THE FAITHFUL MARTYR

Rev.1:4-6 – John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from Him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before His throne, and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and released us from our sins by His blood—

There is a theme in the book of Revelations that you may not pick up on at a first reading. It is something that’s there just below the surface that just may be a bigger deal than any of us realize. The key to this hidden message may be in these verses where Jesus is called the “faithful witness”. A literal and maybe a more accurate translation of this passage could refer to Jesus as the “Faithful Martyr”. Jesus was exactly that and actually led the majority of His apostles into martyrdom. From Peter to Paul and all the rest (except for John) gave their lives because of their testimony. Their martyrdom was the first strength of the early church and is actually the strength of today’s church in much of the world. Here are some thoughts from the Life in the Spirit Commentary.

“The first step is the one those early believers did not want to take: death. “Faithful martyr” is a much better translation of the Greek phrase than “faithful witness.” It not only means death to self (“self-denial”), but physical death for the sake of the gospel. This translation also helps us to understand better why they would want to avoid death and go right to being “ruler[s] of the kings of the earth” (1:5). Martyrdom is usually painful. Who would not want to escape martyrdom if it could be avoided? Revelation is a call to Christian martyrdom. With all its fantastic images, its most important message says exactly what Jesus did while he was still on earth: “Take up [your] cross and follow me”.

Looking back at the first century church martyrdom was one of the very proofs that the resurrection was real. Why were the disciples willing to give their lives for Jesus? They had seen Him for themselves after the resurrection and were ready to give their lives for their belief in their message. That kind of authenticity can’t be faked, that kind of testimony is what changes the world.