Her execution came at the end of a long confinement in a dark dungeon where the Roman authorities had tried to get her to recant through continual browbeating. At times they dragged her to the marketplace for interrogation, glorying in her public humiliation. Once as she stood before the large crowd in disgrace, her aging father arrived carrying her infant son. Pressing his way up the platform, he pleaded with her to offer a sacrifice for the sake of her baby. When she refused, the authorities knocked him off the platform, adding grief upon grief.

On the dismal day of her death, the brave young woman was shoved into the arena where the stands erupted in gleeful cries as a bull darted towards her in mad fury. When it succeeded in goring her side, Perpetua flew into the air, landing several feet away in a bloodied heap. Quickly she pulled herself up, seeking to comfort the other martyrs in the arena. Reaching out to embrace her dear friend Felicitas, she called to the other young men, "You must all stand fast in the faith and love one another, and do not be weakened by what we have gone through!" The authorities then sent in a terrified gladiator who was able to land the fatal blow only after Perpetua assisted him in holding the sword to her throat.

Stories of believers who willingly lay down their lives for the cause of Christ confound me. A bulletin board in my kitchen holds an ever-increasing collage of articles– short, sobering obituaries gleaned from obscure sections of the newspaper -- that may be the only kind of memorial many modern day martyrs will have. In the gospel-light milieu of my generation, saints such as these are an anomaly and I find myself examining their lives, pondering what energizes them to press ahead with such zeal.

The answer is perhaps reflected in something Luke wrote about the apostles after their first taste of persecution. Imprisoned, flogged, and warned not to speak in the name of Jesus again, they went on their way, Luke says, rejoicing that they had been considered worthy to suffer shame for His name (Acts 5:41).

For a Jew, a person’s name -- whether given at birth or taken later in life -- was purposeful, reflecting the very essence of who they were, a sacred trust which they were born to fulfill. One’s name was the same as their reputation – thus they did everything to live up to it. The name Jesus in Hebrew was ‘Yehoshua,’ translated Yahweh is salvation. When the angel announced this name to the teenage Mary, it carried with it the weight of divine promise, the fulfillment of a joyful destiny for everyone who would believe.

For the disciples, the name of Jesus was replete with holy significance, a perpetual reminder that not only had they been saved from sin and death, but one day they would enter eternity to dwell in His marvelous presence. No one could have known the yearning such a thought wrought within their hearts.

These were the men who had left everything to follow Jesus. For three years they’d seen the beauty of His love, the radiance of God Himself shining in all that He did, the touch of miracle upon life after broken life. They were eye witnesses to His majesty, and watched first-hand as He paid the price to bring salvation to their sin-sick souls. Devastated by His death and then dumbfounded at His resurrection, they had marveled together as the last vestiges of His humanity disappeared into heaven before their eyes.

When Christ’s Spirit descended upon them at Pentecost, these same men were utterly changed. A compulsion to speak of His name drove them to the streets where they could not stop talking of the wonder of His glory. The reality of their salvation so radically altered their world-view, that they saw suffering as a privilege, for it gave them a chance to demonstrate their zeal for the worth of Jesus, their Savior.

The name of Jesus is a precious jewel, a treasure that ought to fill every redeemed soul with wonder and overwhelming delight. If it doesn’t, perhaps we’ve not yet understood the miracle of salvation, the absolute marvel that we who once scorned our Creator to go our own arrogant way, are now welcomed into His embrace, indeed even inhabited by His holiness. The name of Jesus ever reminds us of the blessed truth that Yahweh is salvation– that what we could never do, He has done, fulfilling the sacred trust inherent in His name.

Those who saw Perpetua and her fellow-martyrs die, called it a day of triumph, observing with awe that the group proceeded from the prison to the amphitheater as if they were on the way to heaven.

They had gracious and happy countenances. If they trembled, it was not with fear but with joy. Perpetua followed the group with light steps, as a true bride of Christ. She, the beloved of God, moved all who saw her with that great spirit in her eyes.

Jesus – Yahweh is salvation –and oh what glorious salvation. This name before which every knee – in heaven and earth and under the earth -- will one day bow, has the power to astound and fortify and energize all who sing the song of the soul set free. You shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins…Therefore God has highly exalted Him and given Him a name above all names. Beautiful name, precious name, blessed name…Jesus (Matthew 1:21, Philippians 2:9-10).

Respond

Knowing Jesus is a treasure so extraordinary that His followers for more than 2000 years have joyfully embraced suffering and even death for His name. Ponder this for a few minutes. What have you seen of this Savior through the eyes of your heart? Is your zeal for Him driven by the wonder of what you’ve seen? Does your experience of Him cause you to love His worth, to yearn to see more, to live to make it known in your words and deeds? Does joy in who He is, drive you forward in your walk of faith?

Offer a prayer of desire, an honest cry to Jesus to reveal Himself, and the wonder of salvation in His name. Acknowledge that you are helpless to conjure up such an experience…determine only to press into knowing Him, trusting in His grace to open your eyes and heart. Whatever you have known of Him, He delights in a heart that longs for more. Write a few sentences expressing your desire today. Spend a few minutes in silence, waiting for Him to reveal Himself to your heart. Worship Him.

A Prayer

Jesus, name above all names, I am lost in the wonder of my salvation. My heart beats faster and my spirit soars at the very mention of Your name. Yet my love for You is bittersweet, for I live in a world that spurns You. I grieve when believers take Your name lightly, and am broken when lost souls ignore You altogether, oblivious to Your infinite worth. I live for the day when every eye will look upon You and know the truth at last. Until then, consume my soul with life in Your name. Let me pray to see it hallowed, suffer to see it exalted and live to see it worthily worshipped, Jesus, wonderful Jesus.

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Copyright © 2004 Tricia McCary Rhodes