Companions for the Journey: Polycarp of Smyrna
In the second century after Jesus’s death, a Christian in what’s now Turkey was killed for his faith. You might be thinking, “But that was normal, right? Weren’t Christians persecuted, like, all the time?” Well, that’s partly true—to be honest, it was more sporadic in the early days than we often think. But what’s special about Polycarp is that we know the story of his martyrdom, because it has survived for us in the form of a letter written from the church at Smyrna to other Christians so that they would know what had happened to this man.1
By the time Polycarp died, a dozen other Christians had already been killed in Smyrna, and as the crowd began to get carried away with wanting more blood, they demanded that Polycarp be produced. As the Roman soldiers attempted to find him, they arrested a couple of servants to try to get them to reveal Polycarp’s whereabouts. Polycarp, meanwhile, had simply been praying all day in various places, and so when the soldiers finally arrived late at night, he insisted that they be given food and drink while he himself finished his prayers. They consented, and so he stood among them and prayed aloud for two whole hours!
Polycarp was led into town on a donkey, and he was brought before the police commissioner who happened to be named Herod. The inspector tried to encourage Polycarp to make the customary offerings to the emperor—they were worshiping the emperors as gods by this point—but Polycarp refused, even when they began to beat him. As a result, he was led into the arena, where he and the other believers heard a voice from heaven encouraging him to be strong and courageous. As a result, when the governor encouraged him to offer incense to the emperor and to reject the Christians, instead he lifted his face to the crowd and rejected the people in the stands! We then read one of the most famous lines in the entire story: “I have served him for eighty-six years, and he has done me no wrong. How can I then blaspheme my King and Savior?”
Wait: EIGHTY-SIX YEARS?!? Polycarp was an old man! We don’t know if he was 86 himself, or if he was even older because it had been 86 years since his baptism. Regardless, this was no young buck, but rather a man “old and full of years,” as Scripture might say. Well, Polycarp continued to refuse the Romans despite their threats, and so he was sentenced to be burned at the stake. He was bound up and tied to the stake, he prayed to God, and then the fire was lit. Oddly, though, according to the witnesses, while the flames burned, there was not an aroma of burning flesh, but rather of baking bread, and Polycarp’s body wasn’t actually being burned. And so, one of the soldiers stabbed him, and he died shortly thereafter.
Why is Polycarp a good companion for our journey of discipleship? Well, anyone who helps us imitate Christ by doing so themselves is worthy of our attention. Perhaps some of you saw the parallels with the life of Christ. Polycarp prayed in the presence of his enemies, rode on a donkey, appeared before a man named Herod, and died at the hands of the Roman government with an angry crowd looking on. Many commentators have also suggested that the aroma at his death is meant to remind us of Christ as the Bread of Life (John 6:35, 48).
Maybe others of you noticed the way that Polycarp denounced the people in his world. At many times in church history, and also today, we are often encouraged to have a binary view of the world: the “good guys” and the “bad guys,” “us” and “them,” etc. Many Christians these days are speaking of a “culture war,” and unfortunately, there are many news outlets and political leaders who would stoke our rage to use it for their own ends. I do think that, at least sometimes, following Jesus does come down to very stark choices… but I also think that sometimes our Enemy uses that impulse against us by setting us against each other, against flesh and blood rather than against the powers, the principalities, and the forces of darkness in this sinful world (Eph. 6:12).
For me, as I read the story today, its most powerful aspect is the way that Polycarp showed hospitality to his enemies, or those who would be such. As the text has it: “In spite of the lateness of the hour, he at once ordered them to be given all the food and drink they wanted.” This wasn’t just a “here’s some bread and water” situation; he gave them all they wanted! And then, he didn’t demand to be allowed to pray, but rather he asked, and he only began to pray once they consented. As the text says, “All who heard him were struck with awe, and many of them began to regret this expedition against a man so old and saintly.”
Most of us may not have enemies who are seeking our lives. But I imagine that many of us have gotten into heated discussions with brothers and sisters in church, or with various friends on social media. In those moments, it’s so easy to think of others as our enemies, whether or not they are people of faith. We can give in to that impulse to demonize, or to withdraw, or to insult. What if we followed Polycarp’s example by finding ways to show hospitality? What if, after an argument in the church foyer, we not only apologized but also cooked a meal for our brother or sister? What if, after we spouted off in a social-media post or comment thread, we not only deleted the post but also made a public apology, praising our conversation partner for something about them? What if we prayed for these people, blessing them before God and in the name of God? In doing so, we would be following the teachings of Jesus in Matthew 5 and of Paul in Romans 12… and we would be following the example of our blessed brother Polycarp.
1 This text appears in a variety of translations. The one on my shelf is by Maxwell Staniforth and Andrew Louth, and it appears in the Penguin Classics volume Early Christian Writings (London: Penguin Books, 1987).
