Everybody has a friend or two that have a knack for making up nicknames; you know, special terms of affection. To a couple of my friends, my name went from Mark to Marcus, and then from Marcus to Marcus Aurelius. I thought it was kinda cool to be Marcus Aurelius… that is, until I learned who he was, and then I didn’t think it was so cool anymore.Marcus Aurelius was the emperor in Rome from 161 A.D. until 180. He was not a friendly man toward Christians. In fact, he was hostile toward them, he hated them, he persecuted them – and he had them murdered.
Polycarp was a student of the Apostle John and was a devoted follower of Christ. He was martyred because of his strong stand on Biblical principles and his undying love for Jesus Christ, his Savior. Although the exact date of the death of Polycarp is disputed, the historian Jerome states that the killing of Polycarp took place under Marcus Aurelius.
After learning some interesting things about Polycarp, I became almost infuriated that a man like Marcus Aurelius would be so wicked as to preside over the torturous murder of such a great man of God. This was a crime to beat all crimes.
But then, as it happens every time I examine the wickedness of another, God blasts me with the thought of my own wickedness. The crime of all crimes is not that Marcus Aurelius killed one of my Christian brothers – no, the crime of all history is, that because of MY personal sin, the spotless and innocent Lamb of God was murdered on the hill at Calvary. And even worse than that? If you and I spurned the love of God and rejected the offer of forgiveness He offers from the bloody hill.
Marcus Aurelius
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