Daniel Habben How Can I Attain the Crown of Life?
Revelation 2:8-11 1) Faithfully wear the crown of grace
November 14th, 2004 2) Patiently bear the crown of thorns
What would it take to get elected Prime Minister? What’s the most important thing needed to attain that position? It’s not speaking skills or leadership qualities; it’s money. Without money to advertise, you wouldn’t be able to tell the voters who you are and what you stand for. The importance of money was demonstrated in the U.S. elections that just finished. In those elections two candidates for senate from South Dakota spent $26.3 million U.S., more than $50 U.S. apiece for each of the state’s 502,000 registered voters (CBSNewYork.com). That figure doesn’t even include the millions more spent by outside interest groups trying to affect the outcome of that election. Yes, when it comes to attaining an elected office, you need money.
What will it take for you to attain heaven? Money? No. Morality? You would think so, but Jesus teaches us this morning that we attain the crown of life by faithfully wearing the crown of grace, and by patiently bearing the crown of thorns.
Jesus tells us this in the second letter recorded in the book of Revelation. This letter was addressed to the church in Smyrna, a city north of Ephesus. Like Ephesus, Smyrna was prosperous. The citizens of Smyrna were especially proud of the public buildings that crowned the high point of their city. Indeed from the sea it looked as if the city had a crown. This crown of Smyrna, this prosperity, wasn’t something that the members of the church there enjoyed however. Yet Jesus wanted them to know that they wore an unseen crown that made them wealthy. Jesus said: “I know your afflictions and your poverty—yet you are rich!” (Rev. 2:9a)
What was this unseen crown that made the Christians of Smyrna rich in spite of their poverty? It was the crown of grace. This crown assured them their sins were forgiven. It gave them peace from their guilty consciences. It guaranteed that when they died they would go to heaven and there enjoy eternal life free from fear, sorrow, loneliness, ridicule, sickness, and death. No amount of worldly wealth can buy such peace and confidence.
What had the Christians of Smyrna done to attain this crown? Nothing. The crown had been given to them by God. That’s why it’s called a crown of grace. An easy way to remember what grace means is to think of the word as an acronym. G.R.A.C.E. stands for God Riches At Christ’s Expense. The Christians at Smyrna were rich because Christ had made them rich. He did that by trading places with them as the Apostle Paul explained in a letter to the Corinthian Christians: “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich” (2 Cor. 8:9).
Jesus gave us the wealth of heaven by trading places with us in hell. He did that on the cross where he suffered the heavenly rejection you and I deserve for our sins. But it isn’t Jesus’ death that makes us rich; it’s his life. Think of it like this. If I owe a million dollars, I would be thankful to anyone who paid that debt. I wouldn’t, however, claim to be rich, unless the same person who bailed me out gave me another million dollars. Christ did that when he paid for our sin and gave us credit for his life without sin. As a result, in God’s eyes we are rich and ready for life in his glorified presence!
Are you wearing this crown of grace the Christians of Smyrna wore? You are. In fact all people are! Jesus lived and died for all, not just a select group of people, not even just for those who believe in him (2 Pet. 2:1). Unfortunately not all appreciate what God has done to save them through Jesus. Many, instead, boast in their own “goodness”. But that’s like thinking a toy crown makes you a real king or queen. A crown of our “good” works does not lead to the crown of life. It leads to a crown of pain, for those who reject Jesus and rely on themselves for salvation will have to endure the eternal fires of hell as punishment (Rev. 2:11). If you have thought much about your own goodness, throw away that plastic crown of works and boast instead in the real crown of righteousness that Jesus went to hell and back to give to you. That crown of grace will withstand the fires of Judgment Day and present you as one ready to enjoy the crown of life.
As awesome as the crown of grace is, it is not a crown of ease. The Christians at Smyrna found this to be true. Jesus said to them: “I know the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. 10 Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days” (Rev. 2:9b, 10a).
Those who value the crown of grace will have to bear a crown of thorns as long as they live in this world. It’s not a question of if, but to what degree we will suffer. While the Christians in Smyrna were ridiculed and then put in jail for their faith, the thorns we’ll have to put up with are more likely stress and sickness, not physical persecution.
Jesus is frank about the crown of thorns because he doesn’t want anyone to get frustrated at the suffering it brings and toss aside the crown of grace. When we’re tempted to do that we need to remember this: Jesus knows what we’re going through. He knew exactly what the Christians of Smyrna had faced and what they would yet endure. Jesus doesn’t just have a head-knowledge of our struggles. He doesn’t sympathize with us while sitting comfortably on his throne in heaven with no idea of what it’s like to be in pain. He’s experienced it all himself for he too bore a crown of thorns – one that had been beaten into his skull by mocking Roman soldiers.
Jesus does more than empathize with us however; he limits how heavy our crown of thorns will be. To the Christians in Smyrna Jesus said that they would suffer persecution for ten days (Rev. 2:10). Because Revelation uses symbolic language we shouldn’t think that the Christians in Smyrna were going to be imprisoned for ten literal days. The point Jesus was making is that persecution would come but it would also end, for Jesus had set limits on Satan’s activities before they had even begun.
In the same way Jesus sets limits on our suffering. He has determined how long and how much we will have to suffer. No, he hasn’t told us what that is, but he has promised that it won’t be more than we can handle armed with his comforting and strengthening Word. If you’re especially feeling the weight of the crown of thorns right now, hang in there. Jesus knows what you’re going through. He’s controlling the pain and the stress. Above all don’t forget that you still wear the crown of grace. You are God’s dearly loved child. God won’t let anything come into your life that can separate you from his love and care (Romans 8:38, 39).
Did the Christians at Smyrna listen to Jesus? A man named Polycarp did. When Jesus’ letter arrived in Smyrna, Polycarp was still a teenager. In time, he became the head pastor of the congregation and served the Lord well into his eighties before the persecution Jesus predicted finally caught up with him. Polycarp was arrested and taken to the stadium in Smyrna where a mob had gathered. There he was told to curse Christ and proclaim that Caesar was Lord. Polycarp replied, “For 86 years I have served him [Christ] and he has done me no evil. How could I curse my king, who saved me?” (Justo L. Gonzales. The Story of Christianity Volume 1, p. 42-44) They first tried to feed Polycarp to the lions but when that failed (because, according to the stadium manager, it was too late in the day for the lions to be released) they burned him at the stake. Had Polycarp been defeated? No. The crown that day in the great stadium of Smyrna went not to the mob who had cried for his death, nor did it go to the Roman official who had carried out the execution. The crown (of life) went to Polycarp who faithfully held on to the crown of grace in spite of the crown of thorns he had to endure. Polycarp now sits with the saints of heaven praising God for his deliverance from this world of pain. May God keep us as faithful in wearing the crown of grace and patiently bearing the crown of thorns until we exchange them for the crown of life. Amen.
