Category Archives: matthew 2:1-12

A King worth seeking

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(audio only of the sermon for this evening’s service)


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Sermon for the Epiphany of Our Lord

Isaiah 60:1-6  +  Matthew 2:1-12

This evening we tell again the story of the wise men. And as we review the details of their journey to seek the newborn King, we’ll also look into the meaning of it.

Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of King Herod, behold, there came wise men from the East to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is he who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the East and have come to worship him.”

Matthew doesn’t give us all the backstory that Luke does about the trip to Bethlehem, and the angels, and the shepherds, and the manger. No, Matthew simply tells us that Jesus was born in Bethlehem in the days of King Herod. But then Matthew includes this wonderful story that Luke skips over, about the arrival of the “wise men from the East.”

They were from “the East,” probably Babylon, where all the Jews had lived for a time in the 500’s BC, and where some still lived, giving the wise men access to the Old Testament Scriptures. The phrase “wise men” is also translated Magi. They were the court officials and scholars of their day. Their scholarship included not only astronomy but also what we would call “astrology,” which basically means “reading the stars for omens and signs.” They read the stars to know important things like, when summer and winter begin, or when the year starts over. Many ancients also read the stars to try to foretell the turn of events on earth.

But in this case, the wise men read the stars, or one particular “star,” and put it together with the prophesied birth of “the King of the Jews.” There is one such prophecy in the Old Testament, in the book of Numbers: 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. And they may have put that prophecy together with another prophecy, the one Jacob spoke to his son Judah: The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until the one comes to whom it belongs comes. He will receive the obedience of the peoples. The star is connected to the coming of the One to whom the scepter, that is, the kingship, truly belongs. Hence, the King of the Jews, but also the one who will “receive the obedience of the peoples,” namely, the Gentiles. So it’s with good reason that the wise men, who were Gentiles, believed that this newborn King of the Jews was a King worth seeking.

During their journey, they seem to have lost sight of the star. But that’s okay. Where do you go looking for a king? In a king’s palace, of course! So they went to King Herod’s palace in Jerusalem, assuming the child had been born in his house. But When King Herod heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.

Isn’t that sad? God brings His long-promised Son into the world, and the king and the people of the holy city are troubled by the news! The Jews, like many people today, liked the idea of the Christ coming. But hearing that He had actually arrived? That troubled them. If the Christ had truly come, then they knew their lives would change forever, and their relationship with God would be put to the test. They couldn’t just talk about Him anymore. They would have to face Him! And for that, they weren’t at all prepared. It’s as John says in his Gospel, He came to His own, and His own people did not receive Him.

When Herod had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. They said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea. For so it was written by the prophet, ‘And you Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are not the least among the rulers of Judah. For out of you will come a Ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’”

The priests and scribes knew the Scriptures well enough. They were able to point the wise men to Bethlehem, according to Micah’s prophecy, to the birth of the promised Ruler. Micah adds this about the origins of the Christ: His goings forth are from of old, from eternity. In other words, although the Christ would be born as a human child, His origins go back to eternity with God the Father. Who wouldn’t want to seek such a King?

Well, Herod, for one. And the priests of Jerusalem, and the people of Jerusalem who heard about the wise men’s visit but left the seeking to others.

Then Herod, after he had privately called the wise men, inquired of them carefully at what time the star had appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search carefully for the young Child; and when you have found him, bring me word, that I may come and worship him also.” After hearing the king, they departed. And, behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, until it came and stood over where the child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced greatly.

As we heard on Sunday, Herod was lying about wanting to go worship Jesus. But for their part, the wise men were eager to find Him and overjoyed at the prospect of worshiping Him. The fact that the star which they had seen in the East “went before them” and “stood over where the child was” makes it pretty clear that this was not a star at all, but a bright object in the sky that the Lord placed there and used specifically, and apparently only, for this purpose, to lead these particular Gentiles to Jesus, in Bethlehem, to spark the chain of events that would follow, and, by the example of the wise men recorded by the apostle Matthew, to teach all nations that Jesus is a King worth seeking, and worth worshiping.

And when they had come into the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they fell down and worshiped him.

