Grace, mercy and peace be to you from God our Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ.
Our sermon text today was inspired by the Holy Spirit by the apostle St Matthew. And we read from his gospel where it says:
When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. 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.
Prayer: Come Lord Jesus, and dispel all the darkness of our hearts through the purity and light of your word. Amen.
In our Gospel reading tonight, we see Christ’s followers and we see Christ’s enemies. On the one hand, we read about the wise men who were following a star from their home country who were coming to find the baby Jesus, to worship him and to offer him gifts. On the other hand, we read about Herod who is threatened by their visit, and wants to do harm to Jesus.
And this event where the wise men come to visit the baby Jesus is a wonderful occasion of such encouragement to us. We read in our Gospel reading tonight: When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. Joy is heaped up on joy which is heaped up on joy which is heaped up on joy. It’s like that wonderful verse in John chapter 1, when it says about Jesus: From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. We have received grace upon grace upon grace upon grace… and the wise men rejoice with joy upon joy upon joy upon joy.
So right at this time, Jesus not only reveals to the wise men where he is, but he also reveals to them where his enemies are. In the church today, something that we need so desperately is discernment—and discernment comes through studying and learning God’s word. Because when God speaks his word, he speaks it so that we may receive grace upon grace, through Jesus Christ. At the same time, he reveals to us where the darkness is, to warn us away from it. May the Holy Spirit come and fill our hearts tonight so that we may go with the wise men and worship Christ, and offer to him every gift and every treasure that our hearts are able!
So let’s read our text:
Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem.
This passage about the wise men coming to Jerusalem is one of the most amazing passages in the whole New Testament, because so much of what we learn about tonight is shrouded in mystery. For example, how many wise men are there? We don’t know—it’s not mentioned. We often say that there were three wise men, but the bible doesn’t say how many there were. It does say that there were three different gifts—gold, frankincense and myrrh—and so we often assume that there are three men, each with a different gift. But there’s no reason to say that there were many more, and that they all presented these three gifts together.
And we also are not really sure where these men are from. In the reading, the word is translated “wise men”, but in Greek the word is “Magi”. And Magi in the proper sense were priests in the Zoroastrian religion which was practised in Persia. But were these men from Persia? The magi were obviously well-renowned people in those days, otherwise nobody would have known who Matthew was talking about. Some people have thought these men were from Babylon, which is modern-day Iraq, or Persia, which is modern-day Iran—I heard recently that Kurdish people in northern Iraq claim to be descended from the Medes, and they think that the wise men were Medes. I wonder if Matthew wanted to describe some strange scholars from a far-away country, how else would he have described them except by calling them “magi”, as if they were from Persia? All he says is that they were from the East. It might be like someone who has no idea about all the different countries in Asia were to call all Asian food “Chinese food”. Perhaps Matthew would call all wise men from the east “Magi”.
In the book of Genesis, there’s a man a bit like this who turns up called “Melchizedek”. After Abraham had won a battle, we read: And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. (He was priest of God Most High.) And he blessed him and said, “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand!” And Abraham gave him a tenth of everything. Here is this man, who is a king and a priest, called Melchizedek, who just comes out of nowhere to bless Abraham. The book of Hebrews makes a bit point out of him, and says that he’s a bit like Jesus. It says: [Melchizedek] is without father or mother or genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but resembling the Son of God he continues a priest forever.
Hebrews says that Jesus is a bit like Melchizedek, because Jesus as true God also doesn’t have a human father or mother or genealogy, his life doesn’t have a beginning and doesn’t have an end, and he is a king and a priest forever. At Christmas time, we celebrate how Jesus enters the world as a human baby, but he existed long before that. At Easter, we commemorate how Jesus dies, and how his life comes to an end, but also how he rises from the dead, and now he is alive and continually ruling his church through his word and sacraments.
