Sermon: Matthew 2:1-12 (Historic Gospel)
Epiphany Sunday, Hope-Leander TX
THE CHRISTMAS OF THE GENTILES
The Old Testament is filled with promises from God that His salvation is for all people, not only Jews but also the Gentiles, “the nations.” As you read the Old Testament this can be easy to forget, as it’s Israel Against Everybody. All the nations are trying to destroy them. You can forget that God told Abraham, through his offspring God wanted “all the nations” to be blessed.
You do keep hearing it in the prophets. For example, in Isaiah 60 where – as we heard today – God tells Israel: “the Gentiles shall come to your light.” Then – 40 days after Jesus’ birth – there’s old Simeon singing his Nunc Dimittis, and right before he says that this Child will be “the glory of Your people Israel,” first he says He will be a “Light to enlighten the Gentiles.” And then, some time after the Holy Family returns to Bethlehem, some Wise Men from the East show up on the doorstep, come in, and fall down and worship the Child as God and give Him the costly gifts you would offer a king.
This is a good thing for us. The wise men represent us more than anyone in the story of Jesus’ birth. They were non-Jews, Gentiles. So are we. They were the first Gentiles to worship Christ. We call this festival “Epiphany.” But really it’s the “Christmas of the Gentiles” that we get to celebrate today.
Sermon Text, Matthew 2:1-12.
Lord, this is Your Word and these are Your words. Sanctify us by the truth. Your Word is truth. Dear Lord Jesus, our Bright and Morning Star: Help us, by Your Holy Spirit, to take heart from the example of the wise men, that like those Gentiles of long ago, we Gentiles of today would not lean on our own understanding but be made wise unto salvation, ever believing that You are the Savior of all people. Amen.
In the name of Jesus, the Light of the world, dear saints:
The first thing to see is: Jesus is born the Savior of absolutely everyone.
This is good news! But it includes reckoning with something dark: that absolutely everyone needs saving. It means everyone begins lost, everyone begins outside God’s kingdom, outside heaven.
This is another thing we forget. Perhaps you can’t remember being outside God’s kingdom, especially if you were baptized as a baby. But what’s it like to be on the outside looking in? This is what the wise men can show us.
The only clue we have about where they came from is in their words to King Herod: “We have seen His star in the East.” We don’t know precisely where in the East. It may have been Sheba, as we heard in Isaiah 60. They are sometimes described as being from Babylon, or from the Medes and Persians.
In their world they were honored. They were Magi, or “wise men.” But who was honoring them? Not God; He didn’t call them “wise men.” People did. People considered them wise. They were considered “wise” for what they learned in the books and from studying the stars in the sky. But could that tell them that God put a star in the sky for them? Could all their highly touted wisdom tell them that God loved them? No. We heard in Isaiah 60 that while their wisdom might have been a light to others, they were covered with “deep darkness” in God’s eyes. They knew things. But they didn’t know God.
We can get ourselves into “deep darkness” too. You long to be something or for others to think you’re something. You put stock in your reputation and accomplishments. You get down if this is lacking. You identify your worth in what you do. Often we build on this foundation but it’s sinking sand. Then you find yourself in “deep darkness.” It’s the darkness of guilt or shame, of failed hopes, of bitterness and anger, of loneliness or deep sadness.
You can know a lot of things. But the important thing is to know God. As Christians we fill our heads with lots of information about the faith – and yet you don’t trust Him as you should. We who know the true God still practice a “practical atheism” where what you do is push God to the side in your life and try to handle your problems yourself, and only come to Him in a crisis.
But see what God did with the wise men who were in deep darkness. Long before they were born, God saw them and He loved them. When He gave His only Son, He gave them His only Son. He gave Him to the wise men. The wise men are included. When they show up first in Jerusalem, they say: “We have come to worship Him.” God had given them the knowledge that He wasn’t only for the Jews but for them too, and in the end they do fall down and worship Him, so yes, they really are included in God’s salvation.
This shows that God’s grace is “universal” – for every person in the whole world, even you. Jesus was born to be the Savior of everyone. He was born to be the Savior of the wise men.
The second thing to see is: God saves them through faith.
This is what Christmas of the Gentiles really teaches: not only that Gentiles are included, but that they receive this salvation, by faith. This is what Paul says in Romans 3, that God is “the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus … Or is He the God of the Jews only? Is He not also the God of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also, since there is one God who justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith.” God saves people through faith.
What good would it do the wise men to be included in God’s love, if they didn’t know and receive it? So God sent them a star. “We have seen His star in the East.” He made a star just for them to see so they could come to Him. Somehow God told them it was His star, the star of the promised “King of the Jews,” the Christ. They believed in Him, so they “come to worship Him.”
But now see how loving God is. He will not let them come to Jesus just by the leading of a star in the sky. Then the wise men might depend on their human wisdom, what they always depended on: their studying of the stars.
Instead God does something quite puzzling. He allows them to go to King Herod! Also He hidesthe star from them for a time. This makes no sense to us!
God’s mysterious ways allow them to reach King Herod, for with Herod in Jerusalem were the chief priests and scribes. They had the Old Testament Scriptures, which the wise men did not have. They had the words of Micah – which the wise men were ignorant of – that “out of [Bethlehem] shall come a Ruler who will shepherd My people Israel.” The way for them to find Jesus had to lead through Jerusalem, and not just directly to Bethlehem.
God then hid the star from them because He did not want them to be led to the Christ Child in a different way from everyone else. They were the first in a long line of Gentiles extending to us and our children. They could not have the only light that led to Jesus. There’s a brighter light than the star. It is God’s Word. He wanted God’s Word to direct them to Bethlehem.
And that’s exactly what happened. They heard the Word of God from the mouth of a man – even as wicked a man as Herod – that the Infant King was in Bethlehem. They clung to that Word of God. They headed to Bethlehem with that Word. “And lo, the star which they had seen in the East went before them …” When “they saw the star” once again, “they rejoiced with exceeding great joy,” because now they had not only the star, but also God’s Word and – at the end of their road – Jesus, their Savior. They had it all.
See how easily they give up their costly treasures to the Christ Child. This is what faith does. It proceeds naturally into love: love for God, which in turn enables you to love others in ways you didn’t expect. It also proceeds naturally into joy such as the wise men had: a joy that’s also a surprise.
What God wants to tell you on this Christmas of the Gentiles is that you are included in God’s love, in His grace, and never take it for granted. He is born for all people, including you. That He loves you this much is incredible. It never changes. He saw you before time began, being lost and existing in the deep darkness of sin, death and hell, and He came down just for you because He wants you. He always wants you. He is the Savior of all, especially of you. You are something because He was born for you; He gives you an identity and status – a glory – that is as good as it gets, not by your doing but His.
The second thing God wants to tell you on this Christmas of the Gentiles is that you come to Him, just like the wise men, through faith which you receive – and keep receiving – in His Word. That’s the star He gives you: His Word, so that it will lead you to Him. His Word is there for you, which means He is here with you. He does this so that you’ll rely on Him, know that He’s right there with you, and be confident that He cares for you, always. Cling to His Word as the wise men did; you’ll find you’re clinging to Him. You can stop seeking, and rest and be at peace for He is with you. Amen!