Polycarp John and Jesus. We'll read from John's Gospel, Chapter 2, from verse 23 to 25. So let us turn to the Word of God and hear the Lord's Word as it's found in the Gospel according to St. John, Chapter 2, starting in verse 23. Now, when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover during the feast, many believed in his name when they saw the signs which he did. But Jesus did not commit himself to them, because he knew all men. And he had no need that anyone should testify of man, for he knew what was in a man. This is the word of God. The year was 155 AD. The persecution against Christians had swept across the Roman Empire. It came to the city of Smyrna. The pro-consul of Smyrna swept up into this persecution, put out the order to arrest the bishop of Smyrna, Polycarp. He was to be arrested and brought to the local Colosseum for execution. Polycarp had been warned to flee, but he had chosen not to. When the Romans found Polycarp, they asked, does Polycarp live here? And his answer was, yes, I am he. He invited his captors in. He treated them as friends. He prepared them food. He served them a meal. Polycarp only had one request. Please allow me an hour to pray before they took him away. The Roman officers would have overheard his prayers, which actually went on for two hours. They probably began to have second thoughts. What are we doing arresting an old man like this? A man well advanced in his 80s. The crowd screamed when they saw this Christian leader brought into the Colosseum. They wanted his blood. The proconsul, however, offered him a way of reprieve. Pity your grey hairs. Just curse Christ and I will have you released. Polycarp, the Bishop of Smyrna, responded, Eighty-six years I have served my Christ and he has done me no wrong. How then can I blaspheme my King who has saved me? The proconsul searched for a compromise. Then just do this, old man. Swear by the genius of the Emperor and that will be sufficient. Now the genius of the emperor was the spirit of the emperor. To swear by the genius of the emperor to burn incense before his image or his idol that would have been to acknowledge the pagan statist idolatry of Rome. And so at this point Polycarp responded to imagine for a moment that I would do this. then I think that you pretend that you do not know who I am. Hear it plainly. I am a Christian. There were more treaties. At one point, the Proconsul commanded Polycarp to say, away with the atheists. Now, in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd century, Christians are considered atheists, because Christians did not worship the gods of Rome, did not believe in the gods of Rome, and therefore were called atheists. Interesting. People were once called atheists. So Polycarp looked at the jeering, mocking crowds in the stands and he waved his arm at them and said, away with the atheists. This was not considered adequate. Polycarp was then threatened that he would be torn apart by wild beasts. I have wild beasts, the proconsul said. Bishop Polycarp responded, bring them. I would Change my mind if it meant going from the worst to the better, but not from the right to the wrong. Now that Proconsul's patience was exhausted, I will have you burned alive, he warned. Polycarp responded, you threaten me with a fire that burns but for an hour and then it is extinguished. You know nothing about the fire of eternal judgment. Bring what you will. The fire was prepared. Polycarp was burned to death and he died singing psalms of praise to God. And as the fire engulfed him, people were converted to Christ in the stands. That was the 22nd of February and the year was, in the year of our Lord, 155. What is it about any man that in the worst of circumstances could enable him to behave in such an extraordinary way that he made it his greatest moment? Well, Polycarp trusted Christ. There are significant spiritual, supernatural explanations for Polycarp's unique courage. God gives grace when we need it. However, there's a human explanation for his unique courage too. Polycarp was mentored by somebody who knew Jesus Christ in the most remarkable way. Polycarp was mentored by the Apostle John. Thousands thronged around Jesus. Hundreds followed him. a dozen became his disciples, his apostles. And of those twelve, three went in a circle, Peter, James and John. And of those three, John was described as a disciple whom Jesus loved. The relationship that the Lord Jesus Christ had with John was unique. John must have passed on something of that relationship to Polycomp and to others of his disciples. It could be summarized up in these words, John trusted Jesus. So the passage that John wrote in his gospel, he is inspired to write these striking words. While Jesus was in Jerusalem during the Passover feast, many people saw the miraculous signs that he was doing and believed in his name. But Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew what was in a man. He did not need man's testimony about a man, for he knew what was in a man. Many trusted in Jesus. Jesus did not trust in them. That's actually the same word. They trusted in Jesus or believed in Jesus. Jesus did not believe in them. In