Revelation 3:1-6 To the Church in Sardis

 

The video calling us to wake up from our sleepiness reminds me of Sardis. Sardis had an interesting history in Jesus’ lifetime. Sarah Porter writes, “Recent archaeological research has unearthed a healthy city that collaborated effectively with the Roman imperial regime during the time of the apostles. Sardis recovered well from a devastating earthquake in 17 AD through tax breaks and imperial investments, demonstrated by new monumental architecture like a massive bath-gymnasium complex, the largest known Roman arch, an imperial cult temple in the town center, and second-century AD renovations to the Temple of Artemis.”

By the time of Jesus, there’s a strong Jewish community in Sardis well connected in the city and with government leaders while still keeping their Jewish identity and culture. The historian Josephus talks about how Emperor Antiochus III forcibly resettled some Jews in Asia Minor during the third century BC. There’re a number of religions found in Sardis: a temple dedicated to Caesar, another temple to the goddess Artemis, a thriving synagogue, and at least one church. The worship of the mother goddess Cybele was also influential. These different faith groups worked alongside each other, even invested in each other when it was good for them, competed for influence, while keeping their religious independence and identity separate from each other. It reminds me of the interfaith group I was a part of in Montreal. It’s a group of faith leaders from all the major faiths in Montréal working together to address moral issues and social needs in the neighbourhoods and cultural communities in the city.

Life’s good in Sardis. It’s a wealthy city filled with people who work hard and enjoy many of the luxuries in life. They’ve come through the earthquake and rebuilt better than before. They’ve a lot to be proud of. Yet the wealth, the influence of pagan temples, especially that of Artemis, the goddess of the hunt, the moon and fertility, and the luxurious lifestyles adopted by many in Sardis, lead many of the wealthy and powerful people in the city becoming soft, apathetic, and immoral. Barclay writes, “that even on pagan lips, Sardis was a name of contempt. Its people were notoriously loose living, notoriously pleasure-and luxury loving. Sardis was a city of the decadence. In the old days it had been a frontier town on the borders of Phyrgia, but now it was a byword for slack and effeminate living.” This is the setting for Jesus’ letter.

Jesus writes to the church in Sardi. Jesus identifies himself as the one who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. Earlier Jesus let us know that the seven stars are the angels who are assigned to seven churches that he’s writing to. The seven spirits Jesus mentions here are mentioned later in Revelation 4:5, “From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder. In front of the throne, seven lamps were blazing. These are the seven spirits of God.” Earlier on in Revelation, the seven churches were described as seven lampstands, so Jesus is telling the church that he holds the churches and angels in his hands, an image of strength and power, and of closeness and protection and belonging. But it also tells them that he knows who they really are. One of my favourite images in the Bible is that of God holding us in his hands and that our names are written on his hands. We find these images in Isaiah 49:16, “See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands,” and John 10:28–29, “I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand.” We see Jesus’ commitment to them.

Yet Jesus is also frustrated with the church here in Sardis. John is receiving this letter as part of the vision Jesus is giving him. I wonder how John heard this call to “Wake up!” Was there a loud clap of thunder to shake John up? The church in Sardis looked good on the outside, working with the other faiths and organizations in the city, gathering together for worship, likely taking care of their own members well; doing church stuff. But Jesus gets real with them, commanding them, “Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have found your deeds unfinished in the sight of my God.” Jesus goes on and commands them to, “Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; hold it fast, and repent.” There’s a dry rot happening inside the church that’s not seen from the outside, not until you dig into the church a little bit.

Calvin Seminary has many students who had come from Korea and Africa. They marvel at the resources and programs that the average church in Grand Rapids has, yet it was always amazing and sad to see their disappointment after they’d been in North America for a year. Many of them felt too many followers of Jesus in our churches were sleep walking through life and their relationship with Jesus. One young man studying to go back to Uganda asked me why we allow our church members to remain so shallow in a self-focused faith. At that time, I didn’t know what to say, and even now, it would be a difficult conversation.

The church in Sardis did good things, but there was no passion for Jesus; they didn’t feel the push of the Holy Spirit to follow through on the Great Commission and share the good news of Jesus, no deep love of their neighbour where they wanted them to know Jesus. They’d forgotten God’s words to Abraham that he was calling a people to follow him and be a blessing to the nations; a witness to who God is. Jesus has trusted the gospel news with us to spread throughout the nations, not keep it for ourselves. Christianity is a giving faith, offering the world the greatest gift ever: the gift of Jesus, the gift of new life and salvation, the gift of belonging to God.

