Jesus called them rich when they had nothing.
The church in Smyrna was being systematically destroyed.
Their businesses were boycotted. Their property was confiscated. And their members were imprisoned.
They faced potential execution for refusing to worship the Roman emperor.
By every measurable standard, they were losing everything.
Then Jesus sent them a message through the apostle John: “I know your affliction and your poverty. Yet you are rich.”
Revelation 2:9, English Standard Version (ESV)
“I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich) and the slander of those who say that they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.”
This verse turns the world’s value system completely upside down.
Jesus looks at Christians who’ve lost their wealth, their security, and potentially their lives for refusing to deny Him, and He declares them rich while the world calls them foolish.
Understanding what Jesus meant when He called the suffering, impoverished church at Smyrna “rich” changes how you measure success, how you evaluate suffering, and whether you’re willing to let faithfulness cost you everything.
The Historical Context of Smyrna
Smyrna was a wealthy port city in Asia Minor, fiercely loyal to Rome and home to a thriving Jewish community that opposed the growing Christian movement.
A City Hostile to Christianity
According to New Testament scholar Colin Hemer’s research on the seven churches of Revelation, Smyrna competed with other Asian cities for imperial favor by demonstrating loyalty through emperor worship.
Christians refusing to participate in this worship faced social and economic consequences.
The phrase “I know your tribulation” wasn’t hyperbole. The Greek word “thlipsis” means pressure, persecution, affliction.
These Christians were experiencing real suffering, not just inconvenience.
Economic Persecution
“I know your poverty” reveals the financial cost of faithfulness. The Greek word “ptocheia” describes extreme poverty, destitution, the state of having nothing.
Early church historian Polycarp, who would later be martyred in Smyrna around AD 155, provides evidence that Christians there faced systematic economic persecution. Trade guilds required participation in pagan rituals. Refusing meant losing your livelihood.
Opposition From the Jewish Community
The phrase “the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan” addresses specific persecution from the Jewish community in Smyrna.
These Jews claimed covenant relationship with God while actively opposing those who followed the Jewish Messiah. Jesus calls their synagogue “of Satan” not as ethnic slur but as theological indictment. They were serving the enemy’s purposes by persecuting believers.
What Jesus Saw That the World Didn’t
The church at Smyrna appeared to be losing. Poverty. Persecution. Pressure from every side. Yet Jesus declared them rich.
True Riches Versus Material Wealth
Matthew 6:19-21, Christian Standard Bible (CSB)
“Don’t store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves don’t break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
The Smyrna Christians had lost earthly treasures. But they’d gained heavenly treasures that couldn’t be confiscated, stolen, or destroyed.
Their faithfulness under persecution was storing up eternal wealth while their economic poverty demonstrated that following Jesus mattered more than financial security.
Spiritual Wealth Through Suffering
James 1:2-4, New International Version (NIV)
“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”
Suffering for Christ’s sake produces spiritual wealth: tested faith, developed character, deeper intimacy with God, eternal reward.
The Smyrna Christians were rich in ways that mattered eternally even while they were destitute in ways that mattered temporarily.
The Paradox Jesus Commends
Jesus didn’t promise to relieve their poverty or end their persecution. He promised it would get worse before it got better.
Revelation 2:10, English Standard Version (ESV)
“Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.”
More suffering was coming. Imprisonment. Potential execution. Yet Jesus’s command was “do not fear” and “be faithful unto death.”
The riches He offered weren’t escape from suffering but reward after suffering: the crown of life.
When Faithfulness Costs You Everything
The Smyrna church faced the ultimate test: literal life or death based on whether they would deny Christ.
Most Christians reading this won’t face martyrdom. But the principle applies universally: will you stay faithful when faithfulness costs you something significant?
Career Consequences
Following Jesus might cost you job opportunities if you won’t compromise biblical ethics. Refusing to lie, cheat, manipulate, or participate in activities that violate Scripture might limit career advancement.
The world calls that foolish. Jesus calls it faithful.
Relationship Loss
Standing for biblical truth might cost you friendships, dating relationships, or family harmony. When your convictions conflict with what people you love believe or practice, faithfulness creates tension.
Choosing Jesus over human approval feels like poverty when you’re experiencing the relational loss. Jesus calls it riches.
Financial Sacrifice
Tithing, generous giving, refusing lucrative opportunities that require ethical compromise, or choosing ministry over higher-paying careers all create financial cost.
By worldly metrics, you’re choosing poverty. By Jesus’s metrics, you’re choosing riches.
Social Standing
Christians who refuse to conform to cultural values often experience social marginalization. You’re labeled intolerant, judgmental, narrow-minded, or extreme.
The cultural poverty of being an outsider is real. The spiritual wealth of being faithful is richer.
What Costly Faithfulness Produces
Tested Faith That Proves Genuine
1 Peter 1:6-7, Christian Standard Bible (CSB)
“You rejoice in this, even though now for a short time, if necessary, you suffer grief in various trials so that the proven character of your faith—more valuable than gold which, though perishable, is refined by fire—may result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”
Faith that costs nothing proves nothing. Faith that costs everything proves genuine.
