That We Might Know Him
First Sunday of Epiphany
Light of Christ Anglican Church
Rev. Michael J. Moffitt, January 7, 2023
SCRIPTURE Matthew 2:1–12
Today is the first Sunday of Epiphany, though yesterday, January 6th was the actual day of Epiphany. Christmastide began on December 25th and went through until last Friday, January 5th. Epiphany will last until Ash Wednesday on February 14th this year.
This begins the season of Lent, but this year Ash Wednesday will be in competition with Valentine'ås Day. This will be the first time that has happened since 1945. One launches a 40-day journey towards Easter and is to be a season of fasting, repentance and remembering that our sin made the cross of Christ necessary. The other is a day roses, chocolates and a special dinner in celebration of love between a man and woman.
The themes seem to be in conflict with each other. I read about a Catholic priest in Maryland who was speaking to his congregation about this and wondered if he should list this day with theme of “I love you—I’m sorry.”
I want us to appreciate every season in the church calendar for its particular focus of our attention and meditation on the whole story of our redemption through Jesus Christ. When seen in detail throughout the year there should be a renewed confidence in God’s plan of redemption as we see it unfold through his word. In doing so we are reminded that everything that happened within the story reveals to us the prophetic words throughout scripture and how each came to pass. It will remind us of the perfect, steadfast, unchanging, merciful and amazing love of God.
Within the season of Epiphany there are three things that I want us to focus on this morning.
First, God manifested himself through the birth of a child.
This was the first time that God condescended to manifest himself in human form, not as a ghostly apparition, or an angel but as a flesh and blood human being born in the same way as anyone else. The idea would have been unthinkable to the Jewish believers and yet God chose this as the solution to our separation from him because of our sin. He decided to come and live in our midst and maintain his human identity eternally as the God-Man.
His decision was not a temporary solution but an eternal one that changed everything for us as well as the Godhead. The Good News that we celebrated in the Advent was that his commitment was perpetual and eternal, and this was not the last time that he would manifest himself to us. At the end of the ages, Jesus will again walk upon the earth and bring with him an army of the heavenly hosts and those who have gone before us.
In essence it teaches us that God in Christ comes for us to reveal his love and mercy in the most profound ways. We are his image, and he wants us to know that we are important to him. Does he need us to provide something that he is lacking? Absolutely not, it’s us who desperately need him in every area of our lives.
Second, Epiphany points us to the Royal Kingship of Jesus.
The birth of this child was of such importance that even the heavens revealed his birth. The wise men were believed to have come from Persia (modern day Iran) and they were most likely astrologers from the royal court of the king of Persia. Church tradition even tells their names, supposedly Melchior, Caspar and Balthasar. Their job was one of divination and they would have shared their wisdom and understanding of the stars in order to inform their king and give him great wisdom. You might ask the question, “Then why did they seek another king?” William Barclay in his commentary on Matthew wrote this:
“It may seem to us extraordinary that those men should set out from the East to find a king, but the strange thing is that, just about the time Jesus was born, there was in the world a strange feeling of expectation of the coming of a king. Even the Roman historians knew about this. Not so very much later than this Suetonius could write, “There had spread over all the Orient an old and established belief, that it was fated at that time for men coming from Judaea to rule the world.”
The Magi and people from the East would most likely have been acquainted with Jews who had been exiled from Judah and Israel centuries before. It is likely that they had seen and studied the Hebrew scriptures and had read the prophecy of Balaam in Numbers 24:17. Balaam was a pagan prophet from Aram (modern-day Syria) who God used to declare himself to Israel’s enemy Balak, king of Moab. Listen to the prophecy of Balaam,
“I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near: a star shall come out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel; it shall crush the forehead of Moab and break down all the sons of Sheth.”
It’s important to note that this prophecy was first recorded by Moses around 1406 BC. It was written before the children of Israel (the 2nd generation) entered the Promise Land and prior to Moses’ death.
When the star first appeared to the Wise men in the East, God brought this prophecy to their remembrance and gave them the desire to follow it. They must have had permission from the King of Persia, it wasn’t unusual for Magi to travel in welcome to a new king on behalf of their master, the king of Persia, who had declared himself king of kings.
