SERMON: Matthew 2:1-12

Reading: 

Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him. When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born. And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet, And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel. Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, enquired of them diligently what time the star appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also. When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh. And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way.

Wise Men from the East

Beloved of the Lord......Epiphany means appearance or manifestation. Thus the Epiphany of our Lord means His appearance or manifestation of God in this world in the flesh. In the Church calendar year, Epiphany is like Christmas, one of those immovable dates in the church year, and it is always fixed on January 6th. Epiphany then is the church season between Christmas and Lent. Today we seek to remember the glorious appearance and manifestation of God Himself on earth, in Jesus Christ our Lord. When something is manifest, it means it is openly seen or revealed. John the Baptist therefore said of Jesus, "I knew him not: but that He should be made manifest to Israel, therefore am I come baptizing with water." The baptism of Christ then marked Jesus' public appearance to Israel, and still today wherever God's Word is preached, Jesus appears or is manifested in this world of darkness, as our Savior of Light.

Not all believe this of course, and so we see a great contrast between the Wise Men and King Herod. Their outward works make manifest their faith or unbelief. Out of faith and love for Christ, we estimate the Wise Men must have been traveling from the east for at least a year before their arrived in Jerusalem. Their faith in Christ also caused them to give treasures of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. But things were much different for Herod who lived in unbelief, the darkness of sin. Herod told a bold face lie to the Wise Men, as if God wasn't listening or wouldn't punish. He told them, "Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also." Herods in our world today do the same. They outwardly confess Christ but inwardly their heart is far from Him. Since God then has manifested and revealed Himself to our heart as our Savior from sin, let us be sure our works agree with His wonderful gift of our salvation. We too should give God our firstfruits of gold, frankincense and myrrh, and by love we also keep His commandments. Jesus said, "He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him." First……

I. Who were the Wise Men? The Greek word translated as "wise men" is MAGI, which is plural, and we assume there were more than three. They were not Jews but Gentiles, foreigners to God's covenant with Israel. They were of high rank in social status, and it is doubtful they were kings, as in "We three kings of Orient are", for the word MAGI means scientists or magician, or scholar: wise men. The Bible does tell us they came from the east, and while there is some evidence to support the land of Sheba which is to the south and east, it is much more likely they came from Babylon or Persia.

This is likely because Daniel was once a Magi himself who lived in Persia. About five hundred years before Christ was born, Daniel was a captive in Babylon. By God's design Daniel outlived the king who elevated him, and he served the following king not only as a Magi, but the leader of the Magi in the Persian Imperial Court. Being a devout believer, Daniel knew the sacdred promises of the Messiah, and Daniel taught the Word of God to other Magi so that faith was implanted in the hearts of some. If we truly love our neighbor as God loves us, we will also seek to share God's Word with our neighbor, and deliver their soul from unbelief of Satan's dark kingdom. Sharing God's Word we hope they are "born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the Word of God, which liveth and abideth forever." It is something to consider then the faith Daniel helped to implant in the Wise Men by the Word of God, for they then passed down the faith from generation to generation for 500 years, "until Shiloh" came. By the same Word we seek to save our contemporaries from sin, and death and the power of the devil, so they too will become children of Light. We manifest or reveal Christ to them by teaching them God's Word, and we especially do this for our children. Psalm 78 says, "We will not hide them from their children, shewing to the generation to come the praises of the LORD, and his strength, and his wonderful works that he hath done."

It was faith then, and faith alone which moved these Wise Men to make their long journey. How did they know Christ was there? They knew and believed the prophecies of God's Word, especially Numbers 24, which we hear every Christmas. It says, "In the latter days there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel." This Star out of Jacob was Christ, and by the word "Sceptre" they knew Christ would rule Israel. Now they see this unique star appear in the sky above Israel. Surely this star marked the birth of Christ their King. They believed God's Word and so they packed their belongings for a long trip to worship the King. Because Herod later murdered all the children in Bethlehem two years old and under, we assume the trip in one direction must have taken at least a year or two.

