Sermon for Epiphany, January 7, 2024
Blessed be the God and Father of
our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual
blessing in the heavenly places. Amen.
Matthew 2:1-12 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem of
Judea, when Herod was king, Wise Men from the east came to Jerusalem. 2They asked, “Where is he who has
been born King of the Jews? We saw his
star when it rose and have come to worship him.” 3When King Herod heard this, he
was alarmed, and all Jerusalem with him.
4He gathered together all the people’s chief priests and
experts in the law. He asked them where
the Christ was to be born. 5They
said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, because this was written through the prophet:
6You, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are certainly not least among
the rulers of Judah: because out of you will come a ruler, who will shepherd my
people, Israel.” 7Then Herod
secretly summoned the Wise Men and found out from them exactly when the star
had appeared. 8He sent them
to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. When you find him, report to me, so that I
may also go and worship him.” 9After
listening to the king, they went on their way.
Then the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them, until it
stood still over the place where the child was.
10When they saw the star, they rejoiced with overwhelming
joy. 11After they went into
the house and saw the child with Mary, his mother, they bowed down and
worshipped him. Then they opened their
treasures and offered him gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 12Since they had been warned in a
dream not to return to Herod, they went back to their own country by another
route. (EHV)
God reveals His Savior
Son to the Gentiles.
Dear fellow redeemed,
What a
contrast we find as we read through the gospel accounts of Matthew and Luke. Some people were boldly excited to see Jesus,
some paid no attention, and one was violently opposed. In the epiphany of our Lord, we see how a few
men were so interested in the prophecies of old and the appearance of this
unusual new star that they travelled a great distance to meet the newborn
King. It’s funny how much that seems
like our modern world in which some are excited to see Christ, some are
indifferent, and many are actively hostile.
Yet, by this miracle, and for the great benefit of people like you and
me, God reveals His Savior Son to the Gentiles.
Those learned men from an unnamed gentile
nation discovered a new star, and somehow connected that discovery with
prophecies they had heard about from the past.
We can only surmise that Israelites like Daniel and other faithful
people had shared God’s promises with their gentile neighbors, and through the
ages some apparently believed. Now, we
don’t know their names. We don’t know
from where they journeyed. We don’t know
even how many men were in this group, and we certainly don’t know how God
provided such an unusual celestial body, but we do know that they believed
enough to associate this miraculous star with the birth of the promised Savior
and King of the Jews. We also know that
none of this happened by chance.
We heard in our lesson this morning how even
before Israel entered the Promised Land, Balaam had prophesied, “I see him,
but not now. I behold him, but not
near. A star will come out of
Jacob. A scepter will rise up out of
Israel.” (Numbers 24:17) The
prophecy is, of course, directly pointed to Jesus as King over Israel, which is
why you can understand why those wise men were excited to see that special star
rising in the sky.
Likewise, Micah foretold the location of this
amazing birth: “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the
clans of Judah, from you, will go out the one who will be the ruler for me in
Israel. His goings forth are from the
beginning, from the days of eternity.” (Micah 5:2) Thus, we are assured that the Christ Child
they met in that little town was none other than the Son of God from all
eternity. Did those wise men know this? We pray that they came to know it, and by the
testimony of their gifts to the Child, it seems perfectly possible.
There is one more prophecy of special
significance for them and for us.
Through the prophet, Isaiah, the Lord declared: “It is too small a
thing that you should just be my servant to raise up only the tribes of Jacob
and to restore the ones I have preserved in Israel, so I will appoint you to be
a light for the nations, so that my salvation will be known to the end of the
earth.” (Isaiah 49:6) God the Father
confirmed this prophecy as He sent His Son forth from heaven to rescue sinners
from the devil’s control. Jesus didn’t
come into the world to save only those blood relatives of Abraham, Isaac, and
Jacob. Rather, the promised Messiah
entered our world to be the atoning sacrifice and perfect righteousness for all
people everywhere, of every time and place in the history of the world.
That is why Epiphany is still so important for
us today. As those wise men journeyed
from the east to see their Savior and King, the whole world gets to see that
Jesus is King for them also. The
forgiveness and salvation, which God promised as far back as Adam and Eve,
Jesus attained for you and me as well, just as Peter attested on Pentecost
saying, “For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who
are far away, as many as the Lord our God will call.” (Acts 2:39)
The question for us as God reveals His
Savior Son to the Gentiles, is how will we react to the news? Will we be like those wise men who put their
former lives on hold to have a chance to be with their Savior? Or will we be more like the chief priests and
scribes who knew the prophecies yet didn’t seem to be interested enough to go
out to Bethlehem to see if this news were true?
