The Blood of the Martyrs

They overcame him
by the blood of the Lamb
and by the word of their testimony;
they did not love their lives so much
as to shrink from death. Revelation 12:11

I read something with moved me powerfully today in the book Missionary Patriarch: The True Story of John G. Paton. This autobiographical book tells the story of Paton’s life as a missionary among the South Sea Cannibals in the New Hebrides during the early 1900s. He wrote, when telling of the history of missions in the New Hebrides,

“John Williams and his young Missionary companion Harris, under the auspices of the London Missionary Society, landed on Erromanga on the 30th of November 1839.

Alas! Within a few minutes of their touching land, both were clubbed to death; and the savages proceeded to cook and feast upon their bodies. Thus were the New Hebrides baptized with the blood of Martyrs; and Christ thereby told the whole Christian world that He claimed these Islands as His own. His cross must yet be lifted up, where the blood of His saints has been poured forth in His name!” (p. 75)

We shake our heads and contemplate what a shame it was that these two missionaries were killed moments after setting foot on the island, before a single word of the natives’ language was learned, much less a Gospel message proclaimed. But Paton makes the arresting statement that Christ would not allow the blood of His saints to be spilled in vain.

Paton is not saying that Christ will save these savages in response to the martyrs’ sacrifice, as if the martyrs bought these islands for the Lord with their own blood.

He is saying that Christ intended to redeem these islands, and in His perfect wisdom He chose to begin this redemptive work through martyrdom.

Jim Elliot met a similar fate. When he was martyred in Ecuador in 1956 at the age of 28, the shock waves reverberated around the world. He, along with four other men, were killed by Auca Indians while trying to make initial contacts with the tribe.

Many at the time thought of their deaths as a senseless waste. The Lord, however, brought a tremendous harvest from this “grain of wheat”, both among the Aucas (many of whom were eventually converted through two of the men’s widows) and in raising up a generation of missionaries who were challenged to fill the gap left by these godly martyrs.

“Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” -John 12:24.

You can read the story of Jim Elliot’s martyrdom along with four fellow missionaries in Through Gates of Splendor, written by Jim’s widow Elizabeth Elliot.

Comments

  1. The youth group “played” underground church last night….tying into a powerful reminder of the relative “ease” we have as believers…the days are getting harder, that is for sure but they haven’t been able to begin wrapping their minds around true martyrdom.

  2. Hello there –
    That is a sad story. I have seen the movie that was made about Jim Elliot. It sad.

    I replied to your comment on my BRC post. so you can come over and read it. 🙂

    Love,
    Rachel
    http://dixonhomestead.com/rachel

  3. I just wanted to let you know that I again replied to your comment. And also, you can subscribe to the comments from that post so that you know when I answer you. 🙂

    Love,
    Rachel

  4. I’ve been pondering similar thoughts lately. We are doing the Precept study of II Timothy and it struck me this week that being “ashamed” of the Gospel can be as simple as having pity when I should be rejoicing. God is in control and as His saints we are never out of His hand. When our brothers and sisters suffer in such ways do we pity them and try to find ways to “make it easier” or do we rejoice that the Gospel is alive and active in their lives?

    Just some thoughts I’m digesting this week.

    Sunday

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