The Epiphany of Our Lord – Pr. Faugstad sermon
Text: St. Matthew 2:1-12
In Christ Jesus, at whose name “every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Phi. 2:10-11), dear fellow redeemed:
When strange men from the east arrived in Jerusalem, they could not have asked a more provocative question: “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews?” Very quickly their question reached the ears of King Herod. These men from the east, described in our reading as magi or wise men, did not know that Herod was one of the most wicked kings in the history of Israel. He was a very jealous king who even had some of his own sons killed in order to preserve his power.
And now these men were asking about a newborn “King of the Jews.” Far from wondering about this, even when he heard the Old Testament prophecies about the Christ, Herod immediately made plans to destroy this little rival to his throne. But he didn’t let the wise men see his rage. They could make his job easier. If they found this so-called “Christ,” they could tell Herod where He was, and then Herod could kill Him.
Herod must have been a convincing liar. The wise men did not suspect a thing. Herod acted like a fellow believer. He wanted to know everything they could tell him about the star and the promise attached to it. He may have indicated that there were some bad characters who would oppose this Baby in Bethlehem, but that he, Herod, would see to it that the Child was protected. Herod was so certain that he had the wise men tricked, that he did not feel the need to send them to Bethlehem with his own officials or soldiers. He had set the trap, and these Gentiles from the east were walking right into it.
The contrast between the two kings in today’s reading could not be more pronounced. King Herod was exceedingly active. When he heard the news about some other king of the Jews, he turned the whole city upside down to get to the bottom of this problem. When he called the religious leaders to come, they came. He pulled the strings on all the people around him, including the innocent wise men. No one dared challenge him or cross him. King Herod had power, and he used it.
The other King we hear about was under two years old at this time. This King counted on his humble mother Mary and his guardian Joseph for everything—food, clothing, a place to live. He had no other attendants (at least visible ones). He pulled no strings, ordered no one around, threatened no one. He had no obvious power. He may have been called a “king” by the men from the east, but He hardly seemed it.
And yet, this was the King the wise men had come to worship. That was their stated reason for making the long trip: “We have come to worship this newborn King.” And that’s what they did when the special star from God led them to Jesus’ house in Bethlehem. When they entered the house and saw this Child with Mary His mother, “they fell down and worshiped Him.” What an absurd sight! Grown men falling on their faces and worshiping before a toddler! What could He do for them, this little diapered Child?
Their actions are a beautiful example of faith. If they were looking for a king with obvious power and influence, they would have stuck with Herod. But they were looking for a King of promise, One who could rise above all political intrigues and petty jealousies. They hadn’t just seen a new star appear in the sky and decided to follow it because they had nothing better to do. Somehow, some way, they knew this star was tied to God’s promise to send a Savior.
This Savior was born of the Jews, but He was not just for the Jews. He was for all people, including these Gentile men from the east. If they did not believe this, they would not have worshiped Jesus and brought Him gifts. That is why the Epiphany of our Lord, celebrated on January 6 just after the twelve days of Christmas, is often called “Christmas for the Gentiles.” It was the first time that non-Jewish people laid eyes on the Christ-Child.
We are Gentiles like them. Most if not all of us have descended from the Gentile peoples who did not have the Old Testament Scriptures, who did not know the Promise. But after His resurrection, Jesus made it clear that His message of salvation was to be broadcast to “all nations” (Mat. 28:19). Disciples were to be made for Him from people of all ages, nationalities, and languages by baptizing them in His name and teaching them His Word.
You have become one of these disciples. As great as the gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh given by the wise men were, you have received greater ones. You have received the forgiveness of all your sins, the righteousness of Jesus’ perfect life credited to you, and the assurance of eternal life in His kingdom. You received these gifts when you were a little child like Jesus, when you seemingly had nothing to offer Him or the Church. At your Baptism, your Lord was not seeking to get something from you; He was present there to give you the gifts of His grace.
But He did not come with visible displays of power. The heavens did not visibly open and bright rays did not shine down on you when you were baptized. The same goes for your hearing of the Word and receiving the body and blood of Jesus in His Supper today. These do not come with impressive signs like glowing light, the sound of a rushing wind, or a tingly feeling that God is near. You trust that God is active through His Word and in your life because He promises that He is.
Faith clings to His promise. When the wise men saw the star over Bethlehem, “they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.” They rejoiced because of the promise attached to the star, that the King of the Jews had been born for the salvation of the world. The Bible, the true Word of God, is that same guiding star for us. We sang about it in our opening hymn: “As a star, God’s holy Word / Leads us to our King and Lord” (Evangelical Lutheran Hymnary #120, v. 6).
We rejoice exceedingly with great joy because “the King of the Jews” worshiped by the wise men is our King too. He is the King of creation. He is the King over sin, death, and devil. He is the King who reigns at the right hand of the Father, and who shall come again with glory to judge both the living and the dead (Nicene Creed). He is the “King of kings” and “Lord of lords,” as the Bible describes Him (1Ti. 6:15, Rev. 17:14, 19:16).
