Church Sermon - January 5, 2003

GOD WANTS ALL MEN TO BE SAVED

Rev. Bernt P. Tweit

Epistle Lesson; Ephesians 3:2-12
Old Testament Lesson; Isaiah 60:1-6
Sermon Text; Matthew 2:1-12

The word epiphany simply means ‘to reveal’, ‘to appear’, ‘to become visible’, ‘to make known’. During this season of the church year, the Epiphany Season, the Christ-child, Jesus, is made known to us as our Savior who is almighty God and sinless man in one person. He is the God-man. Each week of Epiphany the God-man is made known to us with greater clarity.

For example, it is during the Epiphany Season that the young boy, Jesus, is revealed as God. The Wise Men come from the East and are led by the star to worship Him and offer their gifts of gold, incense and myrrh to Him.

It is during the Epiphany Season, that the twelve-year-old Jesus is revealed as God, in His questioning and instructing of the religious teachers of His people, in the temple.

It is during the Epiphany Season, that the thirty-year-old Jesus is baptized, begins His public ministry and reveals Himself as God, by the miracles that He performs.

In keeping with Epiphany, which means ‘to make known’, we thank God that Jesus has been revealed to us as our Lord and Savior.

We also remember Jesus, not only as our King, but also as our Prophet, who makes Himself known to us by His Word and works. Jesus still serves as our Prophet today, as He speaks to us through the Bible. Jesus is true God and true man and He is our Savior.

This morning, before expounding on our text, I want to begin with a little background about Matthew’s gospel at this point. I want to point out whom he was writing to and why he wrote this gospel. Matthew was a Jew. Matthew is writing his gospel to Jewish people, who are living away from Israel. His purpose is to convince them that Jesus is the Christ predicted in the Old Testament and that He fulfilled the promises of the Old Testament as the Messiah and the Christ. That’s why he makes so many references to the Old Testament scriptures, and specifically with the account of the Magi coming from the East to worship Jesus.

Matthew is telling his readers that they should be like the Magi, not like the Jewish religious leaders. Why is that? We should be like the Magi, the Wise Men, who followed a star to worship a baby king, rather than like the religious leaders who had all the signs of the birth of Christ before them, and yet chose not to believe them.

Epiphany is often times referred to as "the Christmas of the Gentiles". And for good reason because, God wants all men to be saved. And so, today we thank God salvation is not only for one group of people or one race of people, but that God wants all men to be saved!

Jesus is the Christ-child of all people. Jesus is the gift of salvation for all people. This statement was very difficult for the Jewish religious leaders to believe, because throughout their upbringing they were told that they were God’s chose people. And yet, after Jesus came and after Jesus died there are many passages in scripture that reveal to us who the Christ-child came to save. In the New Testament the Bible says,

"Is God the God of Jews only?

Is He not the God of the Gentiles too?

Yes, of Gentiles too…"

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 spread His salvation to all people. That’s why the Bible says,

"I am not ashamed of the gospel, because

it is the power of God

for 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

"God our savior

to be saved and

to come to the knowledge of the truth."

I Timothy 2:4

If we flash forward to the end of Jesus’ ministry here on this earth, He emphasized this teaching. Jesus said in the great commission,

"Go,

make disciples of

all nations."

Right before He ascended into heaven, He said to the apostles,

"You will be my witnesses to the ends of the earth." Salvation is for all people!

His apostles took Him up on His words. For example, in the book of Acts, it was Peter who was a Jew and became a witness to the Gentiles. Now remember that with Peter being a Jew, he knew the barriers between Jews and Gentiles, when he was growing up. He would have thought that he was the chosen nation that God came to save. And yet, it was made very clear to him in a vision, when God tells Peter, who is a Jew, to go to the house of Cornelius, who is a Gentile. God told him that he should go forth and witness to all people, which included the Gentiles.

And so that is what Peter did. He became a witness, bringing the Christ-child to all people. Peter, a Jew, went to Cornelius, a Gentile. He shared with Cornelius who the Christ-child was and what the Christ-child came to do. Peter now realized that after Jesus died on the cross, those barriers between Jews and Gentiles were broken down.

"Then Peter began to speak: ‘I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right. You know the message God sent to the people of Israel telling the good new of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all.’

