Focus: In order to advance God’s influence in our world, Christians must be willing to serve the Lord even unto death.
Function: To encourage the people to develop a backbone of faith and stand up for Jesus in our culture and world today.
Text: Daniel 3:1-15
The year is A.D. 156. The place is the amphitheater in Smyrna. The occasion is a conflict between the Roman consul and the bishop of Smyrna by the name of Polycarp. The stakes are high.
Polycarp is a Christian. He is in his late eighties. At a very early age, Polycarp had heard the gospel from the apostles themselves. He has been a Christian servant leader all his life. Polycarp lives in a region and culture that is dominated by the Roman Ceasar or emperor. Whereas the people in that culture have many idols in their homes and worship Caesar as a god, Polycarp’s home has no images or idols.
The people in
Polycarp’s town of Smyrna thought of Christians such as Polycarp as “atheists,”
because they appeared to have done away with all the gods. As such Polycarp and
many other Christians are perceived to be a threat to the empire, as well as to
the citizens in Smyrna. Why? Well, who is going to pray to the gods to bring
security and prosperity to the empire? It is dangerous to ignore the gods of
Rome. The gods may get angry and turn against the empire and its people. And
since these Christians, these “atheists” do exactly that—ignoring the
gods--they are a threat to the people.
The proconsul arrested Polycarp and had him dragged into the amphitheater. There, the proconsul “reminded Polycarp of his great age, and urged him to show his penitence by joining in the cry, ‘Away with the atheists!’”
The stakes are high. If Polycarp
refuses to turn back to the gods of Rome, then he shall be burned at the
stakes. Polycarp “looks straight at the excited crowd, points his finger at
them, and cries, ‘Away with the atheists!’ Then we hear the proconsul
say, ‘Revile Christ, and I will release you.’ But Polycarp responds,
saying, “For 86 years have I served Him, and He has never done me wrong; how
can I blaspheme Him, my King, who has saved me? I am a Christian” (B.K. Kuiper, 9,10)
Polycarp was familiar
with the story of Daniel and his friends in the empire of Babylon. And Polycarp
knew that in order to advance the influence of God in our world, Christians
must be willing to serve the Lord anywhere, even unto death.
The Jews in Daniel’s days,--like the Christians in Polycarp’s and in our days—live no longer in a defined territory called the kingdom of Israel or Judah or the “Promised Land,” where God is King. God’s people are in exile; they are dispersed all over the Babylonian empire. God’s kingdom rule is on the loose. And so it is with us today: the Church of Christ is now universal, and so is God’s reign!
When they lived in Israel, the Jews lived (supposedly) under the reign of God; they served the Lord God in daily worship, in observing feasts and festivals unto the Lord, and in passing on the story of God’s mighty acts of deliverance. The Jews are Exodus people, living under God’s umbrella of covenant love and mercy.
But now they are in Babylon. And the question Daniel and his friends (and all the Jews living in exile) must face is this: will we advance God’s reign in the Babylonian empire, or will we regulate our lives in accordance with Babylonian culture and its gods? Whom shall we serve? That’s the question.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Nebuchadnezzar should have known the answer to that question; after all, he had a dream. And Daniel had told Nebuchadnezzar that the dream made it clear that God is sovereign king. And as such, all Nebuchadnezzar’s subjects, including the Jews, are to serve Israel’s God as Lord and King of all. But Nebuchadnezzar did not get it—yet.
In fact, Nebuchadnezzar’s dream inspired him to build a long, slender pyramid or image of gold—a statue most likely in the form of a gigantic obelisk. Nebuchadnezzar used that statue to regulate Babylonian worship. Nebuchadnezzar set himself up as Babylon’s high priest, demanding that all his subjects worship and bow before his golden image.
In the days
of Moses, there was Aaron, who made a golden calf for worship. Aaron did so
because the people demanded it. But in this case it is Nebuchadnezzar who
demands worship of his golden image. And he does so with threats. He built a
large furnace near the golden image. And the message is clear: If you do not
bow down to my golden image, you shall perish as disloyal servants. A blazing
furnace awaits you.
All Nebuchadnezzar’s government officials are present. They are mentioned by their function and roles: the “satraps, the prefects, governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates and all the other provincial officials.” Included in these officials are the Jews in high places—Daniel’s friends: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
Now think about this: all the eyes of the Jews back home, and all the Jews living in exile are looking at these three covenant children—young men in high places in the government of Babylon. Will they bow down before Nebuchadnezzar’s image? Or will they—as servant leaders of Israel’s God—refuse to worship this idol of Babylon? If they refuse, they risk their lives—and the lives of all the Jews in the Babylonian empire. If they bow down, then in essence they betray the God of Israel—and his influence or kingdom will remain in the dark.
Like any
good Jew in those days, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego know the words of their
prophets. Early on, Jeremiah warned the Israelites of Babylon: “I see a
boiling pot, tilting away from the north.” And through Jeremiah, the
Lord warned his people in Israel, saying, “From the north disaster will
be poured out on all who live in the land” (Jer.1:13). That was a warning to God’s people. But
Daniel’s friends also know the power of God. They know the Scripture that says,
“…the Lord took you and brought you out of the iron-smelting furnace, out
of Egypt, to be the people of his inheritance, as you now are” (Deut. 4:20).
The stakes are high: will God’s people advance God’s influence in Babylon as well as anywhere else in the world? Or shall we bow down to idols and ideologies that glorify certain people and secular governments—even if that means a certain death?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
They collected wood in Smyrna’s amphitheater. They wanted to bind Polycarp and place him at the stake to be burned like a torch. But Polycarp said, “Let me be. He who strengthens me to endure the flames will also enable me to stand firm at the stake without being fastened with nails.” The flames engulfed Polycarp. They heard him pray: “Lord God Almighty, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. I praise Thee that Thou has judged me worthy of this day and of this hour, to participate in the number of Thy witnesses, and in the cup of Thy Christ’ (B.K. Kuiper, 10).
The stakes are high. Yet, the call remains the same: Stand up, Stand up, for Jesus, as soldiers of the cross. (559:1,2,3,4)