Pastor James McCord writes about the church in Sardis, which I believe often applies to the North American church, “It has been corrupted by ease. It has simply fallen asleep. It’s a church that has always been tempted to play it safe. Don't take your religion too seriously. The form and the ritual go on through with it. It is aesthetic, beautiful, everyone likes candles, soft organ music. It gives you time to idle your mind, to rest your spirit. You can even mouth the prayers that are said in common without any fear of their rising any higher than the ceiling, and you can be sure they will stop there. You will take no side on any particular issue, least of all will you become enthusiastic.” It’s an easy faith, being content with what you’ve done, sitting back and letting others carry the gospel to others. Life’s easy and good, so why do uncomfortable things like talk about Jesus. Why talk about Jesus with others if it’s going to make you look foolish for what you believe?

Jesus calls the church to remember: to remember who God is, who he is, what he’s done for us on the cross and the forgiveness and grace he shows us, to remember our need for new life and how God, through Jesus, gives us exactly these things and more. Jesus calls us to wake up and experience a full life, a life rooted in him. We’re wealthy and we’ve been blessed with so much, yet stuff doesn’t make a good life. For a good life that’s full of meaning and purpose, a life that makes a difference in our community, and the lives of those around us, it comes from being awake to what Jesus is already doing here and then joining him in doing it. We’ve been entrusted with the responsibility and privilege of introducing Jesus to those in our lives, to invite them to join us in walking the path of Jesus together, to grow more like Jesus, to build the kingdom of heaven here on earth; a kingdom shaped by repentance and Jesus’ love and grace.

Thankfully, Jesus lets us know that there are those who haven’t soiled their clothes, who are walking closely with Jesus and engaged in his mission to bring the gospel to the world, beginning in our neighbourhoods. For those who are looking to walk deeper with Jesus in order to share the gospel and your faith well with others, I will be leading another small group discipleship group beginning this fall, info’s in the bulletin. You can also be trained to share your faith through the 222 Discipleship program; both Henry Eisses or myself are able to train you in leading others to know Jesus and our faith deeper.

This letter must have impacted the church in Sardis. Bishop Melito of Sardis, who comes about 50 years after the Apostle John, is known for his piety and learning. Tertullian refers to Melito as an esteemed prophet who also wrote an Apology for Christianity to Marcus Aurelius. The church in Sardis woke up and became a strong defender of the faith and proclaimed Jesus as Lord to the world and its leaders. How about us?

 

Revelation 2:18-29 To the Church in Thyatira

 

This summer we’re taking a look at Jesus’ letters to seven of the churches in the area around the Mediterranean. These are all churches that were planted and started by Paul and others who travelled through the area bringing the good news of Jesus Christ. Religious, cultural, and government leaders felt threatened by this new faith in Jesus; a man crucified, buried, and then raised from the dead according to his followers, a man who claims to be God and is coming back again to claim this world and the entire universe for his kingdom. This often led to persecution and the rise of false teachers who mixed the teachings of Jesus with the practices and teachings of other faiths.

Jesus, through a vision to John who’s exiled to the island of Patmos because he refuses to stop worshipping Jesus, writes a number of letters to encourage and challenge these seven churches. This is a vision of hope. We come now to Jesus’ letter to the church in Thyatira. This is a city based on manufacturing and trade which lies close to the city of Philippi. Paul meets Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth from Thyatira, in Philippi. It’s also likely that Lydia had an influence in bringing the Gospel news of Jesus to Thyatira.

Thyatira also has a temple to the god Apollo. Apollo is Zeus’, which explains why Jesus identifies himself as the Son of God, the only time we hear Jesus identified as the Son of God in Revelation. Zeus is the father god, controlling the weather and hurling lightening bolts at his enemies. Jesus’ words are a challenge to these Greek gods using images of power and strength to show who he is, “These are the words of the Son of God, whose eyes are like blazing fire and whose feet are like burnished bronze.” Jesus is the only true Son of God; Apollo and Zeus are imposter gods. 

Jesus begins by praising the church, “I know your deeds, your love and faith, your service and perseverance, and that you are now doing more than you did at first.” There’s good stuff happening here! Love and faith and service hearts all coming together during times of persecution and stress reveals that Jesus’ teaching and way has really shaped them. There’s some really healthy faith life growing going on here and Jesus acknowledges it. Their first love is strong and they’ve embraced James’ teaching that faith without deeds is dead by living out their faith in deeds and service. Reminds me of Bethel in so many ways.

Yet, there are some big issues that Jesus has with this church, “You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophet. By her teaching she misleads my servants into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols.” Jezebel is leading people in the church down a different path than the one Jesus has called us to walk, a path based on his teaching, his life, and the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Jesus warns them about tolerating the prophet Jezebel whose teaching is leading them to participate in pagan practices, including sexual immorality and eating food sacrificed to idols. Hearts are being pulled away from Jesus. There’s a desire to embrace the cultural stuff that goes against the way of Jesus and hurts our faith. Members of the church are trying to fit into the culture around them while also trying to follow Jesus at the same time. If we’re honest with ourselves, many of us wrestle with these same impulses at times, wanting to fit in with our culture while also following Jesus, even if it means that we sometimes try to change Jesus’ teaching to fit our culture.

