Epiphany

Matthew 2:1-12 - Epiphany - January 6, 2015         
A Light to Lighten the Gentiles

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When God’s people were unfaithful to God’s word, God punished them.  He punished them in the worst way imaginable.  He didn’t rain fire or send plagues.  He sent the Babylonians to come and destroy the city of Jerusalem and the Temple that had once housed the glory of the Lord.  The Babylonians forced God’s people out of the Promised Land and made them move hundreds of miles away to the land of modern day Iraq.  This was known as the Babylonian captivity. 

Not all of God’s people were unfaithful.  But when God punished the wicked, the righteous suffered right along with them.  This happens today as well.  We see the Church mocked and our Lord rejected.  And the decadence of our culture is more the result of former Christians who have rejected the gospel than anything else.  But we Christians suffer because of their apostasy.  God punishes unbelief, and we who believe also suffer the punishment.  In this way, we suffer with Christ.  It is as we heard from St. Peter on Sunday, “Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy” (1 Peter 4:12-13). 

God destroyed the Temple.  He took his people away from where the word of God was preached.  But he did not take the word of God away from them.  Many kept it in pure hearts even as they were prodded across the desert to their captivity in a foreign land.  So we do the same.  Despite the unbelief and persecution of the world, we continue to hear God’s word and bring it wherever we go.  This is where his glory is revealed, and so this is what makes us glad with exceeding joy.  We remain God’s people. 

Among those of most notable mention who kept the gospel in Babylon are the prophet Daniel, along with the three young men, known as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.  Talk about a fiery trial, huh?  But the angel of the Lord protected them.  And the Lord was with Daniel too. 

While in Babylon, Daniel received the highest education.  He became a very learned man and so was made a high advisor to the gentile king Nebuchadnezzar.  He would have been known as a wise man and counted among the magi.  But the greatest wisdom he had was his knowledge of the gospel.  He did not only keep the word of God in his heart.  He also kept it in writing.  He was far from the temple, but the word of Scripture was not far from him.  This accounts for the fact that the Magi, who came from the East hundreds of years later, knew about the King who was to be born to the Jews.  They had at least some knowledge of the Scriptures way back from the days of Daniel. 

Here, I’d like to give my outline for the rest of this sermon:

1.     How the magi learned of Christ. 

2.     How the magi found Christ. 

3.     How the magi worshiped Christ. 

1. How the magi learned of Christ.

The prophecy that they most likely had would have come from Numbers 24.  It’s very interesting who spoke this prophecy.  His name was Balaam.  Balaam was a wicked man.  He despised the Lord and sought favor with God’s enemies.  But to spite this unfaithful prophet, and to show that God’s word is greater than the man who speaks it, God forced Balaam to proclaim what he himself didn’t even believe.  But to think that nearly 1,500 years later, gentile magi would take it to heart.  The prophecy reads thus:

“I see Him, but not now;
I behold Him, but not near;
A Star shall come out of Jacob;
A Scepter shall rise out of Israel.” (Numbers 24:17a) 

The magi watched the stars.  This prophecy would have been particularly interesting to them.  And as they watched the stars some 2,000 years ago, one stood out that did not belong.  It shone brightly.  Surrounded by stars that could inform them of nothing new, this star informed them of something very new.  A Scepter had risen out of Israel – the King of the Jews had been born. 

2. How the magi found Christ.

Naturally, they went to Jerusalem, Israel’s capital city.  They went to Herod, supposing that the current king of the Jews would be both interested and knowledgeable about where they might find this long-promised King.  But Herod neither cared nor knew.  He was troubled, in fact.  So were the chief people of Jerusalem.  They had slunk well into the status quo. 

When God saves, the world rages.  When God is merciful, the world lashes out in wrath.  They were troubled for the same reason that people today don’t want to hear the good news.  They don’t want anything to be shaken up and disturbed.  They’d rather stick to the devil they know than be saved from the devil who enslaves them.  This is why the world acts out so violently to the gospel – because it changes everything, and they don’t want anything to change. 

Herod pretended to care, though.  He asked the chief priests and scribes about the matter.  But just as Balaam hated what he preached, it didn’t matter that Herod and his crew also hated the gospel.  It was still the gospel.  How people react to it or who speaks it doesn’t determine its value.  It matters whose word it is.  Despite his insincerity, Herod pointed the magi in the right direction, because he spoke what God had spoken through the prophet Micah:

“But you, Bethlehem…,
Though you are least among the thousands of Judah;
Yet out of you shall come forth to Me
The One to be Ruler in Israel …
… Who will shepherd His flock.” (cf. Micah 5:2-4a)

So the magi were off to Bethlehem to worship the King of the Jews, and Good Shepherd of his people. 

Herod pretended that he wanted to worship the Christ.  But he only meant him harm.  What is so silly about Herod is that if he really wanted to find the Christ, he could have gone himself.  He had the word of God.  The reason he didn’t go is because he didn’t believe the word of God.  But just in case it were true, he made sure the magi let him know. 

This reflects how scoffers read the Bible.  They don’t read it to learn what is true.  They read it in order to attack those who do.  When you defend your faith against such people, make sure of two things:

1^st, remember that they are probably bluffing.  They don’t really know as much about Scripture and Christianity as they let on. 

