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| Mike Hosey, Elder |
Depending on the translation that one uses, this word is rendered in English as either "to bear witness" or "to testify."
It shares roots with another greek word. That word is "martus" (pronounced Mar-Toose). From martus, we derive our English word "martyr." A martyr is one who has willingly died for his or her beliefs.
Pastor Sammy pondered why this relationship existed between these two words. Let's see if we can figure it out.
I'm only aware of this word (in this exact form) occurring twice in the new testament. Stephen in Acts 22:20 is called a martus, as is faithful Antipas in Revelation 2:13.
Interestingly, the word simply means "witness." Which is to say that it means, "one who has knowledge of something, or one who can confirm something."
So how did it come to mean a person who dies for his or her beliefs?
The reason may lie in what it means to be a witness for Christ. Obviously, being a witness means to proclaim his word with our mouths (Matthew 28:19-20). But it also means to proclaim his word with our lives. Consider the teachings of Jesus in Luke 9:24-25. In those verses He tells us we must not only be willing to deny ourselves, but to give up our very lives - if not our actual physical life, then certainly our old sinful life.
Can you think of any greater confirmation for a man's love or commitment than the giving up of his life for the object of that love or commitment?
Apparently, enough Christians in the early church died witnessing about Jesus that the simple word for witness became the word for one willing to die!
Faithful Antipas gave his life in a world that hated Christ (Revelation 2:13). Curiosly, he was given the label "faithful martyr," -- a label he shares with Jesus (Revelation 1:5)!
Would any of us deserve the label faithful martyr? In what ways do our lives testify of Jesus?
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