1 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem 2 and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.” 3 When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Christ was to be born. 5 “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written: 6 ”‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will be the shepherd of my people Israel.’” 7 Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. 8 He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and make a careful search for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.” 9 After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11 On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh. 12 And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route. - Matthew 2:1-12, The New International Version, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House) 1984.
In the name of Christ Jesus, dear friends:
Did you ever wish that you knew more about the Wise Men? Have you ever wanted more information about these uninvited guests of our nativity scenes? Sure, there are plenty of traditions out there to choose from. Most nativity sets come with three Wise Men, and they are usually riding in on camels. Tradition has even given them names: Casper, Balthazar and Melchior. Some people even make the claim that the bones of these three men are resting comfortably in a church in Cologne, Germany.
But wouldn’t it be nice if we had the facts? First, what is a Magi? Is it an astronomer, an astrologer, or maybe a combination of the two? Where did they come from? Arabia and Babylon have been suggested, but no one knows for sure. How many were there? Were there three, five, ten, as many as twenty-five? Again, we just don’t know. How long was their trip? Why did they go to Jerusalem? How did they get there?
Questions about the Wise Men abound, but there are even more things we don’t know about this account. How old was Jesus when the Magi came from the East? Was he a few weeks, a few months, over a year old? And what about this star? What was it? Some people are certain that it was a well-placed meteor. Others are just as sure that it was a convergence of several planets. Still, many believe that it was nothing less than a miracle.
If you are a person who is into details, this might not be the story for you. Matthew is the only writer who records these events for us. The rest of the gospels are silent. Maybe the lack of information frustrates your inquisitive mind.
When we review this story, the gospel lesson for Epiphany every year, it is easy to get caught up in all of the speculation and guessing about these mysteries. If the Wise Men were here with us this morning, they could answer all of our questions. But I wonder if they would.
Instead, I would like to think that they would encourage us to focus, not on the details, not on the things we don’t know, but on the things that we do know. The real star of Epiphany was not the special star in the sky, or King Herod, or even the Wise Men themselves. We focus our attention on the person these men came to worship. The baby Jesus lies at this festival’s heart and core. As we review this wonderful story, how the Lord revealed the Savior of the world to Gentiles, God invites us to take a step back in time and…
Worship With the Wise Men
1. They searched diligently
2. They bowed reverently
3. They gave generously
On the Christian calendar Epiphany is January 6th, twelve days after Christmas. Because of its importance, we have chosen to observe this festival on the following Sunday. In the bulletin, it says that the word, "epiphany," means "a showing" or "a revealing." During the Epiphany season, the Scripture lessons (especially the gospel lesson) tell us how Jesus revealed himself to the world: through his baptism, his teachings and his miracles.
But if you look at the gospel lesson for today, Jesus really does nothing to reveal himself or make his presence known. He was still a little baby. He was still with his parents in Bethlehem. Aside from the shepherds and a few close relatives, the world had no idea that the Savior had been born. Thankfully, God changed all that. He provided the Magi with some travel aids to help them find the Christ child.
The most obvious travel aid was up in the sky. When the Magi came to Jerusalem, they asked: "Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him" (2). That star announced that the Savior had been born. But this was no ordinary star. Matthew later tells us that "the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was" (9). . The light in the sky not only announced the Savior’s birth. God used the star to lead the Wise Men directly to him.
This star, however, was not their only guide. God also led the Magi with his Word. The Wise Men came to Jerusalem looking for Jesus because Jerusalem was the royal city, the capital, the most logical place to start when you are looking for a king. But this king could not be found in a palace. In order to point them in the right direction, God led them back to the Scriptures and to Old Testament prophecy. The Jewish scholars, the chief priests and the teachers of the Law, gave the Wise Men the information they needed. They told them about Micah’s prophecy, written some 700 years earlier. Micah prophesied that the Savior would be born in Bethlehem. This revelation was great news for weary travelers. They finally knew where they had to go. Their search was almost over, and Bethlehem was only a few miles away.
What can we learn from the Magi’s search? If you examine their journey carefully, one thing becomes clear. They were not responsible for their success. They did not find what they were looking for because they were such wise men. If God had not set the star in the sky, they would have never known that Jesus had been born. If they had not heard about God’s prophecy in Micah, they might have passed right by Jesus in Bethlehem without even knowing it. This account shows us that God was in control. Using the light of a star and the light of his Word, God blessed their search with success.
Epiphany is often called the Christmas of the Gentiles. This festival has special meaning for us because we are Gentile Christians. If there had been no Epiphany, if God had chosen not to reveal his Son to all nations, then most of the world, ourselves included, would have no reason to celebrate the birth of Christ.
But it goes even deeper than that. On an individual level, not a single soul would know anything about God’s love if he had not made it known. We would not know anything about Jesus’ once-for-all sacrifice on the cross if God had not revealed it to us. God may not put a special star in the sky to lead us today, but he has revealed himself to us in His Word. People can search their whole lives for God, but it is God who finds us. Through His saving Word, the Holy Spirit creates faith in our hearts. Through the same powerful word, he strengthens faith and makes it grow.
