The Masada Commitment

My pastor is currently in Israel having the trip of a lifetime for a minister. As I see the pictures he’s posted and hear the stories from his wife I’m reminded of my trips. He posted a picture from Masada the other day that reminded me of a powerful story. I hiked to the top of Masada and watched the sunrise over the Dead Sea without knowing anything about where I was. When I got to the top of this mountain, there was a deserted city there of stone. Most walls had been worn down over time, but you could easily see where everything was.

It turns out that when the Romans were conquering the world, they came to Israel. They had taken over just about every city and had brought it under Roman rule. There was one major city left to conquer. Masada. The Roman army assembled at the base of the mountain and cut off supplies to the city. They began to construct a ramp up the mountain so the army could easily get up there to battle.

As time went on the Romans had made it all the way to the city gates. The people of Masada knew that a battle would be imminent. They also knew that they were outnumbered and would lose. The night before the battle, the men of the city gathered together. They decided that they would rather die than to serve Rome.

Each man went home and killed his family then returned to the meeting place. There they drew straws and chose ten men to kill the rest. Out of those ten men, one would kill the other nine before taking his own life. Today, the Israeli Defense makes that hike after boot camp to take their oath to Israel. They vow that they would rather die than to live under another country’s rule.

This story makes me think back to the early church. The men and women of faith who gave their lives for the sake of the Message of Christ. I think of the men and women today who live in countries where being a Christian is illegal. People today still give their lives for the cause of Christ whether you know it or not. I’ve met them, worked with them and served with them. They know the risks of being a Christian in those places and choose to risk their lives daily so that one more might hear about the love of Christ.

I look at my life and my first world problems and realize they pale in comparison to the sacrifices these men and women have made and continue to make. I wonder about my own faith. Do I have what it takes to risk my life for the Kingdom? Do I believe in the cross enough to accept death rather than denial? You and I probably don’t have to face that choice today, but others do. If we were faced with it, what would we honestly do? Is salvation from God through the death of Jesus just something we hope for or do we believe it enough to risk our lives?