(Col
1:24 NKJ) ¶ I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up in my
flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ, for the sake of His body,
which is the church, | See also: Rom 8.18; 2Cor 1.5-7; Phil 3.10.
The
afflictions and sufferings of the Lord Jesus Christ on the Cross at Golgotha
are unique. Only the spotless, sinless, Lamb (Heb 4.15), made sin (2Cor 5.21)
and a curse (Gal 3.13) through men providentially established (Rom 13.1) and
biblically authorized (Gen 9.6; Lev 24.16; Mark 14.63-64; John 19.11), could
take away the sin of the world (John 1.29). All men are drawn across space and
time to the suffering Son of Man on the Cross of Golgotha (John 12.32-33). Some
sense in His separation from God (Matt 27.46; Psa 22.1-2) the eternal suffering
that awaits them if they die in their sins. But no man may add or detract
from the unique suffering which is essential to salvation.
And that
salvation, the salvation of those begotten again in our Lord and Savior (1Jo
5.18,20), produces the trust and endurance and purpose that enable the
acceptance of trials and afflictions and suffering with joy and thanksgiving.
(2Co
4:17 KJV) For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh
for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;
Paul in
his ministry, as a member of His Body (2Cor 11.23-27), followed our Lord in the
other afflictions and sufferings of His earthly ministry (Mark 14.65; John
19.1-3).
And
others, imitating Paul as he imitated Christ (1Cor 11.1), have accepted
persecution, affliction, suffering, and martyrdom throughout the nearly two millennia
of Church history.
The web
log inspired by the second martyred and first Protestant Archbishop of Canterbury
details some of this history:
Persecution
is the price we pay for truth - ++Cranmer web log - http://bit.ly/1a30tHN
Persecution
is suffering. It can be inflicted by authorities, groups or individuals,
usually for the silencing or subjugation of unacceptable opinions or beliefs.
It has been endured by the Church since its inception within the Roman Empire,
where Christianity was initially identified with Judaism, a religio licita, but
in which a tiny and relatively insignificant 'sect' gradually established its
own religious, social and political identity which was viewed as a threat to
the political order. Early Christians therefore had to contend with persecution
from three sources: the Jews, the Romans, and, as various groups grappled with
ever-increasing theological differences, each other.
The
worship of pagan gods and of the emperor was commonplace throughout the empire,
and the Christians’ non-participation in pagan rituals and general separateness
brought accusations of anti-social behaviour. Talk of eating the body and blood
of Jesus, and the customary greeting with a kiss, brought charges of
cannibalism and incest. Tacitus spoke of Christians as being a
"notoriously depraved" people who held to a "deadly
superstition", and they consequently became associated with the collegia -
clubs or secret societies. Such groups were considered a threat to political
stability because of the threat of sedition. To refuse to participate in the
pagan emperor-cult was a political as well as a religious act, and could easily
be construed as dangerous disaffection. In the opinion of the general populace,
such a crowd of wretches were plainly worthy of extermination, and any
repressive measures that were taken against them by authority could be sure of
popular approval. Successive emperors were therefore able to inflict
persecutions with varying degrees of vehemence.
Nero
arrested multitudes of Christians, and had them put to death in the most
shocking manner. Their crime was not so much incendiarism as their anti-social
tendencies. Dressed in wild animal skins, they were torn apart by dogs, or crucified,
or made into torches to be ignited after dark as substitutes for daylight.
Persecution became so great that it became the hope of many Christians to die a
quick death by beheading (the usual punishment for Roman citizens). However,
their citizenship did not always save them from the tortures. It was during
this period that both Peter and Paul were martyred, probably within a year of
each other.
Trajan
followed suit. One of his governors, Pliny the Younger, was of the mind that
Christians ought to be exterminated simply because of their "squalid
superstition", not so much for any specific criminal activity. But Trajan
insisted that credible charges should be brought against them, and execution
was to follow unless he or she recanted and gave proof by invoking pagan gods.
Persecution was especially bad in Syria and Palestine. In 107 Trajan went to
Antioch and demanded that everyone sacrifice to the gods. Ignatius, Bishop of
Antioch and pupil of the apostle John, wrote to Polycarp, another disciple of John,
on his way to Rome: "Let the fire, the gallows, the wild beasts, the
breaking of bones, the pulling asunder of members, the bruising of my whole
body, and the torments of the devil and hell itself come upon me, so that I may
win Christ Jesus." Ignatius refused to sacrifice to the gods, and was
martyred by being thrown to wild animals.
Tertullian
later observed observed: "The Christians are to blame for every public
disaster and every misfortune that befalls the people. If the Tiber rises to
the walls, if the Nile fails to rise and flood the fields, if the sky withholds
its rain, if there is earthquake or famine or plague, straightway the cry
arises: 'The Christians to the lions!’.” Clement of Alexandria recorded the
consequences: "Many martyrs are daily burned, confined, or beheaded,
before our eyes."
In
AD202, Septimius enacted a law prohibiting the spread of both Christianity and
Judaism. This was the first universal decree forbidding conversion to
Christianity. Violent persecution broke out in Egypt and North Africa.
Leonides, father of Origen, was beheaded. A record exists of a young girl being
cruelly tortured, then burned in a kettle of burning pitch with her mother, and
a poignant testimony of how Christianity crossed social barriers is evidenced
in the martyrdom of Perpetua in Carthage. It is reported that this young
noblewoman held hands with Felicitas, a slave girl, and exchanged a kiss before
being thrown to wild animals at a public festival.
