We Will Suffer

Introduction

Qin Shi Huang was the first Chinese emperor.

He lived about 200 years before Jesus was born.

As he was getting older he started to fear that one day we would die.

He was afraid that his kingdom would come to an end; he was afraid that he would suffer the way of all mankind - which is we are born but one day we will die.

He forbade anyone from even mentioning the word “death” in his presence.

…but guess what, although he was in denial - one day he died. Some believe that he died from drinking some mercury - which is poisonous to the body - as he spent his life searching for the elixir of life.

In Revelation 2, Jesús writes a letter to the church in Smyrna. Jesus says to this church:

Apocalipsis 2:9–10 ESV

9 “ ‘I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich) and the slander of those who say that they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. 10 Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.

These followers of Jesus were suffering and Jesus tells them that he does not ignore their suffering.

He knows that they are facing much financial hardship.

We believe that some of the jews in Smyrna were coming before the roman courts and accusing christians of being traitors of the roman empire.

It’s possible that christians were being fired from their jobs.

It’s possible that they were forbidden from buying or selling their goods in the markets.

…they were going hungry, they were suffering homelessness, they were facing extreme poverty - all for simply following Jesus as their Lord and Savior.

But Jesus tells this church three things:

Do not fear.

Your suffering is only temporary.

Your reward is the crown of life.

Do not fear.

Jesus does not say:

All this suffering is only in your mind.

Hey, you should not suffer - after all you are a Christian. You should be living the victorious Christian life which means no suffering.

Not at all - Jesus says you will suffer but you should not fear.

This means that suffering is part of every person’s experience.

We will all at some point in life face hardships in life either because of our bad decisions, or different life circumstances, or sometimes we will suffer and we don’t even know why we are suffering.

We should not fear because Jesus walks with his people in the midst of suffering - he will be with us until the end.

This means he is with us to strengthen us and comfort us even as we suffer in this life.

Your suffering is only temporary.

Notice how he tells these believers that they will suffer for 10 days.

Their suffering is limited to this period of time - and eventually suffering will come to an end.

We will not suffer always, eventually every trial or hardship comes to an end.

Your reward is the crown of life.

Some believers in Smyrna, knowing that they would suffer, are likely tempted to abandon christianity.

They may say - if being a Christian means that I will suffer for following Jesus - then maybe it’s not worth being a Christian.

But Jesus tells this church - be faithful unto death - and I will give you the crown of life.

As Christians we must remain faithful to our Lord Jesus Christ for even if we face death for following Jesus - Jesus promises us eternal life in his presence.

…and in his presence we will have fullness of joy and will never again experience any suffering or hardship for all eternity.