Burned at the Stake and Stabbed in the Heart

“Continued worldly prosperity is a fiery trial.” – C.H. Spurgeon

Polycarp, circa 65 AD – 155 AD, was the Bishop of Smyrna. Along with Clement of Rome and Ignatius of Antioch, he was considered one of the three chief Apostolic Fathers of the early church. During his long and remarkable life, Polycarp was a disciple of the Apostle John, gathered and preserved the Epistles of Ignatius, confronted the heresy of Marcion, and taught Irenaeus.

According to the Martyrdom of Polycarp, he was bound and burned at the stake and then stabbed when the fire failed to consume his body. Polycarp’s shed blood then extinguished the flames.

Shortly before his execution, the magistrate offered to release Polycarp if he would renounce his faith in Jesus Christ. Polycarp replied, “Fourscore and six years have I been serving Him, and He has done me no wrong; how then can I blaspheme my King who saved me?”

Soldiers then grabbed him to nail him to a stake, but Polycarp stopped them: "Leave me as I am. For He who grants me to endure the fire will enable me also to remain on the pyre unmoved, without the security you desire from nails."

Before the fire was lit, Polycarp was given another chance to recant – and save his life – by the proconsul Statius Quadratus. However, Polycarp refused, saying, “You threaten a fire which burns for an hour, and after a little is quenched; for you know not the fire of the future judgment and of the eternal punishment which is reserved for the impious. But why do you delay? Do what you will.”

My friend, none of us knows how we would respond if we faced the prospect of dying for our faith. We can only hope and pray that we would have the courage and conviction to stand strong like Polycarp, knowing that a few moments of earthly pain cannot begin to compare with eternal rewards in the presence of Jesus.

That being said, how do we handle more mundane tests of faith that aren’t life threatening, but which may require some temporal sacrifices such as the loss of a job, a promotion, a friendship, or a home?

As Charles Spurgeon points out in the following passage, sometimes persecution is our friend… and prosperity is our enemy.

“Brother, beware of the smooth places of the way; if you are treading them, or if the way be rough, thank God for it. If God should always rock us in the cradle of prosperity, if we were always enjoying good fortune, and there were no clouds in the sky, and no bitter drops in the wine of this life, we would become intoxicated with pleasure, and we would dream that we were standing—and stand we should, but it would be upon a pinnacle; like the man asleep upon the mast, each moment we would be in jeopardy.”

“We bless God, then, for our afflictions; we thank Him for our changes; we extol His name for losses of property; for we feel that if He had not chastened us in this way, we might have become too secure.”

“If we have food and covering, with these we shall be content. But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction.” I Timothy 6:8-9

- Rev. Dale M. Glading, President