And at the same time, just as Melchizedek almost came out of nowhere and met Abraham, so also Jesus’ kingdom almost comes out of nowhere, because it is created by God’s words. At the beginning of the world, God said: Let there be light, and there was light. Light came out of nowhere. Also, from a human point of view, the baby Jesus also comes out of nowhere—actually, he comes out of heaven, with no human father, and is born of the Virgin Mary. And then also, Jesus’ kingdom is almost created out of nowhere—all of a sudden all these strange men with strange ideas and strange clothes and strange gifts come almost out of nowhere. They are like Melchizedek—we don’t know who their parents are, we don’t know their genealogy, we don’t know how old they were, when they were born or when they died. They arrived with star, the left with a dream.
And so it also happens with the church—I remember in my previous parish, in Gippsland, people telling me how they often felt like this. Ten years ago they were a small struggling parish, not knowing where they were going, and then all of a sudden—almost out of nowhere—a whole group of Sudanese people showed up. One man said: “I always had dreams as a boy of going to deepest, darkest Africa: never for a moment did I ever think that deepest, darkest Africa would come to me!”
We learn here how God is the one who builds and gathers his church through his Holy Spirit. He is the one who draws it together. And he will only draw it together around Christ—he will not draw it together around anyone else, and he will not draw it together around anything else. Only Christ. We often come up with a human solutions to things, and we want to grow and build Christ’s church around some idol—some golden calf that we have invented. But God knows where his Son is, and he will shine his light and align all the stars in the world to point to Him, and he will point to nowhere else and to nothing else.
Let’s read from our reading:
Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”
Once again, this is shrouded with such mystery. How do these wise men know that there is a king who has been born? How did they know that this star that they saw indicated that king? And how did they know that they should come and worship him? It often happens, that those who are following Christ, notice things that other people don’t. Here were group of men who studied the stars, and they noticed something that other people didn’t, and they thought it was significant, and they investigated it. Sometimes, something happens to people in their life, and they look back at it, and they think that, with all reason and intellect aside, this could never have been explained in any way except God.
Now where does this star lead them?—the star leads them to a dead end. They find themselves in front of a brick wall after so much travelling. They have arrived in a large city and have no idea what to do from now.
But there is a light that shines even more brightly than this star. And that is the light of God’s word. And so we read: When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; and 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. And he 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.”
Now, I want you to think about this very carefully. We read that the wise men just showed up in Jerusalem and were asking their question—but it doesn’t say that they asked the king himself. Maybe they were asking people in the market place, and eventually, the rumor spread and the king eventually heard. Who knows how long the wise men were going around asking people their question. It says: [Herod] was troubled and all Jerusalem with him. Somehow Jerusalem found out about this news too. And so what did Herod do? He asked the priests and the scribes. And what did the priests do? They consulted the word of God. And we know from God’s word that it says: Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. And so it’s the word of God that gives the answer that they are looking for.
And so, the wise men ask the people, the rumor reaches the king, and then the king asks the priest and scribes, and the priests and scribes search the word. But now, what happens? The priests and scribes tell the king, and then the king tells the wise men. But notice how it happens: Herod summoned the wise men secretly – do you see this? He gets them to come to the tradesmen’s entrance late at night. He doesn’t want everyone to know. And he ascertained from them what time the star had appeared. We know later that Herod uses this information for evil later, in order to work out roughly how old Jesus was, so that he could kill every 2 year old baby boy in Bethlehem. Then we read: He send 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.”
Isn’t it amazing? The wise men get the answer they are looking for. Herod is the one who tells them to go the Bethlehem. But it is shrouded in lies, in deception, in darkness. Herod’s words are loaded with politics, with cunning, with deceit. And yet, just like the star, the purity of God’s word shines through all this darkness, and the wise men still receive the answer they need.
And then we see such a wonderful way in which God shows his power, and shows to the wise men the purity of God’s word. We read: After listening to the king, they went on their way. And behold, the star that they had seen [in the east] 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.
