrible advice.

He said, “Just blow through them. Slow down a little bit to make sure there is no cross traffic, and just blow through the red lights. If a policeman pulls you over, great—he can escort you straight to me.”

We had accidentally ended up in the middle of South Central Los Angeles. It’s beautiful, by the way; you should visit sometime! But Kristen was crying and freaking out. Her dad was trying to navigate, shouting, “Go west!”

She cried, “I don’t know which way west is!”

He said, “Find north!”

She yelled back, “If I knew where north was, I’d be able to find west!”

Finally, we made it out. I got to go up in the helicopter, everything was fine, and I didn’t die—in case you were wondering.

I tell you that story because it captures the raw reality of human nature. Someone once told me that human nature is to cling to life. When we are in our right minds, our natural instinct is self-preservation. In that moment, we found ourselves doing whatever it took to preserve our lives and flee danger. No matter what we think, that instinct is embedded deeply inside us. It is very rare to find someone who does not put their own life ahead of everything else.

In our spiritual lives, as we seek comfort and flee from pain or persecution, our faith begins to diminish. Yet, despite that human instinct to flee, we still have first responders—police officers, firefighters, and military personnel—who put their lives on the line at all costs to protect people. They are willing to lay down their lives for a cause worth fighting for. Why? Because they have trained themselves to the point where the cause they believe in is more important than their own lives.

Our response to fear and persecution defines whether we are like the church of Laodicea, which Shay talked about last week, or whether we end up like the church we are looking at today: the church of Smyrna.

The City of Smyrna and the Cost of Faith

Before we dive into the text, I want to paint a picture to take you from your seat and place you directly into the context of this letter.

Smyrna was an incredible city. In fact, out of all the cities addressed in Revelation, Smyrna is the only one still standing today. It is modern-day Izmir, Turkey, home to over half a million people. Located about thirty-five miles north of Ephesus, it was built in a stunning location. Real estate is all about location, location, location, and Smyrna had it. The city sloped gently down toward the ocean, meaning nearly everywhere you stood, you had an incredible view of the sea. Smyrna was known as “the first of Asia in beauty and in size.”

They were wealthy beyond belief, controlling trade through the Hermus Valley. They had a massive public theater—the largest in Asia Minor—built right into the hillside overlooking the water. They had a famous stadium and a renowned library.

Smyrna originally became a Greek colony around 1000 BC. For four hundred years, it grew in wealth and architectural wonder until 600 BC, when the Lydians invaded, decimated the city, and burned it to the ground. For four centuries, nothing stood in its place. Then, around 200 BC under Alexander the Great, Smyrna was rebuilt with wide, sweeping streets and grand architecture, restored to an even greater luster.

Cicero called Smyrna one of Rome’s most faithful allies. Smyrna was actually the first city to erect a temple to the goddess Roma, the patron deity of Rome, demonstrating their fierce loyalty to the empire.

Because emperor worship was so deeply rooted there, Smyrna was arguably the most dangerous place in Asia Minor to be a Christian. Rome regarded Caesar as Lord, making Smyrna an intensely hostile environment for anyone proclaiming Jesus as King.

One of the most famous martyrs of the early church was Polycarp, the Bishop of Smyrna and a direct disciple of the Apostle John. One night, Polycarp had a dream where his pillow caught fire and flames surrounded him. He woke up and discerned that he was going to be burned at the stake for his faith. A few days later, Roman guards seized him and brought him before the proconsul.

The Roman official looked at this elderly, gentle man—who actually offered the guards food when they arrested him—and did not want to execute him. He gave Polycarp an out: “Deny your faith in Jesus. Just offer a pinch of incense to the emperor, and I will spare your life.”

Polycarp made this incredible statement:

“Eighty and six years have I served Christ, and He has done me no wrong. How can I blaspheme my King who saved me?”

The Roman authorities set up a stake and burned Polycarp for his faith. He died right there because he refused to recant his trust in Jesus.