But it does not always appear so in this life. The Church of all believers, the body of Christ, does not look very powerful. We often feel threatened or afraid about what might happen to us. We are tricked and betrayed by the false promises of those who seem to have power and influence, like the wise men were by King Herod. We wish that God propelled His kingdom forward by outward displays of majesty and might. We know we are on the winning side, but we would like to see this and experience it.
The wise men are good examples and teachers for us. They followed the promise of God with steadfast and joyful hearts. No matter what wicked plots and intrigues were happening all around them, they went forward in faith and hope. And when they found the Christ-Child, who displayed no visible power and authority, they humbly fell before Him and offered Him their gifts. We do the same when we hold to the promise of God revealed in His Word, no matter what temptations or trials come our way. We hear His Word and receive His gifts in the Divine Service, though they come with no visible show of God’s power. And we respond with our own humble gifts of praise, thanksgiving, and a godly life.
To outsiders, unbelievers, this all seems utterly ridiculous and foolish. They may look at believers in Christ as Herod viewed the wise men—as simpletons, easily manipulated, inferior people who hold to an empty faith. They want the Christian Church to crumble and fade into history. But we have a secret weapon: we have the Lamb.
Revelation 17 describes the kings of this world who receive their power from the devil. Verse 14 says, “They will make war on the Lamb.” This should be an easy victory. What could be more vulnerable or weaker than a lamb? But that isn’t what happens. We read that “They will make war on the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them, for he is Lord of lords and King of kings.” This Lamb is the eternal Son of God who became a Baby born of the virgin Mary. He is the One who offered up His spotless life to take away the sin of the world, including your sin and mine.
He may have looked like nothing but a little Child when the wise men came calling, but they saw Him differently by the grace of God, and so do you. This Christ-Child, the Lamb, the suffering Servant crowned with thorns and hanging on a cross is no King the world wants. But He is the only King who matters. He is the only King who saves. We Worship the King of Kings. You know where to look for Him. You find Him where He promises to be found. And that is right here, through His Word, for your eternal good.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, forevermore. Amen.
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(picture from “Adoration of the Magi,” a late 1800s mural in Conception, Missouri basilica)
The Epiphany of Our Lord – Vicar Lehne sermon
Text: St. Matthew 2:1-12
In Christ Jesus, who is the Light of the whole world, dear fellow redeemed:
There is always excitement when a child is born, whether it’s your own child or the child of someone you know. However, the excitement is usually limited to only the friends and family of the ones who had the child. Outside of them, the birth of a child doesn’t get much fanfare at all. But now imagine that, sometime after one of your own children was born and the excitement had died down, an airplane landed in the nearby airport, and a parade of important-looking vehicles drove through town and over to your house. Surely, there must be some mistake, right? After all, there’s no way such important-looking vehicles would stop by your house. Then, suddenly, the doors to the vehicles open, and who should exit them and approach your front door but the royal family from England? You must be imagining things at this point. Why would anyone important show up at your house, let alone the royal family? But you soon realize that you’re not imagining it as they enter your house, greet you, and then, after asking where your new child is, approach him, bow down to him, and present him with gifts. But these are not just any gifts; they are some of the crown jewels. Then, before you can even process what is going on, the royal family says their goodbyes, exits your house, gets back into their vehicles, returns to the airport, and flies back to England. No doubt there would be quite a lot going through your head after all that, and among those thoughts would probably be two questions: “How did the royal family find out about the birth of my child?” and “Why did they travel all the way here just to do this for my child?” The arrival of the wise men to worship Jesus and present him with expensive and valuable gifts raises similar questions.
Even though the birth of Jesus was a big deal, since it was when God, the Light of the world, came down in the flesh to begin his saving work of delivering us from our sins, it was an event that didn’t get widespread fanfare. True, there was a multitude of angels that appeared to a group of shepherds to announce his birth, which was certainly a spectacular event, but those angels didn’t appear to anyone else. Then, after the shepherds saw the Christ Child with their own eyes, they “made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child” (Luke 2:17). But even though “all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them” (Luke 2:18), the news doesn’t appear to have spread very far. When the wise men arrived in Jerusalem and asked the Jews who were in the city, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews?” (verse 2), they didn’t get an answer until King Herod assembled “all the chief priests and scribes of the people” (verse 4) and “inquired of them where the Christ was to be born” (verse 4).
So, if there weren’t even many Jews who knew that the promised Messiah had been born, how did the wise men, who were foreigners from a faraway country, find out that he had been born? We know they saw a special star in the sky, but they must have also heard the prophecies about the Christ, that he would come to save all people from their sins.
