Be a Martyr

By the Rev. Deacon Jim Gilman

This sermon is based on Acts 5:27-32, Revelation 1:4-8, and John 20:19-31. Click here to listen to an audio version of the sermon. 

Introduction

I would like a show of hands in answer to this question: How many of you, as Christians, aspire to be a martyr? No fair trying to raise the hand of your spouse.

Curiously, the idea of “martyr” appears in all three of our New Testament lessons for today; as if to say to us as Christians: So you believe in the passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus do you? Then, BE A MARTYR.

Do you know how the Greek word “martyr” is translated in English? As WITNESS. Look at our bible lessons for today; the word “martyr” is used in two of them. (1) The Acts passage says “And we (the Apostles) are witnesses to these things (to the suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus) and so is the Holy Spirit.”  (2) In the Revelation passage, John says he received his revelation “from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the first born of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.” Even Jesus is a witness. (3) Our gospel passage does not use the word “martyr” or “witness”; but it tells a story in which all the disciples, including doubting Thomas, are witnesses to many signs of Jesus, including his wounds. So, Jesus and his disciples are portrayed as martyrs, as faithful witnesses to the fierce and magnificent events of Easter.

The Meaning of Witness

What did being a martyr mean to the earliest Christians? How did they view martyrdom?

Originally the word “martyr” was used in both secular and religious contexts. Its original meaning did not necessarily include the death of the witness. But it is also true that ancient writers (like the historian, Josephus) sometimes refer to some martyrs who die because of their testimonies. In the early Christian centuries, the idea of a “martyr” acquired the meaning we think of today: of a believer whose faithful witness results in persecution, suffering, and sometimes death. Many early Christians began to use the term “martyr” in this new sense; they saw Jesus as the first and greatest martyr, for obvious reasons. Our passage from John refers to “Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the first born from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.”  Early Christians came to view Jesus as a kind of archetypal martyr, a model witness.

So, if Jesus is the model witness and if Christians are to follow Jesus, then does following Jesus mean we must follow him in death? Does it mean that if we are faithful to Jesus we too will be persecuted and suffer and even die? That was certainly part of the reality of the earliest Christians. In our passage from Acts, Peter and the apostles understood that following Jesus may very well include persecution and death. They were imprisoned for disobeying the authorities, for preaching about Jesus. The account of Stephen’s martyrdom is recorded in Chapter 7 of Acts. Throughout the first several Christian centuries, there are records of quite a few Christian martyrs, men, women and children. In fact, it became common among early Christians to refer to the day of a martyr’s death as their “spiritual birthday“ and as a “second baptism”, this time with blood. Martyrdom continued throughout Christian history even up to the present day. Martin Luther King, Jr. was martyred because of his faithful witness to Christ love. In various regions of the world today there are Christian martyrs…including Sudan, Pakistan, China, and even in the Americas.

Can I get a Witness?

What is the meaning of “martyr” or “witness” for Christians today?  Since our American tradition generally tolerates diversity of beliefs and lifestyles, Christians do not usually face death because of their witness. So, how can we be witnesses to the passion, suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus?

In all three of the Synoptic Gospels—Matthew, Mark and Luke—Jesus says something that is familiar to us. Peter has just confessed Jesus as “The Messiah, the Son of the Living God.” Then Jesus tells his disciples what it will take for them to be his witnesses. He says, “If any one wants to follow me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever shall save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake and for the sake of the gospel will find it.”  Here encapsulated, I think, is how today we Christians can choose to be witnesses and martyrs for Christ or not; how we can choose to suffer for Christ’s sake or not. We can deny our selves and voluntarily take up Jesus’ cross or not; we can decide to “die to ourselves”. With Jesus we can pray “not my will but thine be done.” We can deny ourselves and our own desires and preferences; we can deny to ourselves what is most comfortable and convenient and easy, and we can take up the burden of a cross for the sake of the welfare of others. Indeed, we can make hard decisions that sometimes result in ridicule or harassment or rejection. To deny our selves in this way, to bear a cross of mercy and generosity for others is how we can die to ourselves and faithfully witness to Christ’s death and resurrection.  

What might this kind of death to self, this kind of martyrdom, look like at work or school or play or in family life?  How can we deny our selves and take up Christ’s cross?

1. In our professional work we can die to ourselves. For example, it might be easiest for us to take sides in conflicts and get angry at bosses and colleagues. Or we can deny ourselves that easy, crowded path and bear the cross of peacemaking and reconciliation. Jesus was a peacemaker for us. That’s how we can be martyrs for him.

2. At school, we can choose to ignore a fellow student who is bullied or harassed or laughed at or alone; or we can deny those instincts of self-preservation and bear the cross of courage and compassion. Despite peer pressure we can stand up for harassed and rejected students; standing up for kindness and friendship. Jesus did it for us and was unpopular. That’s how we can be martyrs for him.

3. In our community, we can deny ourselves certain material comforts and luxuries, and spend time and energy conserving meadows and woodlands, caring for God’s creation and creatures, just as God cares for us. That’s how we can be martyrs for Jesus and witnesses of resurrection life.  

4. In family life, parents can deny themselves the indulgence of some personal preference or hobby, and give extra time, attention, energy and care for their children and what they want to do. Jesus did it for us. That’s how we can be martyrs for him.

5. We can ignore those who live on the margins of society physically, mentally, financially and condemn them for being lazy and moochers; or like Jesus we can bear the cross of mercy and have compassion. Jesus did it for us. That’s how we can be martyrs for Jesus.

Conclusion

There are so many other ways each of us as Christians can be martyrs, witnesses to Jesus’ passion, death and resurrection. Think right now of ways during this coming week that you can be a martyr for Jesus; think of ways you can die to yourself and voluntarily take up the burden of mercy and generosity for the welfare of others.

Jesus was a martyr; he chose the hard road of the cross for us. All of those early disciples, including Thomas, despite their doubts, were martyrs and witnesses who took up in their own way a cross of mercy, of martyrdom. Almost daily we Christians have opportunities to be martyrs and witnesses; we too can choose to bear the burden of Christ’s cross; the burden of truth and justice and honesty and generosity and compassion and mercy and peace. Even collectively, as a Faithful Community, Trinity can be a martyr for the sake of the gospel. In doing so we bring to others the passion and power Christ’s resurrection: to the student who is bullied or rejected; to the injured animal, to those who are sad and sorrowful; to those on the margins for whom a crust of bread and cup of water renews life. In so many ways each day we can die to our selves and be martyrs for Jesus.

So, now how many of us aspire to be martyrs for Jesus? May God help us.