Apparently, the Wise men traveled with a large enough retinue that they attracted the attention of everyone in Jerusalem when they arrived. Though they knew enough to follow the star to Jerusalem they didn’t know enough about prophecy to instead go directly to Bethlehem. They don’t seem to have been acquainted with Micah 5:2, that Matthew quoted in our gospel reading this morning.
“But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days.”
Bethlehem was very small and insignificant in the minds of the people of Israel even though it had been the birthplace of King David. I’m assuming that the Magi went to the palace of the king because where else would a king of this importance be born? Surely this child was celebrated and treated with the utmost of reverence and care.
I’m guessing that they also expected that the leaders and people of this important capital city would be even more interested in the birth of their King than they were. I can only imagine their surprise when they show up at Herod’s court asking to see the newborn king and find that no one has any idea what they're talking about. They went to the court of the King of Israel expecting to find an answer to what they were looking for. Matthew 2:2–4:
“Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.
Essentially, they found that no one in Jerusalem was looking for this king much less bowing down to worship him. Even though others around the known world had a sense that a king was to be born, those who claimed to be the people of God were clueless.
You’ll notice that Herod was troubled by this news but if you study who he was then you’ll see that he wasn’t concerned that he had perhaps missed something important, but he was troubled by anyone who might present a threat to his rule. He was constantly on guard against threats to his position as king, even from within his own family. He assassinated many family members whom he suspected of disloyalty. He had his wife and two sons murdered as well as 300 court officers from the Sanhedrin.
He was very cunning and determined to find out the identity of this child, this potential interloper to his throne. So, he calls all the chief priests and scribes, so they can search the scriptures and tell him the place where this king would be born.
Isn’t it odd that he would put his trust in prophecy but not in the one prophesied about?
The scribes find the prophecy in Micah 5:2 and report back to King Herod. The fact that they had to search seems to indicate that they had ceased looking for the Messiah and were instead deeply immersed in their religious traditions and their status. Herod feigns interest in knowing the location of the child so that he can come and worship him as well. So, he sends the Magi away with the task of finding the child and reporting back to him ASAP.
It should be understood that unlike the Sunday school flannelgraph boards that you may have seen as children, the wise men were not with the shepherds in the cave or stable where the Christ child was born. They most likely found him in a house where Joseph and Mary were living 1–1 ½ years after the birth of the child.
I find it interesting that even though the experts in the law and prophets knew where the child was to be born and even that he would be the “Ruler who will shepherd my people Israel,” they showed no interest in accompanying the wise men in their journey to Bethlehem. Frankly, the wise men would have gotten better information if they had first encountered the shepherds who had seen the new King right after his birth.
Matthew is challenging the prejudice that often accompanies spiritually complacent religion. He is pointing out that it was the pagans who came to worship Jesus even though it took a great effort of time, money and even danger. The religious leaders failed to act on their knowledge of the Bible and made no effort to take seriously a child, as they saw him, of no real immediate importance. Even though they would show no inclination to kill the child as Herod would, their successors a generation later (when Jesus could no longer be taken for granted) did seek his death.
This leads us to the third concept to be found in the Epiphany—Light.
During the Advent season the world was in darkness. God’s people prayed for the coming birth of the Messiah, and Christian’s now, in remembrance that he came, look with anticipation for his second coming in judgment and glory. At Christmas, the light broke through as God broke through the darkness with the Light of Christ. He would dispel the darkness in creation and the hearts and minds of men and women. He was initially seen only by Mary, Joseph and the shepherds. At Epiphany the mysterious star summoned the Gentiles to benefit from the work and light of God’s own Son. The prophecy that we read this morning from Isaiah 60:1–9 continue to point us to the light and glory revealed through Jesus Christ. Listen again to verses 1–3,
Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the Lord will arise upon you, and his glory will be seen upon you. And nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.
The wise men go to Bethlehem and find the child, now most likely a toddler, and they respond with recognition to what they have found. Matthew 2:9–11,
After listening to the king, they went on their way. And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshipped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh.
One of the most important things to remember when reading the word of God is that we should always consider the time period, the customs and how those involved in the story would have reacted according to their context. Again, Matthew focuses in on the fact that it was the pagans who fell down and worshipped Jesus. We must not forget that the sin of taking Jesus for granted was not the sin of the pagans who knew very little about him, but of the religious leaders and teachers of the Torah. The response of the wise men shows their relief at finding what they were looking for—a true King that was worthy of worship and honor and glory.
