Sermon

January 6, 2008
Epiphany
Matthew 2:1-12
Pastor Ben Berger

Join the Wise Men

Merry Christmas! Ahh, you probably thought Christmas was past and over. But today we celebrate Epiphany, the Christmas of the Gentiles. The word “epiphany” means appearance. For many years the celebration of Epiphany included the celebration of Jesus’ appearance or birth. Later that was separated out and became Christmas. Epiphany also included celebration of the visit of the Magi. Today we still celebrate their visit, which often signifies the coming of Christ to the Gentiles. We must remember that Christ came as a Jew and first for the Jews. Paul revealed in our epistle reading the mystery that through the gospel the Gentiles are also heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:6). In our Old Testament reading Isaiah prophesied the same, Nations will come to your light and kings to the brightness of your dawn…herds of camels will cover your land, young camels of Midian and Ephah. And all from Sheba will come bearing gold and incense and proclaiming the praise of the LORD (60:3,6). The Magi represent all of the Gentiles who worship Jesus as King, including most of us who are also Gentiles. Today we will celebrate the Gentile Christmas as we join the wise men on their journey. I stole today’s thoughts from the banner behind me. We Join the Wise Men as they 1) Behold, 2) Rejoice and 3) Proclaim Jesus as their King.

Who are the Magi anyway? The Greek word for magi sounds like and can mean magic or magician. Those who want to discredit the Bible and this account view the magi as magicians or sorcerers; they treat them as fakes. We call them wise men because they were educated and perhaps advisors to the king. They were also possibly priests and may have studied the stars as astronomers.

Matthew tells us that the Wise Men came from the east. We really aren’t sure what country they called home. Media-Persia, Arabia and Babylon have all been suggested. Many Christians settle on Babylon because it provided contact with the Jews and God’s word while the Jews were held captive there during the time of Daniel. In any case, these wise men had to travel some distance to find the baby Jesus.

There’s also a little confusion about the time the Wise Men came. Many nativity scenes picture them overlooking the baby Jesus in the manger just after he was born. The Nativity Story movie (which I generally like and whose view of the Wise Men I appreciate) depicts them coming just after the shepherds. That doesn’t fit with Matthew’s account which records that they visited Jesus in a house, probably a month or more after he was born – depending on how long it took them to travel to Jerusalem and then Bethlehem after seeing the star.

The Wise Men came searching for the newborn King after they saw his star in the east. Many assume the star appeared at the birth of Christ and that makes sense to me. Many others try to figure out what star or night sky occurrence brought about its appearance; that doesn’t make sense. Matthew calls the star “his star,” Jesus’ star. God sent this star miraculously for the birth of Jesus and later the star moved and marked the specific house where Jesus was.

But the Wise Men had more than just a star as their guide. The Wise Men were more than astronomers chasing a light in the sky. At some point, perhaps in Babylon from Daniel and other Jews, the Wise Men heard God’s word. They weren’t searching for any star, but the Star of David, the Messiah, their Savior and King. The Wise Men knew and believed in God’s promises and they came looking. They didn’t know all of God’s prophecies for they came looking for the King of the Jews in Jerusalem, the capital of the Jews. But by his Word, God directed them to Bethlehem. There they found and beheld their Savior King in the arms of his mother Mary.

Are we willing to join the Wise Men on their journey to behold the Savior King? We have the opportunity to visit him every week here in his house – and most of us don’t have to travel hundreds of desert miles to get here. We can visit him anytime we want in his Word – and most of us don’t have to wait for foreigners from another country to bring that Word to us. Even though Jesus is available to us at any time and in many convenient ways, we are often unwilling to visit him. Oh, we’ll visit when we’re not too tired from the night before or if we don’t have to work or if we’re in town. But, when we’re out of town or on vacation or working or tired, it’s too hard. We’d like to have personal and family devotions, but there’s work and school and sports and TV and the newspaper and a million other things to do. We just don’t have the time or energy. Enough with the excuses! Confess that we have neglected and despised opportunities to visit Jesus. Receiving God’s forgiveness resolve to join the Wise Men and behold your Savior King every week in worship and every day at home.

Behold the King who came to visit us. Jesus did not complain about the amount of time or energy he expends ruling the world. He did not whine about leaving his Father or perfect home in heaven. He didn’t give second thought to entering the womb of a woman he created or traveling through her birth canal. He didn’t hesitate at the mockery, ridicule, suffering or death he would face on this earth. Jesus knew that he was coming to visit a bunch of sinners who would reject and neglect him. He came anyway. He came at great lengths, at any length, to save those sinners. He came to save you and me. Whenever we join the Wise Men to see this newborn babe, whether in his house or in his Word, we behold our Savior King.

Along the way the Wise Men rejoiced. After King Herod had spoken with the Wise Men trying to find out when the star appeared, he sent them to Bethlehem to find the Christ child. When the Wise Men left, they again saw the star from the east. Apparently the star had disappeared for a time but had now reappeared. Matthew reports that when they saw the star, they were overjoyed (2:10). Actually that’s quite understated. The Greek literally translates, “they rejoiced greatly with great joy.” The Wise Men were truly thankful for the guidance God provided them both in the star and in his Word. They were just as excited to finally find and see the Christ child.

As soon as they saw the child with his mother Mary, they worshipped him. The Wise Men showed their joy and they rejoiced in worship. They got down on hands and knees and bowed before the baby. They weren’t bowing to Joseph or Mary, but to the baby. And they weren’t bowing to a future earthly king; they knew and believed they were bowing to King of Kings.

The Wise Men also worshipped with gifts. Gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh also showed that the Wise Men worshipped Jesus as King. Such gifts were fitting also for a king. I can’t say for sure, but those gifts might also signify Jesus’ roles and future work. Gold could signify his role as King. Frankincense might signify his role as priest or remind us that he is God to whom incense is offered. Myrrh was used for burial and could remind us that as true Man Jesus would sacrifice himself for our sins.

We too can join the Wise Men as they rejoice at the sight of their King. But, we’re not always that excited. Even when we pull ourselves out of bed or away from other things, we do so with poor attitudes. We go through the motions but our hearts aren’t in it. We put in our time and want to get out as quickly as possible. We hear but don’t listen. Nor do we bring our best gifts. We try to figure out the least we can give and still get by. We’re not worried about how well we’re dressed. We want a casual atmosphere. We’re selfish, greedy and often worry about our own comfort rather than the worship of our King. And we often fail to give any further thought to the roles and work of Jesus, who he really is and all he’s done for us.

Yet, Jesus came to give us his best. He gave us his very self. Jesus offered his holy, precious blood and his innocent suffering and death for our sins. He held nothing back. He gave himself to give us everything – forgiveness, the riches of heaven and more than we need on earth. Jesus trusted his Father to give his life back in the resurrection and to care for all his needs.

What a King we have! What a Savior! Jesus was born not just for the Jews, but also for the Gentiles, for you and for me. Every time we join the Wise Men to visit Jesus in his house or in his Word we have opportunity to behold our Savior and rejoice with worship. We can also proclaim his name. Mathew simply records that the Wise Men returned home. I don’t know for sure if they told others, but I guess they did. I know Jesus has asked us to make disciples of all nations. I know the apostle Paul spent his life sharing the good news with Gentiles. I know someone shared the good news with me. That’s all I need to know to proclaim to all, Jews and Gentiles alike, Merry Christmas – your Savior is born.

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