Worse yet, would we dare to be like Herod who pretended interest in this
new King’s birth, but then showed his murderous side as he immediately plotted
to eliminate the possible rival?
Naturally, no one here would admit to being
like Herod, but do we demonstrate real excitement for the opportunity to hear
the Good News about Jesus our Savior?
How many of us go out of our way to show our neighbors, or even our
children, through words and actions, how glad we are to know that all our sins
are forgiven, and that we have a home in heaven because Jesus lived and died
for all? How many of us would mount up a
camel caravan to go hundreds, or perhaps a thousand miles, to see about
Jesus? I suspect the novelty of that
ride would wear off for us very soon.
The Good News for us and for all is that Jesus
came into this world to be the answer for all our sins, for our indifference,
hostility, laziness, greed, selfishness, and godlessness that at times troubles
even those of us who believe in Jesus.
Though the wise men were trained in astronomy and astrology and perhaps even
the dark arts, in that little town of Bethlehem, they found the One Child who
could make them clean, and they bowed down and worshipped Him. Like for you and me, as they recognized Jesus
as Savior and King, their sins were wiped away and the righteousness of God’s
Son was counted to them as righteousness.
Therefore, trusting in that Babe in Bethlehem as the fulfillment of all
God’s prophecies, they are counted as holy children of God, as we are too.
After they stopped in Jerusalem to learn of
where they might look for the King of the Jews, those wise men gave heed to the
words of the prophets and headed for the little town. Yet, here too we see how God worked to lead
people to Jesus. The star that seems to
have been hidden from them when they arrived at Jerusalem surprisingly again
appeared in their sky and led them right to the house where the baby Jesus
lay. Now, we don’t need to get into the
physics of how that was possible. We can
just trust that the Lord works to bring His salvation to those who are willing
to see.
For you and me, the Holy Spirit didn’t use a
star. Instead, He worked through parents
willing to lead their children to Jesus through a baptismal font, in regular
church attendance, and through demonstrated faith in the One true King of
heaven and earth. Perhaps other family
members were also instrumental in guiding the youth to meet our Savior, and of
course, sometimes it is pastors who help, Sunday school teachers, too. Always though, it is the Holy Spirit working
through committed believers who implants faith in the new hearts. All Scripture is God-breathed for that
very purpose—to bring sinners into peace with our Creator and Redeemer. (2
Timothy 3:16)
Like so much of our world today, Herod secretly
schemed to put an end to worship of the Christ Child, and likely, he would have
gladly put an end to those wise men, too, before they could tell others about
Jesus. Pay attention to this, therefore,
“Since they had been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they went back
to their own country by another route.”
You see, in all these things, God was working to protect His salvation
plan and the Savior who would carry it out.
In the same way, Jesus promises to be with us, to shepherd us, and to
give His angels charge over us to keep us in all our ways. (Psalm 91:11)
We never need fear what evil schemes the world
has in mind for followers of Jesus, because God always has the upper hand. In all our worries or fears, God’s Word gives
us great comfort and assurance that in all things our God will protect us and
keep us on course for His eternal dwelling place. The psalmist wrote:
His truth will be your
shield and armor. You will not fear the
terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the plague that prowls in
the darkness, nor the pestilence that destroys at noon. A thousand may fall at your side, ten
thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you. You will only observe it with your eyes. You will see the punishment of the
wicked. Yes, you Lord are my
refuge! If you make the Most High your
shelter, evil will not overtake you.
Disaster will not come near your tent.
Because he will give a command to his angels concerning you, to guard
you in all your ways. They will lift you
up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone. (Psalm 91:4-12)
Dear friends, since God
revealed His Savior Son to the Gentiles, you can have absolute
confidence that Jesus lived and died and rose again also for you and me. Furthermore, because He lives just as His
Father in heaven planned, so God’s plan for you will always be carried out in
accordance with His perfect will.
Therefore, no matter what may happen to our bodies in this life, we have
the assurance that Jesus’ words remain ever true for you, “I have told you these things, so that you may have peace in
me. In this world you are going to have
trouble. But be courageous! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33) Rejoice
and be glad with the wise men, for you have everlasting peace with God, because
God revealed His Savior Son for you.
Amen.
Now to the King eternal, to the immortal,
invisible, only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.
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