Epiphany [Matthew 2:1-12] (5-Jan-2014)

This sermon was preached at St Paul's Lutheran Church, Darnum (9am), Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Traralgon (11am) and Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, Bairnsdale (3pm).

Grace, mercy and peace be to you from God our Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ.

Text: (Matthew 2:1-12)

And behold, the star that they had seem when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.

Prayer: May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to you, O Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer. Amen.

 

In our Gospel reading today, St Matthew tells us about an event which many of us know well, where the wise men come to visit the baby Jesus. We are not told how many wise men there were – we often talk about the three wise men, but the number three only comes from the number of gifts: gold, frankincense and myrrh. People have assumed that there were only three wise men who came, each one with a gift. However, there may have been more wise men.

And who exactly are these men? In Greek, it calls these wise men “magi”. And “magi” usually refers to a certain group of educated philosophers from Persia, which is modern-day Iran. It’s quite possible that these wise men came from there.

So maybe these wise men weren’t from Persia. Even though “magi” were normally from Persia, maybe St Matthew used the word to mean any wise person from faraway Eastern lands.

These men might have been from Babylon, or maybe they were from even further in the East than Persia.

In the history of the church, there have been many different opinions about who these men were. And also, there have been many different opinions about when they arrived to come and visit Jesus. Some people have thought they came 2 years later, or soon after the birth before the family went to Jerusalem for Jesus’ presentation, or maybe soon after. Nobody is really quite sure.  And this makes the whole business all the more mysterious: the gospels tells us about these nameless men, from a nameless country, with their exotic gifts, and then the bible never mentions them again.

So let’s meditate on exactly what the bible does say about them.

We read: Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem.

Now at Christmas we celebrated this wonderful birth of Jesus. Jesus was born in a humble stable in Bethlehem, and his baby-bed, his cradle, his bassinette was the animals’ feed trough, a manger. But we also know that this is not just any baby: this is the Word of God who has become flesh and now dwells among us. This little baby is the true God of heaven and earth who has taken on human flesh. He is our Immanuel, God with us. He created the animals who are looking at him.

And we also see the great humility of Jesus—he doesn’t promote himself. You don’t need to promote yourself on earth if you’re true God! And so Jesus is happy to be surrounded by those animals, amongst the hay and bad smells—he is happy to spend some time with them, before he goes on to give his life for the whole human race, who were not simply created by him like the animals, but are also created in his image: in the image of God.

So, this is what is going on in Bethlehem. Meanwhile, in Jerusalem, about 10kms away, there are these strange men, these “magi”, the wise men, who are visiting Jerusalem.

And the wise men are asking: Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.

Now what the wise men say is quite amazing! They say: we saw his star in the east. How did the wise men know that this star was “his star”? What was it about this particular star that made them get up and travel to Jerusalem? Once again, we don’t know—and different Christians have had different opinions about it. Some people have thought that there was a special comet, or constellation of stars, or converging of planets that happened at that time. Some people think that it have been something quite supernatural, which God appointed for this particular purpose. Once again, we don’t know.

Maybe the wise men also didn’t realise the full meaning of what they were saying. All we know is that they came to King Herod, and asked: Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.

What a great miracle that the wise men should follow this star, recognise it as belonging to the King of the Jews and come to worship him! Let us also think about Jesus in all his helplessness and weakness and go to worship him!

Think also about Jesus on the cross, how Pontius Pilate put a sign on the cross reading: This is Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews! At the time of the crucifixion there wasn’t a star over Jesus, but complete and total darkness for three hours. Here on Good Friday, just as at Christmas, Jesus is there as the King of Jews. Let’s also remember Jesus on the cross and like the wise men come to worship him. It’s this same Jesus from the weakness of the manger, the same Jesus we know from the weakness of the cross who comes to meet us in all our weakness, to forgive our sins and encourage us with his Holy Spirit.

It says in our reading: When Herod the king heard [what the wise men said], he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.

Now why was Herod troubled? Because he was the king, and the King of the Jews that the wise men were looking for was not being born in his house. Just imagine if King Herod had said to the wise men: “the baby’s upstairs in the bedroom with my wife! I’ll have one of my bodyguards take you there straight away!”

No—the wise men asked: Where is he who has been born King of the Jews? Notice the word: born. Jesus was the rightful king by birth. But King Herod was not from the family of King David, and he was not the rightful king. He was the king of the Jews, but he wasn’t born King of the Jews. And he knew it. So he was afraid.

So assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet: And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.” Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared.

When the wise men come to Jerusalem asking the place to find Jesus, where does the answer come from? The answer comes from the Scripture. King Herod consults the priests and scribes and they give the answer “Bethlehem” from the Scripture, from the prophet Micah.