Jerusalem, many believed in Jesus, but he did not trust them. He did not believe in them. They trusted in Jesus. He did not trust in them. Jesus knew their hearts. He knows all men. He did not need any man's testimony about a man because he knew what was his heart motivations. They believed when they saw the miraculous signs that he did. It's an interesting point that when you look at church history, as the cost of discipleship increases, the numbers decrease. In fact, it plummets. We shouldn't be surprised at this. More turnout for food than for teaching. At the first church picnic, over 5,000 participated. It's well known that if you want a larger attendance, organize a meal. If there's food, people gather in far greater numbers. So there were 5,000 at the first church picnic. But at the first church sermon, the Sermon on the Mount, there was a few hundred. For the first church prayer meeting, the Pentecost prayer meeting in the upper room, when the Lord had commanded to pray day and night until the power from above fell down upon them, there were 120 gathered for the first church prayer meeting, the Pentecost prayer meeting, in the upper room. When it came to the first midweek outreach, the first door-to-door evangelism, there were 70 who went out two-by-two to evangelise in the highways and the byways and to compel them to come in. But when it came to daily discipleship, When the Lord wanted men and women to be with him every day, day and night, to follow him, to be where he was, to hear from him, to follow his example, there were twelve men and about four women who followed Jesus as daily disciples. And of those twelve men, one betrayed him, Judas, one denied him, Peter, one doubted him, Thomas, and they all forsook him. They all fled when he was arrested in the garden. Only John, amongst the marital disciples went all the way to the cross and along with the woman disciples stood at the foot of the cross and identified with Jesus at his lowest, most shameful, most disgraceful time of his life when he was being hung on a cross like a common criminal and John stood with the woman disciples and identified with the sufferings and the death of Christ at his most dark moments in his life. As the cost of discipleship increases, the numbers decrease. True love is measured by sacrifice. We see this in our mission. Sometimes we've seen thousands of people at events, but there's always much less turnout for Bible teaching, and even less for prayer meetings, and far less than that for evangelism. And even less than that for cross-border outreaches, especially in restricted access areas where it's dangerous, in war zones for example. When you look at John's life, you can see that John trusted Jesus. He went all the way to the cross. He went all the way to the tomb. He went all the way to the Ascension. He was there for Pentecost. He went to Atzma's parts of the earth. John trusted Jesus enough to forsake his prosperity. Now you may not think of the followers of Jesus being prosperous people but John came from a prosperous family. If you read the Gospels carefully you'll see that John was a man who worked in a family business, owned by his father Zebedee. The Zebedee family had their business in their home in northern Galilee but they also had a second home in Jerusalem. That's a very unusual thing even today to have a second home but in Palestine in the first century, far less. John would sometimes stay at his home in Jerusalem. We're told that John had ready access to the house of Caiaphas, the high priest. His family had servants, they had a family business, they had access to famous and important people. John's family was quite well off, privileged even. But one day John was captivated by a man who spoke like no other man had ever spoken. John was drawn to Jesus. While he could not have had a full understanding of who Jesus was, or even understood at that time all that he was teaching, yet John knew that Jesus was different. He sensed the power and the presence of God in this teacher from Nazareth. And when Jesus said, follow me and I'll make you a fisher of men, John decided that this teacher of Nazareth was worth following, worth trusting. even if it meant giving up his comfortable lifestyle, his prosperous family business, he trusted Jesus enough to forsake prosperity, and he went out of his comfort zone. He also trusted Jesus enough to risk his own life for him, because at the Mount of Transfiguration at Golgotha, other than the woman disciples, only John turned up. All the men had fled. They had abandoned him in fear that their fate could be the same as that of Jesus. John was the only man to stand at the foot of the cross and he stood there at the risk of his own life. There was every probability he could be arrested and crucified just as Jesus had been. John followed Jesus when the thousands were cheering him and applauding him, when the Lord was multiplying the loaves and the fishes. and when Jesus walking on the water and when he is calming the storm with the word and when the multitude was singing Hosanna, Hosanna, blessed is he who comes in the name of the highest and putting the cloaks on the