When
Decius Trajan ascended the throne, he published an edict calling for a return
to the pagan state religion. Local commissioners were appointed to enforce the
ruling, which was the signal for a persecution which, in extent, consistency,
and cruelty, exceeded all before it. It was the first to extend over the whole
empire. When people were suspected of being Christians, they were given the
opportunity of offering sacrifice to the gods before the commissioners.
Certificates were issued to prove a person’s loyalty to the pagan religions.
Many Christians yielded to the pressure, but those who refused were imprisoned
and interrogated. There was no overt pursuit of martyrs, but rather a desire
for conformity and syncretisation. Christians who stood their ground were
subject to confiscation of property, exile, torture, imprisonment, and death.
Those who conformed and offered sacrifices were excommunicated.
During
the reign of Diocletian, the struggle between pagan Rome and the Christians
caused persecutions so terrible that all before were forgotten. Eusebius
records: "Christian churches were to be burned; all copies of the Bible
were to be burned; all Christians were to be deprived of public office and
civil rights; and, without exception, all Christians were to sacrifice to the
gods upon pain of death." An edict was issued in 308 ordering all men,
with wives, children, and servants, to offer sacrifice to the gods, and
sprinkle their provisions in the markets with sacrificial wine. Christians had
to conform or starve. All the pains, which iron and steel, fire and sword, rack
and cross, wild beasts and beastly men could inflict, were employed against the
church"
Some,
suffering the punishment of parricides, were shut up in a sack with snakes and
thrown into the sea; others were tied to huge stones and cast into a river. For
Christians the cross itself was not deemed sufficient agony; hanging on the
tree, they were beaten with rods until their bowels gushed out, while vinegar
and salt were rubbed into their wounds...Christians were tied to catapults, and
so wrenched from limb to limb. Some...were thrown to the beasts; others were
tied to their horns. Women were stripped, enclosed in nets, and exposed to the
attacks of furious bulls. Many were made to lie on sharp shells, and tortured
with scrapers, claws, and pincers, before being delivered to the mercy of the
flames. Not a few were broken on the wheel, or torn in pieces by wild horses.
Of some the feet were slowly burned away, cold water being dowsed over them the
while lest the victims should expire too rapidly...Down the backs of others
melted lead, hissing and bubbling, was poured; while a few ‘by the clemency of
the emperor’ escaped with the searing out of their eyes, or the tearing off of
their legs.
Persecution
ultimately failed because it separated the wheat from the chaff and caused
growth. Eusebius’ account of the martyrdom of Polycarp tells us: "When one
governor in Asia Minor in the second century began persecuting the Christians,
the entire Christian population of the region paraded before his house as a
manifesto of their faith." The suffering of some Christians spurred others
to more faithful living. Martyrs were perceived as having heroic qualities, and
many peasants, onlookers, soldiers and members of the nobility became
Christians through their witness. Tertullian observed: "The oftener we are
mown down by you, the more in number we grow; the blood of Christians is
seed." Tacitus agreed, after the persecutions of Nero, that "in spite
of this temporary setback the deadly superstition broke out afresh, not only in
Judaea... but even in Rome".
In his
letter to the Philippian church, the Apostle Paul confirms that many of his
brothers in the Lord had been encouraged to speak the word of God more
courageously and fearlessly (Phil 1:14). The Apostles played a fundamental role
in encouraging, sustaining and instilling faith into all those who faced
whatever the world threw at them; from minor insults (1Pt 4:4) to appalling
deaths (Acts 7:58). Many of the NT letters have an emphasis on overcoming and
enduring. For Paul, persecution was nothing to be ashamed of. On the contrary,
it was one of the marks of true gospel ministry (2Cor 4:7-17; 11:23-28) and
discipleship (Phil 3:10-11; Col 1:24). He emphasised that sharing in the
sufferings of Christ translates into sharing future glory (Rom 8:17-18; Col
3:1). And Peter confirms that it is commendable if a man bears up under the
pain of unjust suffering because he is conscious of God (1Pt 2:19). Suffering
for righteousness’ sake was the key: "But and if ye suffer for
righteousness' sake, happy are ye: and be not afraid of their terror, neither
be troubled" (1Pt 3:14). Peter believes that this is their calling
"because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye
should follow his steps" (1Pt 2:21).
This is the
essence of the faith exhibited by the Early Church. Suffering was not a
solitary endurance. Not only was Christ there to guide them, but they had each
other: "Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner
of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day
approaching" (Heb 10:25). It is said that the absence of fear was one of
the hallmarks of the Early Church, and this permitted them to confront the
persecutions head-on, however vicious or sustained they may have been. It is a
fanciful view, for who would not reasonably fear the pains of torture? But as
long as Christians viewed martyrdom as a spiritual promotion, with the approval
and reward of God, any policy of persecution was effectively pouring oil on the
flames. A weakened and declining Roman Empire ultimately could combat neither
the cohesion of the Early Church network, nor the fortitude of believers in the
face of persecution.
We in
the West cannot pretend to know anything of this, but for our brothers and
sisters across the Middle East the wheel has come full circle. The empire is
not Roman, but Islamist. The emperor is not Nero or Trajan, but the
idolisation of Mohammed as the perfect man of the highest moral excellence, and
his life as the "goodly model" which all must follow - literally,
step by step. We must let them know that they are not alone. | posted
byArchbishop Cranmer at 9:42 am Permalink - http://bit.ly/1a30tHN
I2C
140109a Col 1v24 pp C Price of Truth / I2C / 140109 0833 / Col 1:24 ++C Price
of Truth
