“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ.” (2 Corinthians 1:3-5)
The Day Everything Changed
April 18, 2007, started as an ordinary Wednesday morning in Malatya, Turkey. Tilmann Geske, Necati Aydin, and Ugur Yüksel went to their office to study the Bible with a group of five young men, some of whom they had known for several months. (The Voice of the Martyrs) What these three Christian men didn’t know was that the young men—all between 19 and 20 years old—had come with a different agenda entirely.
Geske, Aydin, and Yüksel were tied up, interrogated about their Christian activities, and tortured with knives. When a local Christian became suspicious and called the police, the five young men slit the throats of all three Christians just as officers arrived. Necati Aydin was 36, survived by his wife and two children. Tilmann Geske was 45, survived by his wife and three children. Ugur Yüksel was 32 and engaged to be married. (VOM Radio)
The “Malatya massacre,” as Turkish media called it, sent shockwaves through Turkey’s tiny evangelical community of about 3,000 believers scattered among a nation of nearly 72 million Muslims. These were the first Turkish Christian converts to be martyred in modern times. Three families were left shattered. Two widows. Five fatherless children. One grieving fiancée. And the whole world was watching.
The Gift of Forgiveness
The day after Tilmann Geske was murdered, Turkish media descended on his widow’s door. Susanne didn’t know what to say when they came to her door. Praying, she asked, “Lord what should I say?” The Holy Spirit answered with the words of Christ on the cross: “Forgive them for they don’t know what they are doing.”
Her declaration of forgiveness was broadcast all over Turkey—a predominantly Muslim nation where such grace seemed incomprehensible. People questioned how she could say that. Some said she must not truly love her husband.
Necati’s widow, Semse, also publicly forgave the killers. She viewed her ability to forgive her husband’s killers as a gift from God. “I didn’t work at trying to forgive them,” she said. “God just gave me a gift.”
But forgiveness didn’t erase the pain. “It was not easy for me to say that I forgive the killers,” Semse said at the memorial service. “To be honest, my heart is broken and my life feels shattered. I really loved Necati. He was the love of my life, my closest friend. But there is no one I love more than Jesus. Only because of this, I can bear it.”
That gift didn’t lessen Semse’s suffering, though. “I suffer a lot,” she said. “I’m going to suffer till the day I die.”
The Father of Compassion
This is where 2 Corinthians 1:3-5 becomes more than theology—it becomes survival. Paul calls God “the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles.” For Semse and Susanne, this wasn’t poetic language. It was their lifeline.
Susanne shared how God has become a father to her children and looked after her needs in the 15 years since Tilmann was killed. When human comfort fell short, when counseling resources were scarce in a country that was 99.8% Muslim, when the grief felt unbearable—God showed up as the Father of compassion.
Semse said, “I have not been able to do this. It’s been Christ, a miracle from God.” Her children, seven-year-old Elisa and six-year-old Esther, needed a mother who could function despite unimaginable loss. Her brother-in-law received death threats. Their landlord asked them to move, citing safety concerns. The financial support would only last through 2008. The challenges were overwhelming.
Yet Semse has no regrets about their ministry in Malatya. She talks about a harvest of souls there. They saw 15 people come to faith in three years, which is impressive in Turkey’s hard soil. “I see my family as victorious,” she says. (Persecutionblog)
Suffering Shared, Comfort Multiplied
The second part of this passage in 2 Corinthians reveals something profound: “so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.” The comfort God gave these widows didn’t stay with them—it overflowed to others.
In the days following, the press spoke to one of the widows, and she declared her forgiveness for the murderers. This happened when they heard this widow’s message of forgiveness. The testimony of forgiveness reverberated throughout Turkey and around the world, challenging believers and non-believers alike with the radical nature of the gospel.
Semse quickly found the venues and confidence to tell her story publicly. In early November 2007, she traveled to the United States and spoke publicly in Holland, Michigan, at an event for the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church. “Though Semse has only a minimum of education, she is an excellent speaker, extremely articulate and expressive.”
The comfort she received from God became comfort for others. Her suffering, united with Christ’s suffering, brought abundant comfort through Christ to countless people who heard her story.
The Daily Reality of Martyrs’ Families
Susanne and Semse’s stories are not isolated. Every day around the world, Christians are killed, injured, or imprisoned for their faith, leaving families behind to navigate unimaginable loss. According to Open Doors’ 2024 World Watch List, over 365 million Christians face high levels of persecution and discrimination. In 2023 alone, more than 4,100 Christians were killed for their faith.
Behind every statistic is a family in crisis. A widow trying to raise children alone. Parents burying their son or daughter. Children growing up without a mother or father. Siblings processing incomprehensible violence. Fiancées whose wedding plans turn into funeral arrangements.