God shines his light before them in such a miraculous and supernatural way. I don’t know very much about astronomy, but I am told that stars don’t normally move in a southerly direction, as from Jerusalem to Bethlehem, which is 10 kms south of Jerusalem. And so, to these wise men this would have been such an amazing thing for them to observe. But God’s word is proved true—not to draw them to marvelous palace such as King Herod’s palace, but to a small house where the holy family were living after Mary had given birth. Here we see a poor family, who had to spend the night of the birth of their child in a stable with the animals. We read when they went to visit Simeon in the temple, they had to offer the poor people’s option as a sacrifice, so we know they were poor. And they don’t go to meet a king, with power, and might and wisdom and riches—they go to meet a tiny baby.
Doesn’t this just highlight the way the church is all throughout the world, and all throughout history? Sometimes the church has had great wealth in certain periods of history, and in certain places of the world. But the real treasure in the church is Jesus himself, who often goes unnoticed, clothed with humility and poverty.
So for example, we might have gold and silver, and beautiful churches, but what’s all that without the preaching of the Gospel? What’s all of that without being able to come and receive the absolution—the free forgiveness of sins? That’s the treasure—these things are here, in such a way that God wants to shine his spotlight on Jesus speaking these words to you.
What about baptism? Baptism is a wonderful treasure. So many of us don’t remember the day when we were baptised, because we were so small, but that was the occasion when Jesus himself poured out his Holy Spirit on us, together with every gift of forgiveness, life, and salvation. There’s the treasure. Can you see God’s spotlight shining on to the font, and showing you your Saviour there?
What about the Lord’s Supper? If only we understood what a wonderful treasure this is. This is the true body and blood of Christ, for you to eat and drink. And God shines the light of his word onto the Lord’s Supper, and wants you to notice it. Coming to the Lord’s Supper each week is like being guided by the light of a star like the wise men and bowing down and worshipping him. It’s no wonder that we come and receive these gifts on our bended knees, worshipping the Lamb who sits on the throne, who has descended into our church and feeds us.
You see, wherever Jesus is, then we know he is there breathing out all the wonderful gifts of the Holy Spirit. Wouldn’t it be such a wonderful thing if this year, this 2015, were a year where Jesus shows you the riches of his word, the riches of your baptism, and the riches of the Lord’s Supper? These are the places where God sends his star to shine down upon.
And so we read about the wise men: When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. You know, so often when our joy fades away from us, we have forgotten where to find our dear Lord Jesus. And how easily it is to forget? We start to think that Christianity means wealth, health and success—and yet each week, he meets you in a way that is even weaker that you, in the word and the sacrament. He comes and joins you, and sits with you, like a friend in the dark watches of the night, waiting for the brilliant dawn of a new day, with all its brilliant light and all its brilliant comfort. 2 Peter says: We have… the prophetic word, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.
The picture here is of holding on in all the darkness to the simple word of God, until the wonderful comfort comes, until the gospel comes to flood all over your sin, and you realise again where Jesus was to be found in his word and sacraments. Wait with patience through whatever night you need to endure—whatever hopelessness, whatever sorrow or pain, whatever failure—Jesus is faithful, and he will let the day dawn for you, the morning star rise in your heart, just like the wise men after so many days and weeks of searching. This is the joy of God’s word, the joy that from a human point of view almost comes out of nowhere. We read: When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. 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. And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way.
After they had worshipped Christ and offered them all their treasures, we read that they were warned in a dream not to return to Herod. Here all the darkness of Herod is exposed and vanishes—his idolatry, his greed, his deceit is all finished. All that is left for these wise men is that one word of God that was forced out through King Herod’s teeth! All that is left is that one precious word: Bethlehem. What a wonderful miracle! What a wonderful place! What a wonderful child!
Amen.
Dear Lord Jesus, we come to you to meet you in the simple, poor clothes of your word and in water and bread and wine today. Shine the light of your word into the darkness of our hearts, and into the darkness of the world, that we come and receive all the gifts of your Holy Spirit from your hands, and rejoice exceedingly with great joy. Amen.
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