[Vibrant Church] Kobayashi Maru

Located approximately 35 miles north of Ephesus, the ancient city of Smyrna is known today as Izmir, Turkey. Built in western Turkey where the Hermus River flows into the Aegean Sea, the site has been continuously settled since before Joshua led the Israelites across the Jordan River into the Promised Land. During that time, a variety of regimes came and went, but by the late 3rd century BCE, the city willingly joined the rising Roman Empire, and the relationship between the city and its new empire grew until, in 26 CE, the city built a temple to worship the empire and the emperor and made it illegal to not belong to the imperial cult.

When the resurrected Jesus addressed a letter to the church at Smyrna, he started it much as he did his letter to the Ephesian church. He identified himself by referring back to the way John, his secretary for the letter, perceived him in Revelation 1. He commended them with a section that began with “I know….” He delivered an exhortation, and he closed with encouragement. The difference was that Jesus’ letter to the church at Smyrna was one of two among the seven letters of Revelation 2-3 with no real rebuke.

However, the fact that Jesus did not really rebuke the church at Smyrna does not mean the congregation had no problems. In fact, the problem they faced is the same one faced by many saints and churches today. What was that problem? We find the answer to that question in Revelation 2:8-11:

“Write to the angel of the church in Smyrna: Thus says the First and the Last, the one who was dead and came to life: I know your affliction and poverty, but you are rich. I know the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. Don’t be afraid of what you are about to suffer. Look, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison to test you, and you will experience affliction for ten days. Be faithful to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life.
“Let anyone who has ears to hear listen to what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who conquers will never be harmed by the second death.

The Good: They were spiritually rich.

As he did with the church at Ephesus, Jesus began his letter to the church at Smyrna with a note of commendation. Specifically, while he did acknowledge their “affliction and poverty,” he pronounced in verse 9, “But you are rich.” This paradoxical statement suggests that, while their external circumstances were less than ideal, the saints at Smyrna were nevertheless spiritually thriving. In fact, while the Christ followers there may not have had earthly treasures, they were absolutely banking treasure in heaven left and right.

The Bad: They were afraid.

Nevertheless, there are several hints of trouble throughout this letter, beginning with what Jesus knows of them: “I know your affliction and poverty.” Evidence suggests these were not just your typical hardships that everyone faces. No, people were going out of their way to make life difficult for those who followed Jesus. He knew also “the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not.” Jews, of course, were supposed to be the people of God, but Jesus realized that these Jews were, in fact, “a synagogue of Satan,” and they were not just speaking poorly and falsely of the Christians. The word which the CSB translates as “slander” is, in the original Greek, blasphaymia. In other words, Jesus equated slander against the church with blasphemy against himself. Worse, Jesus predicted, “the devil is about to throw some of you into prison to test you,” “you will experience affliction for ten days,” and some of them may even be compelled to “be faithful to the point of death.”

It is tempting to think these things were the problem, but it was not quite so simple. You see, these troubles were rooted outside of the church in things the believers there could not control. The believers at Smyrna were not responsible for these conditions, and as such, they had no direct bearing on the church’s actual spiritual health. Moreover, the believers there could not simply snap their fingers and turn these circumstances off.

Or could they? Their neighbors were not doing these things because the saints at Smyrna had a personal faith wherein they believed in God but no one else. Like most cities in the Ancient Near East under Roman rule, pluralism was par for the course. They were not doing these things because the believers there gathered to worship. A few songs, a little Bible teaching, and a prayer never hurt anyone. They were not doing these things because Christians were living godly lives. As Paul observed in Galatians 5, there are no laws against the things which characterize godliness. Certainly, it was not because they were helping and healing people. Crowds were eager for such things!

No, the catalyst for this affliction and poverty was that they were sharing the gospel. In doing so, they were challenging the personal status quo and disrupting the community’s equilibrium. Thus, the only thing they had to do to avoid the coming affliction was to not tell people about Jesus, and finally, we come to the problem facing the church at Smyrna: Jesus was afraid they would stop sharing the gospel because they were afraid of affliction, suffering, slander, etc.

Indeed, fear can cripple us still today, preventing us from doing what we know Jesus has called us to do. It might not be the sort of fear where we freeze on a spot or curl up in a corner. We might not be afraid of prison or death. Yet, we may fear losing our job or a friend if we say anything about Jesus. We may fear people thinking we are weird if we do something nice in Jesus’ name. So, while we may pray they will come to Christ, we ourselves say and do nothing. In essence, our fear of affliction, suffering, and slander leads us to pray, “Send workers for the harvest as long as they’re not me,” and the results are predictable. We do not have to face persecution, but also, people do not hear about Jesus.