path for him to ride over, waving the palm fronds. It's easy to follow in times of popularity and success. It's more difficult to trust in times of trial and tribulation. It's quite another thing To follow Jesus when he is stripped, whipped, beaten, bleeding, condemned, disgraced, dying, powerless, humanly speaking, dying a disgraceful criminal's death with thieves and murderers, humbled on a cross, John trusted Jesus even enough to risk his own life and his reputation. One missionary to Uganda, Alexander McKay, said, I want to remind the missionary committee that within six months they'll probably hear that one of us is dead. But when that news comes, do not be downcast, but send someone else immediately to take the vacant place. In fact, of that mission team of eight sent out by the Church Missionary Society to Uganda, within just three months, two were dead of diseases, another was murdered, Within two years, all of the other, in other words, seven of them had either died, been murdered, or fled, and Alexander McKay was the only one left alive. And he actually survived 12 years. He beat odds. He survived to age 40, ministering in Uganda. Roland Bingham, initially to Nigeria, vowed, open up Africa for the Gospel, or I will die trying." This kind of single-minded determination and sacrificial service, devotion to duty, can be seen in many examples, such as that of Nate Saint in the 20th century, one of the five missionary martyrs amongst the Orca Indians in South America. I've walked past his smashed, burned out remains of his aircraft many a time when visiting missionary aviation fellowship. They brought it back and they put this MAF skeleton of a plane in their foyer, and in fact everyone going into MAF walks past that daily, when they work there, like John Boyd, our good friend who was president of MAF for over 10 years. And that saint said, The way I see it, we ought to be willing to die. In the military, we were taught that to obtain our objectives, we had to be willing to be expendable. Missionaries must face that same expendability. And people who do not know the Lord ask, why do we waste our lives as missionaries? They forget that they too are expending their lives. And at the end, when the bubble has burst, they will have nothing of eternal value and of significance to show for the years they have wasted. Several decades ago a denomination in Zaire, what today is called the Democratic Republic of the Congo, when you hear something being called democratic you know it isn't, but it was then called Zaire. This church denomination was celebrating a hundred years, a hundredth anniversary of the coming of Christian missionaries to that part of the country. There were long speeches, there was music, there were all kinds of feastings and celebrations, but one event overshadowed it all. An old man, a very old man, he was well over 100 years old, came before the crowd at the end of the final day, and he insisted that he be allowed to speak. He said, I will soon die, and there is some information that I alone have, and if I don't speak it will go with me to the grave. This man then explained that when the first Christian missionaries had come to their area, a hundred years before, when it had been controlled by Belgium, his people did not know what to think of these missionaries. They were strange. Their clothing was strange. Their hairstyle was strange. Everything about them was strange. The message was quite unusual. The tribal leaders decided to test these missionaries by slowly poisoning them all to death. And over a period of months and years, the missionary children first died, and then the parents died one by one. And the old man said it was as we watched how these Christians died that we decided we wanted to live as Christians. That's absolutely incredible that this story had not been told for 100 years. Those Christian missionaries had died painful and strange deaths. They never knew why they were dying. People would have probably assumed it's one of many tropical diseases. Meanwhile, their food was being poisoned. They did not know what the impact of their lives and deaths would be, yet through it all, they all stayed. No one left. They ministered, they planted the Gospel year by year. Their graves are there to this day. There are churches, many churches, in that very area today, in the Congress, because missionaries, those faithful missionaries, like the Apostle John, trusted Jesus, even at the risk of their own lives, even to martyrdom. In fact, the church throughout Africa has been built on the graves of thousands of missionaries. And I've seen many, many, many churches all over Africa with the graves of missionaries sometimes dying in their 20s, sometimes with a several-month-old or two-year-old child's grave next to them. And you wonder about these people who today can so glibly bear false witness against Christians of another time and era, slaughtering the missionaries who sacrificially built the church in Africa on their graves. Now, we see that John trusted Jesus. He trusted Jesus enough to forsake prosperity. He trusted Jesus enough to go out of his comfort zone. He trusted Jesus