JESUS IS MADE KNOWN
Rev. Bernt P. Tweit
Epistle Lesson; Ephesians 3:2-12
Old Testament Lesson; Isaiah 60:1-6
Sermon Text; Matthew 2:1-12
In the book of Daniel, Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, had a dream. Nebuchadnezzar summoned magicians, enchanters, sorcerers, and astrologers to tell him what he had dreamt. But none of them were able to reveal to him what his dream meant.
Daniel stepped forward. He said, "Take me to the king, and I will interpret his dream for him." He prayed to God to reveal to him the mystery of Nebuchadnezzar's dream. And, God did. Daniel was then able to show Nebuchadnezzar what his dream meant.
Now for us this morning the content of the dream isn't important, but the result is. Because Daniel was able to reveal to King Nebuchadnezzar what his dream meant, Daniel was placed in charge of the Wisemen!
Today is Epiphany. Epiphany means "to show" or "to make known".
Today is a celebration of Jesus being made known to the Gentiles, beginning with the Wisemen (Magi) who came from the East to worship the Christ-child.
Today we also celebrate Jesus being made known to us!
Jesus is the gift of salvation for all people. The Bible says, "Is he the God of the Jews, only? Is he not also of the Gentiles? Yes of the Gentiles also." (Romans 3:29)
The Jews were the nation from which Jesus came. They were also one of the nations that Jesus came to save, but they rejected him. God now spread his salvation to all people. That's why the Bible says:
Jesus is "the salvation of everyone who believes, first for the Jew, then for the Gentile." (Romans 1:16)
"For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men." (Titus 2:11)
"He died for all." (II Corinthians 5:15)
As we celebrate Epiphany our text shows us that Jesus is made known in three ways:
(1.) by the star,
(2.) by The Word, and
(3.) by the Wisemen.
The Star
Matthew is the only book that records this visit by the Wisemen. How was the Christ-child, the Savior of the world, made known to them? He was made known to them by the star.
We can’t say for certain, but it was possibly 600 years earlier, during the Babylonian captivity, when the children of Israel were taken captive, that the Old Testament Scriptures were shared with the Babylonians, Medes and Persians.
And it was maybe Daniel himself, who was in charge of all the Wisemen, who spoke of the coming of the Savior of the world. Maybe he shared with them the passage from Isaiah, our Old Testament lesson for today,
"Arise,
shine,
for your light has come, and
the glory of the Lord rises upon you."
600 years later, maybe they were descendants of these Wisemen spoken of in the book of Daniel, who were guided by a star, as Jesus was made known to them.
A simple star sparkles above us on a clear night. Sailors once depended on stars to steer their ships home. (Now we have the Global Positioning System.) It is God who created the stars. And God once created this special star for a glorious purpose. Its purpose:
to reveal or
make known
the most important person
in the entire world,
Jesus!
It is interesting that God announced the birth and death of His Son using natural phenomena that would be noticed. The star at His birth and total darkness at His death. Today we look at the star.
Jesus was made known to the Wisemen and the Gentiles by this star. The Wisemen came a long way, being guided by the star to worship the King of the Jews. The star led them to Jerusalem. Our text leaves us with the impression that the star then disappeared for a time.
The Word
Since the star was not there to guide them for a time, the Wisemen stopped and asked for directions. Men usually have a hard time stopping and asking for directions. But the Wisemen did! They stopped in Jerusalem. It was natural for the Magi to come to the capital city of Jerusalem. This would seem a logical place since this was where Herod’s palace was located. They expected everyone there to know about Jesus’ birth, and they were surprised when they asked around and received no information.
Jesus now is made known by something even clearer than the star. Jesus was revealed or made known by The Word, God’s Word.
The Wisemen went around Jerusalem asking, "Where is the one who has been born, King of the Jews?"
Herod caught wind of this, and he was disturbed by it. He thought, "Is there someone who will take over my throne?"
He sought an answer from the Teachers of the Law, who answered the question of the Wisemen. The Teachers of the Law went back to the Scriptures. They looked at Micah 5:2, "But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times." The answer was Bethlehem.
Jesus was made known to the Wisemen by the Word, God’s Word.
In those days they didn’t have chapter and verse division in their Bible, but the Chief Priests and the Teachers of the Law knew exactly where to find the answer, because they were familiar with the Bible.
I often times wish I knew my Bible that well! The only way to do that is through daily and weekly contact with the Scriptures. As you come to church on a weekly basis, is that your goal? To see Jesus revealed and made known to you through the familiar passages of Scripture? Or does church become a place just for show? "I’ve put my time in at church and now that is enough until next week."
The Word of God revealed Jesus to the Wisemen. It is also by The Word that Jesus is revealed to us.
The Wisemen
The Bible doesn’t tell us anymore about the Wisemen after they left Bethlehem. It just says, "They returned to their country by another route." I wonder about the things the Wisemen said to other Gentiles as they traveled back. I’m sure they said that they had seen the Savior of the world, the King of Kings. And probably they made Jesus known to many people.
In conclusion, today in our text there were three reactions when Jesus was revealed to them. The Teachers of the Law answered off the cuff where Jesus was to be born, but they didn’t believe it. Many people answer this way today. Knowing the truth of what the Bible says, but not believing it because it doesn’t fit our lifestyle. That is like having a deadly disease, being told you have the disease and deciding you don’t know if you really believe it, or not.
Herod, when Jesus was made known to him, was troubled. He was afraid that he would lose his power, his place, and his influence. If you live selfishly, only thinking about yourselves, thinking that Jesus is going to interfere with your life and not let you do what you want to do, then your reaction is the same as Herod’s.
The Wisemen, when Jesus was made known to them, began searching. They traveled thousands of miles. They took the promises of the Old Testament seriously and believed in Israel’s God; otherwise they would hardly have undertaken the long and dangerous journey to find and worship Jesus. They entered, they bowed, they gave, they worshipped and they obeyed. And they went away inspired, fulfilled and they shared.
For God who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. (II Corinthians 4:6)
This Epiphany we celebrate God sending His Son to be born for us, to be revealed to us, and to die on the cross for us, for our salvation! May your reaction be like that of the Wisemen, who believed and passed this message on to others!
Share this treasure! Share it with family!
Share it with friends and neighbors,
so they too may have the knowledge of salvation through
Jesus!
Amen.
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