The Solution: Be faithful unto death

Fortunately, it does not have to be that way. In fact, it should not be that way, and Jesus in verse 10 offered a two-part solution to help us overcome our fear so that it will not be that way.

The first part of the solution was simply to not be afraid. Literally rendered, the Greek here reads, “Not fear.” This is important because, by shifting the “not” to the beginning of the clause, Jesus was placing emphasis on it. Thus, it was though he was saying NOT fear. As in, just do not do it.

The second part of the solution was to “be faithful to the point of death.” As in, keep trusting in and following Jesus even if means dying for him.

At this juncture, it is important to recognize that the fact that something is simple to understand does not make it easy to implement. Fear is real, and it does affect us. This is why we have all avoided doing something (e.g., climbing a mountain, jumping out of an airplane, learning to swim, telling someone about Jesus) because we were afraid. It is why God in the Old Testament told Abraham, Jacob, Moses, Joshua, Gideon, David, Solomon, Jehoshaphat, and the nation of Israel as a whole, “Do not be afraid.” And it is why, in the New Testament, the angel said to Mary, “Do not be afraid,” and Jesus told his disciples, “Don’t be afraid.” So Jesus here was not making light of the Smyrnan believers’ fear. It was legitimate, and he recognized that.

The question is, how do we overcome that fear? Fortunately, the Bible offers some insight. To start, at least sixteen times in the Bible, people are told to “be courageous.” Courage is not the same as the absence of fear. That is called foolishness, and it gets people killed. Neither is it simply doing scary things. That is adrenalin addiction. No, there is a moral component to courage. It is doing doing the right things. Thus, being courageous means doing the right things even though they are scary.

But there is more to it than that. Recently, my wife and I watched the movie Project Hail Mary. The basic synopsis is that Earth’s sun is dying, and three astronauts must go on a one-way trip to a nearby star system to save humanity. When the main character meets the three astronauts who will make the voyage, he tells the crew commander how much he appreciates and admires their bravery but laments that he does not share it. The commander’s response is insightful: “You just need to find someone to be brave for.” Here is the key to being courageous: It is deciding that doing the right thing will benefit someone we care about more than whatever we stand to lose. In this case, there are two someones: Jesus and the person you know and love who does not yet know Jesus. If you do not tell them about Jesus, Jesus will be unhappy, and that person may spend eternity in hell. Yikes!

Of course, that does not make it less scary. Fortunately, Jesus did offer the Smyrnan believers and us four more things that may help. First, he reminded them at the start of the letter that he alone is “the First and the Last.” That is, he is the eternal God who rules over both the beginning and the end, and he has everything under control even if our world is flying apart at this moment. Second, he added that he is “the one who was dead and came to life.” That is, he was not content to let us go through hardship alone but chose to lead by example. He knows what it is to go through hardship and personally suffered the worst loss possible: he died! Therefore, he absolute sympathizes with us. Yet, he came out victorious through the resurrection, and he promises the same for us.

Third, he advised them three times, in three different ways, to change their perspective. He reminded them they were not really poor but were rich (9). He said the Jews who were talking badly about them were not really God’s people but the synagogue of Satan and therefore not worth listening to (9). And he assured them that, even if they die on earth, they will still have a crown of life waiting in heaven (10).

Finally, he proclaimed in verse 11 that “the one who conquers will never be harmed by the second death.” The second death would be explained later in the Revelation, but it was the notion of eternal judgment and damnation. Jesus’ point was that, if they could overcome their fear to be faithful here and now, then they would have nothing to worry about when they finally met Jesus.

One of my favorite movies is Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan. The opening scene of that movie shows the heroic crew of the starship Enterprise trying to rescue the crew of the stranded Kobayashi Maru when they were attacked. Within seconds, the bridge was smashed, people were dying, and the crew was ordered to abandon ship. It was at this point that the doors opened and revealed it was all a simulation. Thirty years later, another Star Trek movie explained the purpose behind this no-win scenario: “The purpose is to experience fear, fear in the face of certain death. To accept that fear and maintain control of oneself and one’s crew.”

The church at Smyrna was facing a similar scenario: if they told people about Jesus, it could mean their death. To be certain, this was a scary situation, but Jesus reminded them that, in him, there is no such thing as a no-win scenario. Be faithful unto death. Tell people about Jesus, no matter what it may cost you, and he will make sure you win in the end.