That is was a “house” means it was no longer a stable; up to two years had passed since Jesus was born. But whether Jesus is still an infant or whether He’s a toddler of almost two years, nothing could have seemed stranger to Mary than to see these wealthy foreigners show up at her door, fall down on their knees, and worship her Son. Yes, she knew where He had come from, but that didn’t make any of these things less bizarre, or less astonishing.

We should say a brief word about the gifts the wise men gave. And opening their treasures, they presented to him gifts: gold, and frankincense, and myrrh. Gold is a universal treasure, and surely a fitting gift for a king. Frankincense, an expensive kind of incense, was also associated with royalty, but also with priests as an offering to God. The same was true of myrrh, except that myrrh was also used for burying the dead, as it would be used about 30 years from then, on Good Friday, with myrrh that Nicodemus would donate to bury the crucified body of Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.

Is Jesus a King worth seeking? The wise men thought so. And, notice, they didn’t just sit over there in the East in their homes and “seek Him” in their hearts when they saw His star. They didn’t just stay home and pray to God, thanking Him for sending this King into the world. And they didn’t just worship Him in their hearts, but on their knees, with costly gifts and offerings. Because they recognized that this King would rule not only over their hearts but over their entire lives. And because they recognized that God had sent this King into the world in a place—a place far, far away from where they lived, but a place to which they had the means to travel, even though it would be arduous, dangerous, and very expensive. And they recognized that the best worship they could give to this special King was not just with their hearts, but with their feet, and with their knees, and with their treasure.

So give your heart to this King, but also give Him your feet, and your knees, and your treasure. In fact, in view of God’s mercy in sending His Son for us, offer your whole body and your whole life to Him as a living sacrifice and as your reasonable act of worship. Not to purchase His favor, but because you recognize the worth of the King of the Jews, who reveals to you, through the wise men, that He came to redeem all people from their sins, to draw all men to Himself, to be a King who reigns over all things for the benefit of all who believe in Him. So seek Him where He points you now, to His written Word, to His preached Word, and to His holy Sacraments, where the King makes Himself available to you to receive your worship, and, wonder of wonders, to give you the gifts you need to have peace with God and to remain faithful unto death. Jesus is a King worth seeking, a King worth worshiping, because He is a King who once wore a crown of thorns for you: Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews. Amen.

Source: Sermons

The radiant appearance of the King of Jews and Gentiles

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Sermon for the Epiphany of Our Lord

Isaiah 60:1-6  +  Matthew 2:1-12

Christmas is over, as of today, but Epiphany has at least as much joy for us Christians. It’s the season of light, of brightness, of the shining light of Christ, who is “a Light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of His people Israel,” as old Simeon once sang about baby Jesus. Epiphany is a Greek word that means “radiant appearing.” God’s Son was finally born into the world. And following His birth, there were many appearances, many revelations of His glory. Today, on January 6th, in the ancient Church, three such revelations were traditionally celebrated: The revelation of Jesus to the wise men as the King of Jews and Gentiles. But also the revelation of Christ as the Son of God and our Savior at His Baptism. And the revelation of Christ’s divine power and goodness at the wedding at Cana, which we’ll hear about in a couple of weeks.

For now, our Gospel turns our attention to the visit of the wise men. There was literally a light that shined on Israel at the birth of Christ—a miraculous light, a “star” that was no ordinary star, but, as Isaiah prophesied, The glory of the Lord is risen upon you…The Gentiles shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising. It led the wise men to the land of Judah. But it wasn’t really the star that led them.

There was another light that led the wise men to the Light in Israel. As the Psalm says, Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path. These wise men from the East had clearly been exposed to the Holy Scriptures of the Hebrews, probably from the time of the Babylonian captivity. These wise men had learned about the LORD God of Israel and had found some of the prophecies of the Old Testament about the coming Savior-King who would be born from King David’s line and rule, not only over the Jews, but over all the nations, all the Gentiles. God used His Word to enlighten them, to bring them to understand and believe the prophecies about this divine King.

The light of the star only took them as far as Jerusalem, where they had to inquire, Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him. Now the light of the prophet Micah had to guide them, as Herod had the priests and scribes search the Scriptures for the answer: But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are not the least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you shall come a Ruler who will shepherd My people Israel. See how God always drives His people back to His Word, so that we ground our faith, not in outward signs that are so often misinterpreted, but in His sure, unfailing Word.