Rich in the Midst of Poverty

This is the intense culture into which Jesus spoke. He wrote a letter to a church desperately in need of comfort while facing unprecedented persecution.

If you have your Bible, turn with me to Revelation chapter 2, starting in verse 8.

Revelation 2:8 (NASB)

’And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: The first and the last, who was dead, and has come to life, says this:

Notice what Jesus does. Just as in the other letters, He connects Himself directly to the history of the city. He knows Smyrna was a city destroyed and burned to the ground, only to be raised again four hundred years later. So Jesus declares, I also was dead, and I came to life.

He reminds them of who He is and establishes His supreme value. He is the First and the Last. He reminds them that He alone is worthy of being worshipped and held onto at all costs. As Christians, we need that daily reminder. Every morning we should wake up remembering that Jesus is Lord, the King of kings, and entirely worthy of our worship.

Jesus continues in verse 9:

Revelation 2:9 (NASB)

’I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich), and the blasphemy by those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.

The Jewish community in Smyrna had secured an exemption from Roman emperor worship. Because they were terrified that the Christians were stirring up trouble and might jeopardize that exemption, they distanced themselves by actively turning Christians over to the Roman authorities. It is tragic and ironic that they pushed Christians into persecution to preserve their own comfort.

Because Christians refused to proclaim Caesar as Lord, they were systematically excluded from the marketplace. This wasn’t like getting kicked out of Target because your kids were having a meltdown—which happens to me all the time—or losing your Costco membership. This meant losing your job, applying elsewhere, and having employers refuse to even look at your resume. Every door slammed shut. You couldn’t earn a living, you couldn’t keep a home, and you struggled to feed your children.

The church in Smyrna was plunged into extreme poverty in the middle of a wealthy city. Yet, right in the midst of their material lack, Jesus says to them, “But you are rich.”

They were broke financially, but they possessed Jesus—the greatest treasure anyone could ever have.

Imagine I held up a twenty-dollar bill and told you that you could buy it for one dollar. How many of you would take that deal? What if it cost two dollars? Or five dollars? Of course you would take it.

Following Jesus carries a cost. No one ever promised that following Him would be easy. There is always a cost—whether through suffering, sacrifice, or loss. Yet, no matter what following Jesus costs us, we always come out ahead. You might pay two dollars, but you gain twenty. When you sacrifice for Christ, you gain eternal life with God. The cost is incomparably small compared to the immeasurable gain of having Jesus.

Faithful Unto Death

Jesus doesn’t promise that their earthly circumstances will immediately improve. In fact, He tells them that things are about to get harder.

Revelation 2:10 (NASB)

’Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to cast some of you into prison, so that you will be tested, and you will have tribulation for ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.

Jesus tells them to hold on. He reminds them of His worth because intense suffering is coming. When He mentions tribulation for “ten days,” He is using a figurative expression meaning a limited, temporary season. Whether that trial lasts ten days or twenty years, it is temporary compared to eternity. Jesus points them to the eternal crown of life in contrast to this fleeting, broken world.

He concludes with a final word of encouragement:

Revelation 2:11 (NASB)

‘He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes will not be hurt by the second death.’

Jesus tells them to stand firm because the ultimate cost is far greater for those who reject Him. Those who overcome will never be hurt by the second death—eternal separation from God. Through what Jesus accomplished on the cross, we are spared from that fate.

Would Jesus Be Enough?

This passage brings two vital questions to my heart for us today at The Well.

The first question is this: If you lost everything—your money, your house, your car, your career, your friends, and your family—would Jesus be enough?

In America, we often look like the church in Laodicea. We are tempted to say, “Jesus, I don’t really need You right now. I have a car, a home, money in the bank, and food on the table. Why don’t You wait outside? We’ll sing a few songs, listen to a sermon, and maybe invite You in.”

Do we live our lives for this temporary world, or for the far better life Jesus promises? Do you wake up remembering that Jesus truly saved you, and that the gospel transforms everything?