These families need more than condolences—they need the God of all comfort to meet them in their darkest hours. They need to know that their suffering is not meaningless, that justice will one day be done, that their martyred loved ones are with Christ. (Mission Network News)
Suffering With Purpose
Paul writes, “For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ.” This is the mystery of Christian suffering – it’s never wasted. When believers suffer for Christ, they participate in His sufferings. And when God comforts them, that comfort multiplies and flows to others.
Ten years after the murders, German widow Susanne Geske told the Turkish press, “Some people think that I am still angry and I haven’t been able to forgive them. I want to say again, ten years have passed, and I have truly forgiven those five youths. Maybe someday, if there is an opportunity, I will go to the prison; I want to tell them themselves that I have forgiven them.” Her heart was at rest because she had left everything to God.
Semse reflected, “Christ said the road is narrow and difficult. If you choose this road, it won’t be easy. If you get too comfortable, it can take your faith. The hard times can also crush your faith. I want to be on the narrow road.” (Persecutionblog)
Our Response to Their Suffering
The families of martyrs need our prayers, but they also need tangible support. Voice of the Martyrs, Open Doors, and other organizations work tirelessly to provide practical relief and spiritual support to these families. They ensure widows have financial resources, that children receive education, that trauma is addressed with Christian counseling when possible.
But there’s something else these families need – they need to know they’re not forgotten. Every year on the anniversary of the murders in Malatya, the Turkish church has called Christians around the world to remember these martyrs with a Global Day of Prayer for the Church in Turkey.
When we pray for martyrs’ families, we’re asking the Father of compassion to do what only He can do—bring comfort that surpasses understanding, grant fortitude to keep trusting, assure them that justice will be done, and fill them with grace and courage to endure whatever loss and hardships they face. (Persecutionblog)
A Final Word
Your prayer for the families of martyrs matters deeply. God hears it, and He uses it to bring His supernatural comfort to broken hearts across the globe. These families are grieving, but they’re not without hope. They’re suffering, but not without the God of all comfort walking beside them.
Their stories challenge us to examine our own commitment to Christ. Would we be willing to die for Him? Would our families have the faith to forgive if we did? Would God’s comfort be sufficient for us in the valley of the shadow of death?
Semse, Susanne, and countless other families of martyrs answer these questions with a resounding yes. Not because they’re superhuman, but because they serve a supernatural God—the Father of compassion, the God of all comfort, who promises never to leave or forsake those who love Him.
Holy Father God, our hearts grieve for the families of martyrs around the world. Thank You that suffering is not meaningless or forgotten. We ask that Your comfort would bring peace to these precious families and assure them that one day justice will be done. Fill them with the fortitude to keep trusting You and relying on Your promises, no matter what comes their way. Be with the persecuted church and grant them grace and courage to endure whatever loss and hardships they face. In Jesus’ worthy name, Amen.
Sources:
- Voice of the Martyrs (persecution.com)
- Voice of the Martyrs Radio (vomradio.net)
- Baptist Press
- Christianity Today
- International Christian Concern
- World Watch Monitor
- Wikipedia entry on Zirve Publishing House murders
- Evangelical Times
Blogs about today’s persecuted church:
A Month of Prayers for the Persecuted Church – 31 prayers based on Scripture
Standing with Our Persecuted Brothers and Sisters – a short, simple reminder that we Christians are all one in Christ, called to love and support each other
When the Bible Becomes Precious – sometimes we forget the value of the Treasure we see every day
Never Alone: God’s Presence in the Prison Cell – Petr Jasek proves Hebrews 13:5, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”
One Body, Many Members: When the Church Suffers Together – reporting on an occasion when the Church stood together in prayer to support a member of our Body
The God of All Comfort: When Martyrdom Leaves Families Behind – in some dark lands, spiritual warfare can be fatal
Passing the Torch: Teaching Faith in the World’s Darkest Places – teaching children about God is risky in North Korea, maybe even a capital crime
Water for a Thirsty Soul: The Desperate Hunger for God’s Word – stories of hope and joy when Bibles reach believers eager to read God’s Word
a
The beautiful Queen Esther lived in a time when Jews were persecuted. But she and her people looked to their God to save them. Esther’s story describes God’s dramatic rescue of His covenant people, resulting not in their destruction, but in the festival of Purim. Read Esther’s story in an ebook or listen to it on an audiobook.
a
a
Here are links to my blog indexes, so please click one and keep reading!
My Books, Workbooks, and Fun Books
Knowing the Unknowable One
Opening the Treasure Chest
Walking Heart-to-Heart with God
Walking Heart-to-Heart with Each Other
Fighting the Good Fight of Faith
Christian Mysteries: Why I Love Them!
List of Some Nonfiction Books You Don’t Want to Miss
Index of Assorted Topics