Epiphany is here. God has revealed a mystery to us. Jesus is the Savior of all people, both Jews and Gentiles. We go to Bethlehem and worship him with the Wise Men. Out of awe and admiration, we come before Jesus and bow reverently…
Have you ever looked forward to something? I don’t mean that you just jotted it on your calendar and then filed it away in your memory. I am talking about something that you longer for, the kind of thing that kept you up at night because you just couldn’t get it out of your head. Your excitement grew as that day drew closer and closer. When the big day finally arrived, how did you feel? Was it everything you hoped it would be? Or were you a little disappointed? Was your anticipation so great that nothing could possibly have lived up to your expectations?
The Wise Men must have formed some ideas in their minds about the King they were seeking. It is likely that they traveled hundreds of miles to Bethlehem, so they had plenty of time to think about it. Maybe they pictured a ruler seated on a throne with his royal subjects all around. Maybe they expected to see a kingly figure standing on top of a huge castle tower high above.
If the Magi were expecting to meet a king surrounded by glory and wealth and majesty, then they had every right to feel let down. They did not find Jesus in a castle. They found him in a humble home. There were no royal subjects attending him, just his parents. This is hardly the makings of a Hollywood movie.
But when the Wise Men found Jesus, the text does not reveal even a hint of disappointment. Matthew tells us that "they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him" (11). This child was something very special, and the Wise Men knew it. Their response was genuine. They saw him. They bowed down to him. They worshiped him. The Magi recognized that they were in the very presence of God, and they worshiped Jesus in humble submission.
Worshiping Jesus is also very important to us. Public worship is central to our existence as a congregation. In worship, God feeds us with his Word and sacraments. In worship, God’s people respond to God with hymns and prayers and songs of praise. In worship, Christians encourage one another as members of one body of believers.
But do we approach worship with the same reverence as the Wise Men? When we enter this sanctuary, do we always remember that we are in God’s house? When we sit in the pew, do we fully recognize that we have come into the presence of God? When we kneel down and confess our sins, do our hearts bow before the Lord and plead for his undeserved mercy? Or do God’s people sometimes go through the motions of worship as though they were nothing more than weekly rituals?
Worship that is lukewarm, worship that is half-hearted, is no worship at all. Because we are sinners, we are not able give God the honor and reverence he deserves. Our imperfect praises can do nothing to earn God’s favor. But this harsh reality does not have to lead us to despair. It can also serve as a wonderful reminder. It reminds us that salvation does not come from within. It comes from above.
We can’t live up to God’s perfect standards, but we don’t have to because Jesus has made us holy. Because Jesus washed away all our sins with his blood, God does not see us as we once were. Through Jesus, our imperfect attempts at worship are pleasing to God. This is the Epiphany gospel. Jesus came to earth and paid for the sins of all people. He died for the sins of the Magi. He died for you and me.
The Wise Men bowed down before Jesus and worshiped him, but they wanted to do more. We come together at public worship, but we are also eager to serve God. Love for this newborn king leads us to give generously…
The Wise Men wanted to do something to show Jesus honor and respect. So "they opened their treasure and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh" (11b). Because Jesus was a king, they brought him expensive gifts, the kinds of gifts that were worthy of royalty. Much has been written about what these gifts mean. It has been suggested that the gold symbolizes Jesus’ royalty, the incense symbolizes his divinity, and the myrrh symbolizes his humanity. But without reading too much into the text, we can say one thing with certainty. The Wise Men gave Jesus their best because he deserved nothing less.
Matthew tells us specifically what the Wise Men did to honor Jesus. They gave him gifts. You might be thinking that this is a perfect place for the pastor to talk about our offerings, the gifts that we bring to the Lord. These thoughts do fit here, but I don’t want place any limits on our lives of worship. Listen to what the apostle Paul had to say about worship as it relates to giving. "Therefore, I urge you brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship" (Romans 12:1).
God is interested in more than money. Our worship is not confined to Sunday morning. The Christian’s entire life is to be a life of worship and praise. Everything we do, everything we think, everything we say is an opportunity to praise God. When we think of it this way, life is not a burden. It is a joy. Why? Because we have the world’s greatest motivation…God’s mercy. The Christian’s life is one big "thank you." We give of ourselves generously, we offer the Lord the best of our time, our talents and our treasures to thank God for what he has done for us through Jesus.
I wonder what happened when the Wise Men went back home. Did they tell everyone what they had seen and heard? Probably. Did they serve as God’s first Gentile missionaries in Persia or Arabia or wherever they were from? Possibly. Did everyone who heard them believe them? Maybe, but the fact of the matter is that we just don’t know. What we do know is that these events can help us as we worship our King today. The Wise Men searched for Jesus diligently. They bowed before him reverently. And they gave to him generously. As we mediate on this wonderful story, how God revealed his Son to all nations, may it be be said of us: Wise men still seek him! Amen.