enough to risk his own life for him. And he trusted Jesus enough to remain anonymous. It's a fascinating fact that in the Gospel according to Saint John he never mentions himself by name. In fact it was the Gospel of Jesus that he wrote. We only call it the Gospel according to Saint John because Polycarp identified John as the author and other of the mentors and those mentored and discipled by John. But John didn't put his name in his Gospel. It's got John's name at the top in our Bibles but that's what editors have done later. John didn't mention his name. He refers to most of the other disciples, you read about Peter and James and Andrew and John, I mean James, Judas, you read about John the Baptist, but you don't read about John the Apostle. He never writes his own name in his own gospel. He refers to himself most often as the other disciple, or as the disciple whom Jesus loved. In John's relationship with Jesus, John concluded that he could trust Jesus, either to make him famous or to leave him anonymous and lost in obscurity. It did not matter. The sufficiency of Christ in his life was an expression of his trust. He trusted Jesus enough to remain anonymous. When I visited the Library and Museum of President Ronald Reagan, on to his desk and it's a recreation of exactly what the Oval Office was decorated like in his days in this museum. It's got his favourite sign, in fact I even had a keychain that I bought there which for many years was used in our vehicles. There is no limit to how much you can accomplish, how far you can go, as long as you don't mind who gets the credit. That was Ronald Reagan's life motto. No limit to how far you can go if you don't mind who gets the credit. And obviously John was the same. He put everything into promoting Jesus, not himself. He trusted Jesus enough to remain among us. So, the Lord Jesus was trusted by John. But there's another side to this relationship. John did trust Jesus, yes, but Jesus also trusted John. Jesus trusted John to write one of his Gospels. The first three Gospels, Matthew, Mark and Luke, are called the Synoptic Gospels because they cover much of the same content, many of the same stories, incidents, miracles, teachings, parables are related. Sometimes in the same words, sometimes in different words. Most of the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke are similar and if you've got a study Bible it will show the overlaps in the other passages where you'll read this and you'll see Matthew, Mark and Luke often giving the same parables and miracles. But in the later Gospel of John we read a tremendous amount of new information that we would not have otherwise had. Apparently the Lord Jesus wanted more of his story told, he wanted different miracles mentioned, he wanted a new perspective that had not yet been incorporated in any of the earlier Gospel writers, and Jesus chose someone he could trust to do the job. The final lines of John's Gospel says there were many other things that the Lord Jesus did, and that the world itself could not contain all the books that would have to be written if you put all the things that the Lord Jesus had done as God of the universe into it. was an eyewitness who had an infinite editing job. He had to edit down enough volumes to fill all the library shelves of the world into just 20 short chapters, limited by the size of a scroll, what could fit. It was the maximum. John had to leave out more than he actually included. He had to get it right. John had been in the inner circle of three. He was one of the three who had been on the Mount of Transfiguration with Jesus. He had sat next to Jesus at the Last Supper. He had heard that whisper about Judas. He had information that no one else had to give. And Jesus chose someone who he could trust, an eyewitness who could get the story right, keep it straight, to communicate what was most important. And because John was trustworthy, we have some of the most beloved, familiar words in the Bible. Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. Unless a man is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot see the Kingdom of Heaven. Unless a man is born again, he cannot enter the Kingdom of Heaven. For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth. Open your eyes, look at the fields, they are already white unto harvest. Those who have done good will rise to live. And those who have done evil will rise to be condemned. How can you believe if you accept praise from one another, but make no effort to obtain the praise that comes from the one and only God? I am the bread of life. All that the Father gives me will come to me. And this is the will of Him who sent me, that I should lose none of them that He has given me, but raise them up on the last day. If any man is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the scripture said, streams of life-giving water will flow from within him. Neither do I condemn you. Go and sin no more. I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness. You will know the truth and the truth will set you free. I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live even though he dies. I am the way, the