2^nd, remember that your only defense is to know your faith better than they pretend to.  While they stay home and scoff, follow the light of Scripture and it will provide what more you need. 

The magi had a little knowledge.  We could tease them for not having had enough.  They went to Jerusalem instead of to the City of David.  What fools.  What was in Jerusalem?  Not Jesus.  Not the king.  Herod wasn’t even a real king, but a patsy of Pontius Pilate.  But what was in Jerusalem?  Scripture!  They might have gone to the wrong place and felt like they maybe didn’t understand what they had read at all.  But Scripture led them to more Scripture. 

Don’t be discouraged by your ignorance.  Rather go to where the Bible directs you.  It directs you to search its pages more and more.  And so doing, it will never fail to direct you in the end to where Christ is there for you.  This is what the magi did.  They received instruction from God’s word.  They misled themselves, but then they received more instruction from God’s word; and it was only then that the star reappeared and directed their path to the King they sought. 

3. How the magi worshiped Christ.

The magi found Christ.  The word was accompanied by a sign, which it so often is.  Signs can deceive.  We could stare at the stars or listen intently while we pray, or analyze our life experiences, and imagine that God is showing us something or even speaking.  Well, I suppose God can do that if he wants to.  But we don’t follow what God might want to direct us with.  These things can deceive us – our dreams, our thoughts, our experiences and all the little voices in our hearts.  But God’s word cannot deceive us. 

And so we follow only those signs that have God’s word attached to them.  We find refuge in our Baptism, because Jesus promises that it gives us a new birth in the Holy Spirit, and clothes us in his righteousness.  We regularly receive in bread and wine the body and blood of Christ for the forgiveness of our sins.  Jesus promises life and salvation in this Sacrament.  He gives us the perfect life he lived from cradle to cross, and rescues us from the punishment our sins deserve,  The body and blood that Christ offers for us to eat and drink is the very thing that Jesus offered to the Father as he paid our penalty on the cross. 

Do we see the sign of the Sacrament, but not feel like receiving it?  Well that would be like the magi seeing the star, but going somewhere else instead.  “We saw it last week.  We know where we’re going.”  How silly — how foolish that would be!  But no.  Just as we rely on God’s word and not on anything else, so we also follow the signs that God’s word gives us.  We make use of them.  By gathering in the triune name by which we were baptized – by hearing his word and receiving mercy for all our sins – by coming forward to receive the body and blood in the Sacrament, we follow a brighter light than the Star of David.  We follow the Morning Star of our salvation who leads us to eternal life. 

This is how the magi worshiped Jesus.  They went to him.  They took time out of their lives and sought him out.  They confessed that finding him and going where the word and sign took them was more important than their schedule back home and all their other pressing duties.  This is how we worship our Savior King as well. 

It isn’t found in our doing.  It’s found in his.  He accomplishes our salvation.  It is he who ordains praise from our lips by teaching us the truth about himself and his Father’s immeasurable love toward us.  Our worship does not consist in our gifts.  It is found rather in our receiving the gift of Christ. 

Our hymns reflect this.  Our liturgy, our devotions and prayers, our life as Christians reflect this.  We bring gifts that find their value not in how expensive they are, but in what they point to.  Just as God guides us with signs by his word, so our praises serve as signs that point back to the same word. 

The magi gave gold to confess that Christ is king.  All wealth is his.  He made everything.  We give our best because nothing but the best befits Christ’s holy reign.  When we give our wealth to God, we confess that he who owns the world became one of us to rule us in mercy. 

The magi gave frankincense to confess that Christ intercedes for us.  Incense was used in the Temple to be a sign of our prayers rising up to God.  This smoke sanctified the temple and the people in it.  Our prayers are holy and pleasing to God, because we are holy and pleasing to God for the sake of his dear Son.  We worship Christ by praying according to his command and promise.  We pray for ourselves, for others, for the whole Church, and for all people according to their needs.  This worship is acceptable as surely as the Frankincense.  As St. Paul writes: “Walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma” (Ephesians 5:2). 

The magi gave myrrh.  Myrrh was used to anoint dead bodies for burial.  It was also used for cosmetics and perfumes.  With this gift the magi confessed that Jesus would die for them.  They were no doubt still fuzzy on the details.  But they got right what was necessary for their salvation and for ours.  Our King and Mediator accomplishes all that he does by dying in our place.  And so also by rising, he sanctifies our own death.  He prepares a beauty for us that can only be seen by faith.  We confess Christ’s death until he comes.  We worship Jesus with myrrh every time we insist on hearing Christ crucified preached to us.  This is the hallmark of Christian praise.  It is the least expensive of all the gifts of the magi, but it is the chief praise we offer.  We confess the gospel by hearing it and believing it.  This is worship. 

Our gifts to God, our worship of the Christ Child is prepared by God himself.   His word leads us to dive deeper into the word, which leads us to Christ.  And it is where Christ serves us that we bow down meekly, as those ancient gentile magi, and honor our king, our Savior, our Lord. 

Amen.