Without this promise and the faith that God the Holy Spirit worked in their hearts, the wise men would have remained in the darkness of their sin. But, through his Word, God revealed to the wise men that there was hope for them. One day, a Savior would be born, who would be God in the flesh, and that Savior would be a light that dispels their darkness and saves them from their sins. The promise of that Savior gave the wise men hope that, when they died, they were not doomed to enter into the eternal darkness of hell, but would instead be welcomed into the eternal light radiating from the Savior in heaven.
If the wise men did not believe this, then they would have had no reason to follow the star when it appeared in the sky. If the star was leading them to someone who was just a man, or to someone who would just be a king for the Jews, what reason would they have to make that long journey, carrying expensive and valuable gifts with them, and worship that person? The wise men knew that the light of the star was leading them to the true Light, and they knew that he was not just a light to the Jews, but a light to the whole world. As Jesus says, “I am the light of the world” (John 8:12).
Your situation was similar to that of the wise men. You were conceived in the darkness of sin, just like they were. And that sin only becomes more apparent to you the older you get. You know that there is no way for you to escape from the darkness of your sin, and that you rightfully deserve to enter into the eternal darkness of hell when you die to be punished for your sin. But you also know that there is hope for you, and unlike the wise men, who did not yet know everything that Jesus would do for them, God has revealed to you in his Word how the light of Jesus dispels the darkness of your sin and saved you from it, opening the doors of eternal life to you.
Jesus was born, just like all of you were born, yet he was born without sin. He grew up like all children do, yet he did not give in to the temptations that you all face even once. He healed the sick and raised the dead during his earthly ministry, showing his power over death. Then, though he was without sin, he became sin for you by taking all your sin on himself and putting your sin to death with him on the cross. And, just when it looked like death had won by swallowing him up in its darkness, Jesus’ light shone again when he rose from the dead, putting an end to the power that death had over you and ensuring that everyone who believes in him would one day also rise from the dead to be with him, in his glorious light, forever.
Jesus, the Light of the world, now lives in each of you, but the darkness of sin wants you back. It is always there, trying to work its way back into your heart so that it can swallow you up once again. And, if you do not take sin seriously and live in your sin without repentance, the darkness of sin would prevail against you. But Jesus continues to work in you through his Word to move you to repentance and to dispel your darkness. As Jesus says, “Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12). With Jesus continually at work in your hearts, the darkness of sin can never prevail against you. This good news causes you to rejoice “exceedingly with great joy” (verse 10) and to worship Jesus, just like the wise men did.
You make a journey to worship Jesus whenever you gather around his Word and Sacraments. Your journey may not look like that of the wise men, who followed the light of the star over a vast distance so that they could worship Jesus, the true Light, and offer him gifts. But it is a journey that is just as significant as theirs. For when you do gather together to worship our Savior and offer him your gifts, you are bathed in his glorious light. This light comes through the preaching of his Word and the administering of his Sacraments and dispels the darkness of sin that constantly tries to swallow you up again. You may not offer up the same gifts that the wise men did, nor may they have the same material value, but the gifts that you do offer Jesus show your faith in him and your love for him just as much as the gifts of the wise men did.
Try as it might, the darkness of sin cannot have us, because the light of Jesus lives within us. As the apostle John says, “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (John 1:5). This is good news for us, but the darkness of sin still has its hold on most of the world. They are without hope, but they are continually searching for hope and meaning in everything except for God’s Word. But we do have God’s Word, and we know that God’s Word is not just for a select few, but for the whole world. That is why we want to tell others the good news that Jesus, the Light of the world, has saved them from the darkness of their sin. As the apostle Peter says, “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9).
Proclaiming God’s Word is an honor that God has given to all Christians, including you. Now, some of you may think that you are not qualified to proclaim the good news to others because you aren’t properly trained, like pastors are. But, while pastors do get special training, that doesn’t mean that they are the only ones who are qualified to tell the good news about Jesus, nor does it mean that they have learned how to convince someone to come to faith in Jesus. Only God can create faith. All we can do is point others to the Light.
We are like the star that led the wise men to Jesus, the true Light. When we proclaim the good news about Jesus to others, the light of his grace shines into their darkened hearts, and we pray that the Holy Spirit works saving faith in their hearts. God truly can use any Christian to accomplish this, no matter how unqualified they may feel they are. And often, the people who have the most success sharing the good news and getting others engaged with the Word are not pastors, but Christians like you, who reach out to their friends and family.
One of the reasons why it can be hard to spread the good news of Jesus to others is because we may not always be sure if the light of Jesus’ grace and forgiveness is for us. This is especially something we can wonder when we are faced with the true darkness of some of our sins. But Jesus tells us that he is not just the Light of a select few, but the Light of the whole world. No matter how bad our sin is, he shines through the darkness of our sin and gives us hope that the eternal life in heaven that he won on the cross is for all of us. And, until we enter the gates of heaven, where we will be bathed in his glorious light for all eternity, his light will continue to live in us and cut through our darkness so that we don’t need to fear it ever again.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, forevermore. Amen.
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(picture from “Adoration of the Magi,” a late 1800s mural in Conception, Missouri basilica)