The Old Bishop's Prayer at the Stake

On February 23, 155 AD, the Roman authorities led eighty-six-year-old Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna, to the arena to be burned alive. He had been a disciple of the Apostle John himself, and for decades he had faithfully shepherded his congregation through waves of persecution. When soldiers came for him, he fed them dinner first.

Standing before the pyre, Polycarp refused the magistrate's demand to renounce Christ. Then, before the flames were lit, he lifted his voice in a prayer that stunned onlookers with its tone — not of despair, but of thanksgiving. "I bless You, Father," he prayed, "that You have counted me worthy of this day and hour, that I should have a part in the number of Your witnesses, in the cup of Your Christ."

The cup of Your Christ. There it is. Even facing death, Polycarp reached for the same language the psalmist used centuries before: "I will lift up the cup of salvation and call upon the name of the LORD."

The Almighty does not view the death of His faithful ones with indifference. Scripture tells us it is precious in His sight. Polycarp understood that what looked like an ending was actually a vow fulfilled — a life poured out in gratitude, returned to the God who had first delivered him. His death was not a tragedy. It was a thanksgiving offering, the final lifting of the cup.