Their coming to Jerusalem was no secret either, for not only Herod, but "all Jerusalem" was troubled with him. Who is this king? What will he do? Will there be war? But the Jews of Jerusalem should have known and believed God's Word. Isaiah 60 says, "Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee. For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the LORD shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee. And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising." Remember also at the birth of Christ the shepherds had "made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds." We also know later the prophetess Anna "spake of [Jesus] to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem." The point here being many people knew of His birth by the word of neighbor, but very few believed and received God's Word into their heart. That is why Jesus said, "Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it." Let us make sure we are on that narrow path to heaven like the Wise Men and not that broad path to hell, like wicked Herod. "Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience. Be not ye therefore partakers with them. For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light." Now second….

II. Like the star which guided the Wise Men, the Word and Sacraments are our direct guide to heaven. When the Wise Men left Herod, "they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was." This star actually moved from the north to the south, for Bethlehem is south of Jerusalem. It was also low in the sky, low enough to give the Wise Men the exact location, staying "over where the young child was." What is the relevance of the star? First it appeared from a distance to the Wise Men at the moment Christ was born, then later it worked as a direct guide to Bethlehem. In like manner when Jesus first comes to broken sinners with His message of grace, Jesus is like the Morning Star which marks the dawn of a new day, an eternal day of grace. Living in the darkness of sin and death and damnation, the threat of hell hanging over our head, Jesus comes as the Light of our Salvation saying, "I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life." There really is eternal life in the words of Jesus Himself, for His Words bring to us forgiveness for all sins, straight from the heart of God. Since God then has reconciled Himself to us through Christ, we are to believe and have faith in this reconciliation, for "It is finished". That's why the apostle Paul said, "be ye reconciled to God", namely BELIEVE God through Christ IS RECONCILED to us! Hence "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, but he that believeth not shall be damned. "

Just as the star then directly guided the Wise Men to Bethlehem, God's Word now "is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path." Jesus doesn't want us to leave the narrow path to heaven so that we turn and follow the broad path to hell. He has therefore given us a star to directly guide us, namely His Word in our Bible, Baptism and Holy Communion. If you don't want to perish in hell, you must make diligent use of these Means of Grace and not neglect them, for they are the Light on your path to heaven, and the power of that same Light that keeps you on the path to heaven. Just as the Wise Men with "exceeding great joy" followed the star to Bethlehem, so that with their eyes they literally saw God in a cradle, so the eyes of faith see in the Sacrament of Holy Communion, both the body and blood of Christ, and we remember "This do in remembrance of Me." Such are "Given and shed for you for the remission of sins."

It is something then to ponder the exceeding great joy of the wise men who looked upon Christ, yet how often are our hearts so filled with exceeding great joy when we commune? The problem often is we barely feel our sins, and where is our shame for all we have done against God and neighbor? If we are not sorry nor ashamed nor do we believe, then God's threat applies, "he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body." If there is no sorrow in your heart for all your sins against your own dear Savior who died on the cross for your eternal soul, do not come and commune, for you will only bring damnation on yourself. Yet if you are ashamed of your sins and sorry, if you do truly confess that you "daily sin much and indeed deserve nothing but punishment", then by all means "Take, eat" and "Take, drink" ….for this is the True Body of Jesus Christ your Lord, and this is His True blood, "given and shed for you for the remission of sins." In, by, and through these words God promises you all the forgiveness you need to go to heaven is right here in the body and blood, ready for you to receive. And O how the heart of Christ wants you to drink these living waters, to quench your thirsty soul with forgiveness! Diligently use this Sacrament and do not neglect it, for it is the lifeline God throws to you from heaven that He might lift you up. Where there is forgiveness of sins, there is also life everlasting.

It is sad but true, as long as we live here in this world, our "exceeding great joy" will be "exceeding lacking". But we have the sure promise of God, "A bruised reed shall He not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench." Through His Means of Grace, His Word and Sacraments, God will indeed keep and preserve you in the true faith unto life everlasting. Until that life everlasting, let us pray God will increase our joy and faith and love, so that we lay down our gifts before Him, our gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Until then we pray "Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with Thy free spirit." Amen.