This is an amazing thing! The same goes for people today. We have no idea how the wise men got to Jerusalem and what they knew about the promised King of the Jews. But if they want to find the baby, they need to consult the Scripture.

The same goes for us: don’t you want to find Jesus? Well, look in the Scripture! The Scripture shows you where Jesus is to be found, and it shows you where he isn’t going to be found!

Sometimes people say: If Jesus were alive today, he would do things differently. Well, he is alive today, and we know what he already did and what he is still doing from the Scripture. If we look somewhere else, in our ideas and opinions and works, then we are looking for a different Jesus.

Also, see how the Jewish priests and scribes also know that the Christ will be born in Bethlehem. See how the bible is clear even though the chief priests and the scribes and even King Herod never believed in Jesus and went to worship him.

We read: And [King Herod] sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word, that I too may come and worship him.”

King Herod had things completely wrong—he thought that finding Jesus would require a diligent search. He thought that Jesus’ desire was to make it difficult to find him!

In fact, the opposite happens: After listening to the king, they went on their way. And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was.

What an amazing thing it is that the star should move from Jerusalem to Bethlehem, a star that moves such a short distance of 10kms, and even comes to rest over the place where Jesus was. It wasn’t just the town that they were led to, but the exact house, the place where the child was.

I don’t know much about star-gazing, and I probably wouldn’t know what to look for if I were in this situation. But the wise men knew that there was something so distinctive going on that they were led to the exact place where Jesus was.

And so we read: They rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.

There are a lot of people who are looking for Jesus. Some people are looking for something, but they don’t know that they are looking for Jesus. Some people know Jesus, but don’t know what he has done for them or that he saves them or how he saves them. Some people know Jesus, but always look for him in their own works and in their own hearts. Some people want Jesus, but find it hard to find him because they are always trying to make up for their past, and can only imagine him as a cruel judge, and a harsh taskmaster.

But it’s not hard to find Jesus—he’s there to be found in one place in and in one place alone: the preaching of Christ crucified. Jesus draws us to himself, through his word and through his sacraments. He calls us by his Holy Spirit through the gospel. He will coordinate all sorts of things to draw us to him: even the stars themselves. We can often look back at our lives and see how so many things happened in a certain order just so that we would meet Jesus.

Many people have written whole books about their spiritual journeys. And many of these people still haven’t found the forgiveness of sins, life and salvation that are found in Jesus alone. As Jesus says: I am the way, the truth and the life. Nobody comes to the Father except through me.

But he’s here—where his word is taught and preached, where the free forgiveness of sins is proclaimed, where people are baptised in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, where his body and blood are offered for Christians to eat and drink. It’s not hard to find Jesus—it’s human nature, sin, a guilty conscience, that makes it hard to find Jesus. Even later when King Herod kills all the babies in Bethlehem, he still can’t find Jesus, even after sending soldiers through every house in the town.

Jesus is the one who draws you to himself. He is the one who sends his Holy Spirit to work in you, who calls you through the Gospel, and enlightens you with his gifts, and sanctifies and keeps you in the true faith.

And so no wonder we read about the wise men: They rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. What a joy it is to be led by Jesus, the creator of the stars, to meet him, himself! What an exceedingly great joy it is to join the wise men: And going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshipped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh.

What a great joy it is to enter into the house where Jesus is, to enter into our churches, our houses of prayer, even our own homes where Jesus comes to dwell and live, and even in the places of our work, where Jesus places himself there for us to serve! What a joy it is to fall down and worship the same Jesus, and to offer him all our most precious treasures! Jesus is the most wonderful treasure in the world, and even gold looks quite worthless in comparison!

At the end of the reading, we read: And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way. When we have met Jesus and heard his pure sweet gospel, we always go home a different way. We are warned not to return to our filth, like a dog returning to his vomit, as St Peter says so graphically, but we are returning to our daily life with new insights, new forgiveness, a new recognition of God’s hand of blessing resting on our lives, new strength and grace. Jesus and his word effects everything: our consciences, our imaginations, our intellect, our thinking, even our dreams. His word has power over all these things, and yet Jesus never exercises force over any of these things. Jesus warns the wise men, he doesn’t force them or manipulate them.

As we return to our homes today, at the beginning of a new year, we return to our daily lives but in a different way: with Jesus’ help, with his grace, with his Holy Spirit, with his life-giving word sown deep into the soil of our heart. What a wonderful joy-filled, joy-giving Saviour we have! May Jesus also fill us, our souls, our hearts, our bodies, our spirits, with exceedingly great joy!

Amen.

Lord Jesus Christ, we thank you for leading the wise men to your family’s house in Bethlehem so that they could find you. Thank you for leading us to find you too, and may your word shine brightly in our midst and continually fill our hearts and point us continually back to you. Amen.