Jesus made the cost of discipleship clear.

Matthew 16:24-26 (NASB)

Then Jesus said to His disciples, ’If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. ’For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. ’For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?

Are we willing to say, “Jesus is enough. Take everything else away, and I will still worship Him, because the cost of following Him now is nothing compared to the reward of spending eternity with Him”?

Jesus told us what to expect from the world.

John 15:18 (NASB)

’If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before [it hated] you.

John echoes this same reality in his first letter.

1 John 3:13 (NASB)

Do not be surprised, brethren, if the world hates you.

If you live out your faith authentically, the world will eventually push back. The cost might be relationships, reputation, career advancement, or even your physical safety. But you are paying that cost for Someone of infinite worth.

Giving Jesus His Place in a Culture of Comfort

The second question is: If persecution refines our faith, how do we give Jesus His rightful place in our lives amidst a culture of comfort?

Around the world—in places like China, India, and Pakistan—the underground church is exploding precisely where persecution is intense. In those places, church is not a social club or a place to feel good about yourself. To walk into a gathering or proclaim Christ, you have to genuinely mean it.

Persecution separates the genuine faith from the superficial.

Luke 3:17 (NASB)

‘His winnowing fork is in His hand to thoroughly clear His threshing floor, and to gather the wheat into His barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.’

I am not suggesting we go looking for persecution; persecution is not inherently better than comfort. But living in comfort presents a unique danger. How do we keep Christ at the center when life is easy?

Honestly, this is something I wrestle with personally. To truly worship Jesus and love Him as we ought, we must understand the depth of our depravity. The people with the greatest faith are those who realize just how desperately they need Jesus.

Because I grew up as a relatively “good kid,” I have a healthy marriage, and I try to do the right thing, it is easy to look at the world and think, I’m doing pretty well. If the world is my standard, I win every time. But if I measure myself by the world, I end up believing I only need Jesus a little bit—just a tiny dose of grace to patch up minor mistakes. I forget that apart from Christ, there is nothing good in me.

When I stop comparing myself to the world and instead look at the holy standard of God on His throne, I see that I fall short every single day. I am utterly dependent on His grace.

Last week, our campus pastor team traveled to San Francisco to spend time with Francis Chan, the pastor through whose ministry I came to faith. We sat with him for two hours, asking questions about ministry, leadership, and following Jesus.

During our conversation, Francis asked me a question that changed the trajectory of my life and ministry.

He asked, “Mike, what do you want to be known for? A lot of young pastors want to be known as great communicators. They think being a pastor means preaching great sermons and inspiring people. Is that what you want?”

I answered honestly: “Yes. I want to communicate God’s Word well. I want to preach messages that impact people’s eternity.”

Then Francis looked at me and said, “What if you were known first and foremost for how deeply you loved Jesus? What if the defining mark of your life was your love for Christ? Everything else flows from that.”

My jaw hit the floor. What if I stopped trying to be a great teacher and simply focused on loving Jesus more?

Church, I want The Well to be a church defined above all by our love for Jesus. When our love for Him is primary, we will not flee when hardship or persecution comes. We will stand firm for the Savior who stood firm for us on the cross.

If we love Jesus more, He will be enough. In the midst of comfort, we will give Him His rightful place as Lord of our lives. Let us be a people who love Jesus first and watch what He does in our hearts, in our church, and across the city of Fresno.

Closing Prayer

Father, we know that right now, brothers and sisters around the world are paying the ultimate price for their faith to glorify Your name.

I pray that we would be a church prepared to stand firm. Deepen our love for You and expand our understanding of Your incredible grace. If the day ever comes when we are forced to choose between our comfort in this world and our devotion to King Jesus, make that choice clear and easy for us. May we unashamedly choose You.

Even now, in the daily costs of following You, help us to stand firm, remembering that You are worth far more than anything this world could ever offer. We pray all of this in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.