truth and love. No one comes to Father except by me. Greater love has no one than this, than he lay down his life for his friends. Now these and many other passages were first written of Gospel according to Saint John. John trusted Jesus and Jesus trusted John. Jesus trusted John not only to write his own Gospel, he trusted John with his love. It is a most extraordinary thing to be described as the disciple whom Jesus loved, to be Jesus' best friend, in this egalitarian age that seems inappropriate. God loves everyone equally, they say over and over. It doesn't seem right that the Lord Jesus Christ could have had a best friend on earth. But the fact is that's what the relationship with John was. John was his best friend. John was comfortable enough to lay his head on his shoulder during the Last Supper. We read in the Bible that Enoch walked with God and Enoch pleased God. We read that Enoch was taken up to be with God. That's about all we know about Enoch. What an incredible epitaph. He walked with God and he pleased God. by implication not everyone walks with God, not everyone pleases God. Abraham is described as God's friend. Moses spoke to God and God spoke to Moses face to face. David is described in the Bible as a man after God's own heart. Imagine being described by God as a man after your own heart. The author of most of the Psalms, the biggest book of the Bible, a middle book of the Bible, a prayer book of the Bible, the hymn book of the Bible, the book of the Old Testament most quoted by the Lord Jesus in the Gospels, the Psalms. David is a man of the gods and hosts. What would it be like if we knew who was God's best friend on earth today? The person that God loved the most in the world today. What would happen? Well, you know what would happen. If this happened in 2019, that person's face would be on the front cover of Christian magazines. He'd be interviewed on all kinds of Christian TV stations. There'd be best friend of Jesus seminars speaking to us. CDs, books, who knows? There'd be a tremendous potential of ruining that person's life. A real temptation to arrogance. A possibility of treating others in an inappropriate way. You know, I'm Jesus' best friend. What do you know? Can you imagine what would happen if you were to know Jesus had as much right as anyone else to have a best friend when he was on earth? And, in fact, was it not critically important that he chose someone who he could trust with his friendship, who would not abuse that friendship, who would not treat others in a disparaging way or misuse that friendship or betray secrets or whatever it may be. And so, the fact that Jesus trusted John with his friendship in a unique way means John was trustworthy. Jesus trusted John with his gospel, Jesus trusted John with his friendship, and Jesus trusted John with his mother. In chapter 19 of John's Gospel, we read about the last gasping breaths of a Lord whose excruciatingly painful crucifixion allowed very little breath for speaking. Do you know, on the cross, the way the Romans killed the people was not by bleeding to death, but by them being unable to keep lifting themselves up to breathe. The only way they could breathe would be to lift themselves up on their feet and of course tearing themselves with the nail through the feet, which is a very sensitive part of the body, and then sinking down and then having to rise up again and each time the nail in the wrists or in the feet would be tearing at them. until he could do it no more, didn't have the strength to keep lifting up because the problem was in the position they put you it's as hard to breathe without you moving yourself up and down and basically they were dying from asphyxiation in the end unable to keep lifting themselves up to be able to open up their lungs enough to breathe and so we have a few words, seven phrases from the cross the last words of Jesus, Father forgive them for they know not what they do it is finished into your hands I commit my spirit and also this is your son this is your mother to Mary he says looking at John this is your son and to John he says look at his mother this is your mother these are some of the most powerful personal private words reported of our Lord Jesus While it's absolutely true that the Lord Jesus Christ was and is the eternal Son of God, second person of the Trinity, and while it's true that his primary mission on earth was the redemption of his people, yet it's also true that he was a man. And as the eldest son, when his stepfather died, he was responsible for the care of his mother. Now crucified, soon to die, his hands nailed to the cross, humanly speaking, he could not even touch his mother, He could not care for her as he should. So his most important human responsibility on earth, he was no longer able to fulfill. And he entrusts that responsibility to John. Now theologians obviously struggle with the idea that God could ever need anything because our very definition of God is He is all-sufficient. So this is what we could call an anthropomorphism. However, the fact is Jesus needed John to do something he could no longer do himself. take care of his mother, and Jesus chose