They offer Jesus both homage and gifts that, although standard in the East, were of a more prophetic nature than they likely knew. Each of the gifts had symbolism. Gold was a symbol of kingship on earth, Frankincense (an incense) was a symbol of deity and myrrh was an embalming oil and symbol of death. Even their gifts reflected the true identity of the child and what he had come to do. The Magi’s homage to Jesus may also reflect the biblical language pointing to the pilgrimage and worship of the nations for the true king. Isaiah 60:6,
A multitude of camels shall cover you, the young camels of Midian and Ephah; all those from Sheba shall come. They shall bring gold and frankincense, and shall bring good news, the praises of the Lord.
More important than their gifts was the fact that they bowed down before him in worship. Can you imagine what it would have been like to see these foreign dignitaries bowing and worshipping a child? These were men who sought to unravel the greatest mysteries so that ultimate knowledge might be attained.
The Jews had made the mistake in believing that they were superior as a people because of the God who had revealed himself to them. They had long forgotten God’s promise to Abraham that all the nations of the Earth would be blessed through him. That was their heritage and they missed it. It was pagan wise men who unraveled the mystery of the Christ-child before them.
During Advent we remembered the story of Mary visiting her cousin, Elizabeth, who was with child herself (John the Baptist). As soon as Elizabeth heard Mary’s voice we read in Luke 1:41–44,
And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy.”
The recognition was instantaneous because when God’s Son shows up the Holy Spirit brings recognition. When the wise men first came into the house where the infant was, what was their response? They fell down and worshipped him! This was no ordinary child, but the eternal Son of God come to us in human form. To be in his presence is to have the sense of his holiness and greatness.
The question may be who bows down and worships an infant? Or in our time, who bows down and worships someone they have never seen with their own eyes?
I love the way the Apostle Paul answers that question in our epistle reading this morning. He as a Jewish Pharisee hated anyone who would bow down and worship this convicted criminal who had been crucified, died and was buried. It was blasphemy and deserving of death and in his passion he was determined to arrest and punish as many as he could. How dare them claim that this charlatan, this fake was God in human form. As a true servant of Yahweh he would stop this blasphemy, this degradation who dared suggest that he was the Son of God. Then in an instant, in a flash of light and voice calling out to him, everything changed, completely changed.
In our epistle reading this morning from Ephesians 3:1–13 the Apostle describes that moment and every moment after that as a mystery that had been solved. Listen again to Ephesians 3:4–6,
When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit. This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.
In Acts 13 Paul and Silas were preaching in Pisidia Antioch and many of the Jews were jealous that the Gentiles were listening to their preaching with great joy. So they started loudly shouting abuse at Paul. Paul turns to them in Acts 13:46–48,
And Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly, saying, “It was necessary that the word of God be spoken first to you. Since you thrust it aside and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles. For so the Lord has commanded us, saying, ‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’ And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord, and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed.”
Why were they rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord? What happened? I’ll tell you. It was the same thing that caused the baby in Elizabeths womb to jump when Mary walked into her house with the Christ child in her womb. It was the same thing that brought the Magi to their knees in worship and adoration of the child. It was the event foretold by Isaiah 60:1, “Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.”
It was the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit unraveling the mystery of the Messiah and that he had come for both Jew and Gentile. The darkness was lifted, and the glory of the Lord was revealed.
This morning we have every reason to bow down and worship the King who came to our rescue, offering salvation and inclusion in the family of God. Through God’s Word and the indwelling witness of the Holy Spirit and because of the love and mercy of God, we have had the mystery of the ages unraveled and that should cause us to know that it’s Jesus that we’ve been looking for all along.
As we enter into the season of Epiphany (which comes from the Greek word epiphania, meaning “manifestation” or “striking appearance”) we are to remember that our world is still full of darkness, and it can seem overwhelming unless we invite the light of Christ to shine in and through us.
We need to pay attention to the determination and resolve of those wise men long ago who let nothing stand in the way of finding the true king and upon finding the king, worshipping him with great joy. This is to be the focus of Epiphany, that we join in revealing to those in darkness that the light has come because he wants to reveal the depth of his love. Praise the Lord who is rich in mercy!
Let’s pray.
