By Eric Blauer
“From Syria even unto Rome I fight with beast…” – Ignatius of Antioch
“I fought wild beasts in Ephesus…” – Paul of Tarsus
“The Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed…” – Jesus of Nazareth
As a Christian, the almost weekly news of followers of Jesus being tortured, raped, beheaded, burned alive, driven from homes and ancestral lands adds a weight of sorrow that I have never experienced in my 29 years as a follower of Jesus.
I am aware that this isn’t a new phenomena or that similar sufferings are happening to Shia Muslims, Yazidis and aid workers etc. But I recently read a letter from a friend who is currently engaged in the hot zone of conflict in Iraq. The report from Christians there was devastating and at the same time inspiring. One line in the letter read:
“The way you can help is to bring awareness of the reality of the Christian suffering and how we want to stay here and live in peace….We want to live peaceably with all here; Kurds, Yidiziz and Arabs.”
Seeing good overcome evil is a mystery of suffering that is difficult to grasp in the Christian life. It’s so hard to trust that good can triumph over evil when evil slaughters innocents. But this path of suffering has always been part of realistic christian discipleship. Persecution and even martyrdom is woven into the founding and fledgling historical narrative of Christianity. The church has truly grown up in the blood of the Christ and the saints.
Jesus clearly laid out the path of suffering and persecution to his disciples:
“Then he began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. He said all this quite openly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. But turning and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.” He called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it. For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life? Indeed, what can they give in return for their life? Those who are ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of them the Son of Man will also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.” (Mark 8:31-38)
The apostle Paul shared all kinds of drama and trauma that he endured and experienced across the Mediterranean world.
“And as for us, why do we endanger ourselves every hour? I face death every day—yes, just as surely as I boast about you in Christ Jesus our Lord. If I fought wild beasts in Ephesus with no more than human hopes, what have I gained? If the dead are not raised,“Let us eat and drink,for tomorrow we die.”Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character.”Come back to your senses as you ought, and stop sinning; for there are some who are ignorant of God—I say this to your shame.” (1 Corinthians 15:30-34:)
The early church fathers and mother’s wrote about the beasts they and others faced in their ministry and martyrdom’s because of following Jesus.
“Don’t you see them exposed to wild beasts for the purpose of persuading them to deny the Lord, yet they are not overcome? Don’t you see that the more of them that are punished, the greater the number of the rest becomes? This does not seem to be the work of man. This is the power of God. These are the evidences of his appearance. (ch. 7)
When you despise that which is considered to be death here, then you shall fear what is truly death, which is reserved for those who shall be condemned to the eternal fire, which shall afflict to the end those that are committed to it. Then shall you admire those who for righteousness’ sake endure the fire that is but for a moment, and you shall count them happy when you understand that fire.” (ch. 10)
Ignatius of Antioch, AD 110 (Letter to the Romans 5)From Syria even unto Rome I fight with beast…May I enjoy the wild beasts that are prepared for me. I pray that they would be found eager to rush at me, and I will also entice them to devour me speedily and not deal with me as some, whom out of fear they have not touched. If they are unwilling to assail me, I will compel them to do so. Pardon me; I know what is to my benefit. Now I begin to be a disciple. Let no one, of things visible or invisible, prevent me from attaining to Jesus Christ. Let fire and the cross; let wild beasts; let tearings, breakings, and dislocation of bones; let cutting off of limbs; let shatterings of the whole body; and let all the evil torments of the devil come upon me; only let me attain to Jesus Christ.”
As I reflect on the death and destruction happening in the Middle East this week, I am reminded of the John’s vision of the eternals and what he saw and heard:
“When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained. They called out in a loud voice, “How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?” Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer, until the full number of their fellow servants, their brothers and sisters, were killed just as they had been. (Revelations 6:9-11)
And in response to that cry, I too pray the final words of the Revelation.
“He who is the faithful witness to all these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon!”Amen! Come, Lord Jesus! May the grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s holy people.(Rev. 22:20-21)