So the Word of God shined the light on Bethlehem. But not everyone cared to see it. The king and the priests of Jerusalem, and most of the city with them, were not happy to hear about the birth of the King of the Jews. They were “troubled,” it says. They were upset. Others were obviously apathetic; they didn’t follow the wise men to Bethlehem to worship the newborn King.

So, as we heard on Christmas morning, the light shines in the darkness, but the darkness did not comprehend it. Or as Jesus would later say, He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God. The world, in its darkness, in its idolatry, in its sin and love for sin, doesn’t love the idea of the true God sending His Son into the world. And that’s tragic, because the true God, while His Laws are demanding and His wrath is severe—the true God has given His own Son to suffer the punishment for our sins, to obey His own Law in our place, and to give us eternal life as a gift. The Son of Man came, not to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. Salvation is by faith in Him, faith that the Holy Spirit Himself creates through the light of His Word.

The Holy Spirit was resisted by most of Israel; He can be resisted. But He worked faith in the hearts of the non-Jewish wise men. They journeyed to Bethlehem, and then, led by the Word of God, they were again blessed with the light of the star to point them to the exact place where the Child was.

They found the humble Baby with His humble mother in a humble house—not a palace, not a mansion. He had no attendants, no servants, no other worshipers. Their eyes told them that this must not be the place, that He must not be the One. But Scripture told them otherwise, and they believed the Scriptures over their own eyes. They knelt before the Baby. That’s what you do in the presence of royalty, or in the presence of divinity, or in this case, both.

The gifts they gave, too, demonstrate their beliefs about this Child: gold and frankincense and myrrh.

Gold is what you give a king. Gold was the best, most expensive gift this Child could receive from the hands of men. But it wasn’t the best gift He could give to the sons of men. He would redeem us, not with gold or silver, but with His holy, precious blood, and with His innocent suffering and death. Forgiveness of sins, life and salvation are the gifts He brings. A Father in heaven to call your own. The promise of His help and guidance to make it through this life into the next. Those are the gifts that Jesus gives.

Frankincense was used to make perfume—the perfume of kings. It was required in some of the offerings the Israelites brought to the Temple, and it was used in the incense that was burned in the inner sanctuary, the incense that symbolized the prayers of God’s people rising up as a sweet-smelling aroma to God. Another fitting gift! Because Jesus was a King. He is also the one who adds Himself—His holiness—to the offerings of God’s people, to the good works that we do as believers, making them holy and acceptable in God’s sight. And He is also the One who makes our prayers acceptable to God, the One Mediator between God and man, the Man Christ Jesus.

Myrrh was also used to make perfume, and together with frankincense, it was the perfume that King Solomon, the son of David, wore for the day of His wedding, which all, in the Song of Solomon, was an allegory of the great Son of David, Jesus, and His beloved Bride, the Christian Church, made up of Jews and Gentiles—of all who believe in Him.

But there’s still more to myrrh. It was also a main ingredient in the recipe for the sacred anointing oil in the Old Testament, the oil with which prophets, priests, kings, and even the very furnishings of the Temple were to be anointed. It was used as a pain-killer and was offered to Jesus, mixed with wine, before His crucifixion, although at that time He refused it as a gift. Finally, it was one of the precious spices that Nicodemus offered as a gift to King Jesus—for the burial of His body on Good Friday. Again, such a fitting gift for the King of Jews and Gentiles, who was anointed at His Baptism as the true Prophet, Priest, King, and Savior, who, by His death and by our baptism, which unites us to His death, has saved us from sin, death and the devil.

So celebrate this Epiphany—all these epiphanies of the Lord Jesus, with great joy. For as important as His birth was, it would have meant nothing if God had kept His Son a secret from the world and hidden Him away. Instead, little by little, Christ was revealed as the promised Savior. Even now the Holy Spirit is revealing Him to you, another Epiphany, the radiant appearance of the King of Jews and Gentiles, right here in our midst, here in the Word, and here in the blessed Sacrament. Come, let us follow that light, that we, too, may worship Him all our days! Amen.

Source: Sermons