Acts 10:34-36

‘"All the prophets testify about Him that everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins through His name.’" Acts 10:43

The Christ-child is the Savior of all. It was the Wise Men who found out about this, even though they were hundreds of miles removed from Judea and Jerusalem. Somehow these Magi from a far-off land knew the Savior had been born. Someone must have taken the time and proclaimed the Gospel to them. It is possible that the Magi had received the prophecies of Daniel, regarding the promised Savior, from many years earlier, as the Israelites were carried off into captivity in Babylon. Since Daniel was very wise, he was put in charge of all the wisemen of Babylon. And, maybe it was he who planted the seed of God’s Word in those wise men! It was those wisemen who shared the message of the Messiah, our Savior, with other wise men throughout many generations.

We, too, are to spread the Word of God to others, even though we may not immediately perceive any ‘results’. However, we know that God works through His Word.

Even so, many times we fail to proclaim the guiding star to others. We fail to share with others God’s Word, which can lead them to Christ. Sometimes we fail through our words or our actions. And, sometimes we even fail to bring our treasures to God, whether it is our time and talents, or our income, all of which God has given to us. Those treasures can be used as the guiding star, to bring others to the Christ-child.

Yes, the Christ-child is the Savior of all. At Epiphany we celebrate that the Baby of Bethlehem belongs not to a single race or nation, but to the whole world. Jesus is the King and Savior of all humankind. No one is excluded. Knowing that the Christ-child is the Savior of all, it is a privilege to be a star for others, to guide them to Christ.

We know that the Christ-child came

specifically for

you!

The Christ-child was born for

you!

The Christ-child grew up for

you!

The Christ-child went to the cross for

you!

He died for you, to forgive you of your sins.

Matthew is the only book that records this visit by the Wise Men. Now, how was the Christ-child, the Savior of the world, made known to them? It was by a star. We can’t say for certain, but possibly it was 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 spoke of the coming of the Savior of the world. Daniel was in charge of all the Wise Men. Maybe he shared with them the passage from Isaiah, in our Old Testament text for today,

"Arise,

shine,

for your light has come,

and the glory of the LORD rises upon

you."

600 years later, maybe it was a descendant of these Wise Men spoken of in the book of Daniel, who were guided by a star to worship a baby king.

Notice how God used a star to show the Magi His Son. God was patient and gracious with these Gentiles. He gave them a sign they could follow. God used this star to reveal a king had been born. The promise spoken by Isaiah was fulfilled,

"Nations will come to your light,

and kings to the brightness of your dawn."

Isaiah 60:3

God led the Magi on to see His great epiphany. He led them straight to Jerusalem, the capital city. Once there, they went from street to street, inquiring of the birth of the new king. What must have puzzled the Magi is that everyone in Jerusalem seemed to be in the dark, concerning Jesus’ birth. The people in Jerusalem didn’t know that a king had been born. King Herod eventually caught news of this and summoned the chief priests and scribes, asking, "Where is the one who has been born, king of the Jews?" The chief priests reply, "In Bethlehem, in Judea, for this is what the prophet has written: ‘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.’"

After this, they went on their way. The star they had seen in the east went ahead of them, until it stopped over the place in Bethlehem where the child was. When they saw the Christ-child, who was probably a couple of years old, they were overjoyed. They had not only come to see Jesus, but to worship Him. And, they had brought Him gifts of gold, incense and myrrh.

It was a simple star that made Jesus known to the Wise Men and led them to the Christ-child. What is the ‘star’ that leads us to the Christ-child today? We say that the star that leads us to Jesus is the Bible, God’s Word. It is nothing else than The Light, the oral and public preaching of the Gospel. Christ has two witnesses of His birth and Kingdom: the one is The Scripture, the written Word; the other is the voice of The Word preached orally.

Let it suffice for the present, that this star is the visible sermon and the bright revelation of Christ as He is concealed and foreshadowed in the promises of the scriptures. Therefore, whoever sees the star, certainly recognizes the King of the Jews, the newly born Christ. For the Gospel teaches nothing else, but Christ and therefore the scripture contains nothing else than Christ. (Excerpt of a sermon by Luther, LW 52, p.205)

God has led us to His Son through His word! Just as the star guided the Wise Men to Jesus, may we then, be a guiding star for other people. May we take the Bible, the written Word about our savior, Jesus, the Christ-child of all, and share Him with other people.

It is our duty to share this Word with others, so that they too may know God’s Son, as their Savior. Why should we do this? We should do this, because God wants everyone to be saved.

May we take that precious Word to those who do not know Jesus as their savior, and share that life saving Word with them.

We have a God, who sent a Savior,

not as a mighty warrior,

but as a little child.

We have a God, who sent a Savior,

not to win victory through the blood of others,

but to win victory through His own blood.

We have a God, who sent a Savior,

not to save just a chosen few,

but to save all those who believe in Him.

Amen.

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