W.J Harrington writes in his commentary on Revelation, “The livelihood of Christians in Thyatira depended on membership of the trade-guilds, and therefore pagan association. Already, in Corinth, Paul had had to deal with the problem of guild-feasts and the purchase of meat that had been offered in pagan temples. John took a radical stance: there can be no compromise…. At stake was the question of assimilation: to what extent might Christians conform to the prevailing culture for the sake of economic survival or social acceptance? For John the only answer was: Not at all.… John was profoundly concerned that the communities be steadfastly united in face of the all-out persecution he felt sure was at hand. This was no time for internal conflict.” Jezebel is teaching that they can participate in the feasts and temple prostitution even while following Jesus. Jesus tells them that it doesn’t work that way. When we commit to Jesus, he claims every part of our life and loyalty.

The name Jezebel echoes back to a time in Israel’s history where a foreign queen led the nation of Israel far from God. We find her story in the Old Testament book of 1 Kings 16. Jezebel marries King Ahab of Israel and she brings her gods Baal and Asherah with her to Israel and they prove so popular with the Israelites as they mix worshipping Baal with worshipping their own God Yahweh, that at one point, the prophet Elijah cries out to God, wondering if he’s the only one left in Israel who is still worshipping God alone. Baal was a god of the fields, a fertility god so as part of worshipping Baal, Israel was drawn into sexual immorality and celebrating Baal with feasts, including food sacrificed to Baal. The echo in this letter to this Jezebel is strong and why Jesus comes out so strongly against her.

You can’t serve two gods at the same time. Jesus warns us in Matthew that we have to choose who we will follow: we can’t follow both God and Mammon at the same time. Jesus demands 100% loyalty. I’ve been told that Jesus is asking too much from us, but “How much non-Jesus stuff can you let into your mind and heart before it becomes so normal that you don’t even recognize that your loyalties have changed?” Isn’t Jesus’ death on the cross for our lives reason enough to give him our complete loyalty? Jezebel wouldn’t die for you. The Bible warns us to watch out for false teachers, for people who will come and teach a different way than Jesus. In the early church there were the Gnostics who taught about secret knowledge that they had about God that only they knew, here Jesus mentions Satan’s so-called deep secrets. Not sure what these deep secrets are, but they’re not healthy.

I mentioned Tertullian a few weeks back; even this great Church Father was led astray from orthodox Biblical teaching by the Montanists who had some strange ideas about the Holy Spirit. One way to test any teaching is asking, “Does this teaching make Jesus less and something, or someone else more; does this teaching help us walk in the way Jesus taught?” Knowledge and education are important and a beautiful gift from God; good and wise teachers are precious and valuable, but knowledge and education always come through someone else, and their beliefs and ethics will shape how they teach and interpret what they teach. This is why it’s important that our ethics and morals are shaped by Scriptures and Jesus and that what we hear and learn is taken in with a good knowledge of Jesus and Scripture. Any teaching that makes Jesus less important and the teacher or group more important is leading you down a wrong path.

Jesus gives Jezebel opportunities to repent, but she refuses. Jesus warns that he’s going to allow Jezebel to suffer the consequences of her actions because leading people away from Jesus has eternal consequences, “So I will cast her on a bed of suffering, and I will make those who commit adultery with her suffer intensely, unless they repent of her ways. I will strike her children dead.” One of the most intimate images of our relationship with Jesus is that of marriage and there are echoes of this image in Jesus’ punishment of Jezebel and those who accept her teaching. Jezebel will find herself on a bed of suffering rather than a bed of love and faithfulness. Those who accept Jezebel’s teaching have rejected Jesus, and they will also be punished. There are consequences for those who tolerate false teaching and practices that lead people away from Jesus.

Jesus ends his letter with encouragement to keep focused on him and he will reward them, “To the one who is victorious and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations… I will also give that one the morning star.” I love the promise of the morning star, a promise that Jesus will give us himself. Jesus’ last words to the church in Thyatira is to listen and hear what the Spirit says to the churches, a reminder that the Spirit has been given to us to point us to Jesus and to remind us to all that Jesus taught. This helps us to figure out true teaching from false, to grow in Jesus and become who Jesus has called us to be. Learn, grow in knowledge, study hard because Jesus calls us to work in all areas of life, but be aware of who your teachers are and what they believe and test it always with Jesus and his teaching and life.