When you choose Jesus at personal expense, you demonstrate that He’s worth more than what you’re losing.
Intimacy With Christ Through Suffering
Philippians 3:10, New King James Version (NKJV)
“That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death.”
Paul considered suffering for Christ a way of knowing Christ more deeply. Sharing in Christ’s sufferings creates fellowship with Him that comfort can’t produce.
The Smyrna Christians knew Jesus in ways comfortable Christians never will.
Eternal Reward Proportional to Earthly Sacrifice
2 Corinthians 4:17, English Standard Version (ESV)
“For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison.”
Paul calls his severe persecution “light momentary affliction” compared to coming glory. The proportion isn’t even close. Temporary suffering produces disproportionate eternal glory.
The Smyrna Christians would discover that what they lost for Christ was infinitesimal compared to what they gained.
How to Stay Faithful When It Costs Everything
Count the Cost Before Crisis Comes
Luke 14:28, Christian Standard Bible (CSB)
“For which of you, wanting to build a tower, doesn’t first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it?”
Jesus commands counting the cost of following Him before committing. If you haven’t considered what faithfulness might require, you’re unprepared when the test comes.
Decide now what you won’t compromise. Determine now what matters more than comfort, wealth, relationships, or life itself.
Fix Your Eyes on Eternal Reality
2 Corinthians 4:18, New International Version (NIV)
“So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”
When you’re losing everything visible, you survive by focusing on invisible eternal realities. Heaven is real. Reward is coming. Suffering is temporary. Glory is permanent.
The Smyrna Christians endured by remembering that what they were losing was temporary and what they were gaining was eternal.
Remember Jesus Chose the Same Path
Hebrews 12:2-3, English Standard Version (ESV)
“Looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.”
Jesus chose suffering, poverty, rejection, and death when He could have chosen comfort. He endured because of joy set before Him.
When faithfulness costs you everything, remember it cost Jesus everything first.
Draw Strength From Christian Community
The letter to Smyrna wasn’t private. It was read to the whole church. They suffered together, encouraged each other, and reminded each other of Jesus’s promises.
Don’t try to endure costly faithfulness alone. Find believers who understand the cost and will help you stay faithful when everything in you wants to quit.
Frequently Asked Questions About Revelation 2:9
Does this verse mean Christians should seek poverty?
No. Jesus isn’t commanding poverty. He’s commending faithfulness that resulted in poverty through persecution. The Smyrna Christians didn’t choose poverty. They chose Jesus, and poverty resulted from that choice. There’s a significant difference between voluntarily seeking poverty and accepting poverty as consequence of faithfulness.
Does God want Christians to suffer?
God doesn’t delight in His children’s suffering. But He allows and sometimes ordains suffering that produces spiritual growth, tests faith, and ultimately brings glory to Himself and reward to believers. Suffering isn’t the goal. Christlikeness is. And sometimes suffering is the path to Christlikeness.
How do I know if I’m suffering for righteousness or for my own foolishness?
1 Peter 4:15-16 distinguishes suffering for righteousness from suffering for wrongdoing: “But let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler. Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name.” Suffering for righteousness results from obeying God, not from being obnoxious, foolish, or sinful.
What if I’m not willing to lose everything for Jesus?
Honest self-assessment is the first step toward change. Admit where you are. Ask God to increase your love for Him and decrease your love for comfort, wealth, or approval. Read stories of martyrs and faithful Christians who chose Christ over everything. Let their examples challenge and inspire you.
Is it wrong to use legal means to protect my rights as a Christian?
Paul used his Roman citizenship to protect himself (Acts 22:25-29) and appealed to Caesar when facing unjust treatment (Acts 25:11). Using legal protections isn’t lack of faith. However, there may be times when faithfulness requires accepting loss of legal rights rather than denying Christ to preserve them.
How can I prepare for costly faithfulness?
Develop deep roots in Scripture and prayer now. Build Christian community with believers who will encourage faithfulness under pressure. Practice small acts of costly obedience in daily life. Choose Jesus over comfort in minor decisions so you’re prepared to choose Him in major ones.
Prayer for Faithful Endurance
Jesus, You looked at the suffering, impoverished church at Smyrna and called them rich. Help me see with Your eyes. When faithfulness costs me something, remind me I’m gaining what matters eternally even while losing what matters temporarily. Give me courage to choose You over comfort, over wealth, over approval, over relationships, over life itself if necessary. Strengthen my faith so it proves genuine under pressure. Help me fix my eyes on eternal reality when everything visible is being taken away. Surround me with believers who will help me stay faithful when I want to quit. And when the cost of following You feels unbearable, remind me that You endured the cross for joy set before You. Help me endure whatever You call me to endure for the same reason. In Your Name, Amen.
Sources Consulted
Hemer, C. J. (2001). The Letters to the Seven Churches of Asia in Their Local Setting. Eerdmans Publishing Company. [Historical Study]
Mounce, R. H. (1997). The Book of Revelation. Eerdmans Publishing Company. [Biblical Commentary]
Peterson, E. H. (2005). The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language. NavPress. [Bible Translation]
Strong, J. (2010). Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible. Hendrickson Publishers. [Reference Book]