the person he could trust. The record states how all the followers of Jesus, all his apostles, left Jerusalem. Thomas went as far as India. Peter ended up in Rome. Matthew went all the way to Ethiopia. Simon the Zealot ended up in present-day Crimea. The apostles spread out throughout the known world, and they took the gospel everywhere, as far as Britain, Africa, Asia, even India. They went in the power of the Spirit of God and with the Gospel of Christ. They pioneered the expansion of the Church of Christ. John, however, remained in Jerusalem, apparently until Mary died, and then he went to Patmos in Asia Minor, present-day Turkey, where he discipled Polycarp, amongst others. You have probably heard many times, do you trust Jesus? I would hope that you would continue to respond wholeheartedly, yes, I trust him, I trust him with my life, I trust him with my health, I trust him enough to devote my life to him, I would trust that my name is in his hands. But today, let us ask the question, does Jesus trust you? Can he trust you? Can he trust you with your family and with your ministry? Can he trust you with your responsibilities, with the education of the next generation? Can He trust you to stand up for the right to life of pre-born babies? Can He trust you to stand for the truth, even if the whole world is believing a lie? Can He trust you to do His will, to fulfill His mission, to be faithful in small matters, to be trustworthy in great matters, to care for His creatures, to care for and protect the environment, to write what He wants written, to do what He wants done? Can Jesus trust you? In the world today we need people who live for Christ. What is needed is people whom Jesus can trust to be faithful, loyal, dedicated, productive servants and soldiers of his, people of integrity. There's a long list of volunteers, of those willing to be successful for Jesus. Lord, you can trust me with millions of rands, I won't abuse it. You can trust me with power and privilege and influence, I won't take it for granted. and how many people actually become absolute disaster areas when they have too much power, influence, wealth and so on. But how many people are willing to be failures for Christ? A very short line of volunteers there. It's much easier to trust God in health and wealth and prosperity and success but we need people like Joni willing to be faithful and trustworthy while a paraplegic in a wheelchair. from 18 years old, from a swimming, diving accident, a paraplegic. How many years is that? More than 50 years. A long time. Yet she's got a writing, speaking, singing ministry. She even paints, obviously only with a paintbrush she can manipulate with her mouth because she doesn't have the use for hands or legs. We need people who can be trusted by Christ to raise children with medical and educational problems. It's a privilege to be entrusted with a hard assignment. You give easy assignments to people you don't expect much from. You give hard assignments to people you trust or want to stretch to be able to achieve more. It's a great honour to be entrusted with a hard assignment. In the military, the greatest honour is given to those who do the most difficult and dangerous things. And so, we need people who can be trusted to show what it's like to be a Christian with cancer. We need people who are able to trust Christ and be trusted by Christ even for the hard assignments. In 2 Chronicles 16 verse 9 we read, For the eyes of the Lord roam throughout the earth to strengthen those whose heart is fully committed to Him. His eyes are searching into churches and homes, into hearts and minds and lives, Seeking those who are fully committed to bless them, to strengthen them, to empower them. Jeremiah 17 verse 10 says, I the Lord search the heart and examine the mind to reward a man according to his conduct, according to what his deeds deserve. God can use suffering to alert us, to direct us, to shape us, to unite us, to prepare us, to make us more prayerful and powerful and purged. The Lord detests the sacrifice of the wicked, but the prayer of the upright pleases Him. That's in Proverbs 15.8. The Lord's eyes are searching. He's examining your heart now. Are you fully committed to Jesus? Do you trust Jesus? Does Jesus trust you? Let's pray. Lord God, we thank you and we praise you for the life of the Apostle John. and for his disciple, Polychor. We thank you, Lord God, for the Gospel of John. We thank you, Lord God, for these powerful words and insights into you and what you're looking for. Lord God, we pray, may you, by the power of your Holy Spirit and by the washing of your Word, renew our minds and make us more faithful, loyal, productive servants and soldiers of you. Help us, Lord God, when you give us hard assignments, help us, Lord God, to be fully committed to you, faithful to you, trustworthy, people of our word, more importantly, people of your word. We pray this in Jesus' precious and holy name. Amen. Let us conclude this service with hymn 106, Take My Life and Let It Be. Hymn 106. Just as you used to offer the parts of your body in slavery to impurity, so now offer them in slavery to righteousness.