Bible Text: Matthew 2:1-12 | Preacher: Pastor Andrew Richard | Series: Epiphany 2022 | “When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.” Today the joy of Christmas gives way to the joy of Epiphany. The word Epiphany means “appearing.” It means that something is now seen or made known. Christ was born in Bethlehem, and appeared to the shepherds on the night of his birth. Christ was taken to Jerusalem, as we heard last week, and appeared to those in the temple. But on the day that we call Epiphany we celebrate that Christ appeared to Gentiles, to people who were not from Israel. Christ appeared to magi from the east, because he came to be the Savior of all peoples, not just the Israelites, as the heavenly Father says to his beloved Son in Isaiah 49, “It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to bring back the preserved of Israel; I will make you a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”
The visit of the magi happened “in the days of Herod the king.” Herod was not a Jew, but a descendant of Esau. He was put in place over Judea by the Romans, not the Jews. And he had shed blood to secure his kingship, if it could be said that his kingship was ever secure. And that’s exactly why he’s troubled when foreign men of high rank appear in the capitol looking for a child “who has been born king of the Jews.” Herod knew that a Jewish claim to kingship by birthright would likely lead to revolt and his demise.
And not only is Herod troubled, but “all Jerusalem with him.” This shows how concerned many of the inhabitants of Jerusalem had become about civil affairs, and how unconcerned they had become about the Word of God. They hear that a king has been born to them and instead of rejoicing at the birth of Christ and the long-awaited fulfillment of God’s promises, they’re worried that someone is going to rock the boat. And in our current political climate it is all too tempting to fall into that same trap, to be troubled during the time when we celebrate the birth and Epiphany of Christ. Let it not be, dear saints; let our joy continue.
Neither Herod nor the inhabitants of Jerusalem had any real cause for alarm. Jesus would later say to Pilate, “My kingdom is not of this world.” Jesus does not rule men’s bodies by the sword, but rules men’s hearts by the Gospel. And even if this reign of Christ should result in civil strife, it is far better to have Christ with strife than to have outward peace without him.
But the magi see things properly. They have departed from their land and its gods and come from afar to see the one who has been born king of the Jews. And more than making a lengthy journey to visit a mere human king and pay their respects, they say “we have come to worship him.” They confess that the king of the Jews is their king as well, because he is king of all. And they have come to worship him, knowing that he is no mere mortal, but is God in the flesh.
At this point we might wonder, who are these magi? Where did they come from? And how did they come to know about the two natures of Christ? While we may not be able to answer these questions with as much detail as we’d like, we do have a fairly good idea of what happened.
In the sixth century BC Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon conquered Judah. He took the best and brightest of the land to Babylon to make use of their skill in his country. Among these captives was Daniel, who later wrote the book of Daniel in the Old Testament. Daniel was trained in the literature and language of the Chaldeans. And Nebuchadnezzar found Daniel “ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters that were in all his kingdom.”
On one occasion Nebuchadnezzar had a dream, and by the grace of God Daniel was able to tell the dream and its meaning to the king. “Then the king gave Daniel high honors and many great gifts, and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon and chief prefect over all the wise men of Babylon.” Among these wise men were the μάγοι, from which we get the word “magi.” The magi were astrologers. They studied the stars and planets. They made good use of their knowledge insofar as they were learned in natural science and could speak with wisdom about seasons and patterns and the best time, practically speaking, to do this or that.
Yet the magi also made a rather demonic use of their so-called “knowledge” as astrologers do today. “You will be torn between work and family as both try to grab your attention. You may reserve the evening for having fun. You crave to become famous and are likely to accomplish your ambition shortly.” Tomorrow you’ll wake up, do a bunch of stuff, and then go back to sleep. That’s an actual horoscope, except for the last part. God didn’t create the stars and planets for such nonsense. Don’t pay any attention to horoscopes or fortune tellers. Christ has redeemed you.
But returning to the magi, in the sixth century BC they suddenly found themselves under the tutelage of an Israelite who knew about the coming king of the Jews, who knew about the two natures of Christ, and who was wiser than all the magi. We don’t know exactly what Daniel taught them or how they knew that this particular star corresponded to the birth of Christ. But it is clear that they were led as much by the Word of the Lord as by the star itself, for the star got them to Jerusalem, but not to Christ. To get to Christ they needed the Scriptures.
Thus you heard how Herod summoned the chief priests and scribes of the people, and they quoted Micah 5, “And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.” Relying on this Word of God, the magi prepared to depart for Bethlehem.
After Herod’s secret summons and his lies about wanting to worship Christ, the magi “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.” The star corresponded with the prophecy of Micah, and again not the star alone, but the Word of God with the star led them to the Lord. While we generally think of the star as the thing that led the wise men, the star didn’t tell them to expect a Jewish king who would be their Lord as well. The star didn’t tell them about the divine and human natures of Christ. The Word of God alone reveals these things, which again points to the likelihood that Daniel had catechized the magi and that the magi had preserved his teaching.
From this we also learn how we are to come to know Christ. We don’t know our Lord from the stars, that’s obvious enough. We also don’t know our Lord from our reason or our emotions or anything else natural. Jesus did not bring us out of the darkness of paganism so that we could get lost in the darkness of our own minds and hearts. We know the Lord from his Word. His Word is our star that leads us to him, just as ultimately it was the Word that led the magi to Christ. As it says in Psalm 119, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”
“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 worshiped him.” These magi were highly regarded in their home country. People paid them the greatest respect. And they take all the honor afforded to them for their arts and they give that honor and more to a toddler. But this is not a ridiculous scene. It is right and proper and reverent.
They present him with gold and frankincense and myrrh. There’s a tradition in the Church that they brought gold, which was associated with royalty, because Jesus is a king. They brought frankincense, which was used in offering prayer to God, because Jesus is God. they brought myrrh, which was used in burial, because Jesus is also fully man and would die for all.
But whatever the gifts represented, the magi were not offering gifts as if Jesus needed something from them. They gave him great gifts as a confession that he is great. Likewise when we gather for worship we don’t give praise or thanks or our offerings as if Jesus needed any of it. We give these things because he is worthy of them, and indeed worthy of much more than our humble gifts. Even the gifts of the magi were humble compared to the gift that Christ would give to them and to us.
If the magi knew enough to confess that Jesus is both God and man, they probably also knew what this God-man came to do. This was no secret from the saints in the Old Testament, and was likely no secret to the magi either. This little boy would give his life for all people to rescue them from the devil’s clutches, from sin, from death, from hell. In the darkness of Good Friday our bright morning star shone from the cross, and the darkness did not overcome him. And then the light of Easter dawned, as did our Lord, who rose from the darkness of death like the sunrise.
Though the magi returned to their home country, they did not forsake Christ. The Word of the Lord came to them again, formerly through a prophet, now through an apostle. “Go and make disciples of all nations,” Jesus told the apostles, “baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” Through the preaching of the Word, Jesus has made his light shine over the face of the whole earth to every nation under heaven. Through that Word God “has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”
Now we are no longer Gentiles, but part of the new Jerusalem, which is not troubled when she hears about Christ, but rejoices in him. This new Jerusalem is the Church. We have, in a sense, ceased from our wandering over the face of the earth and settled in the city of God. And in another sense, our journey continues. Just as the magi pressed on toward Christ, we press on toward our fatherland. And the Lord in his mercy has not left us without a guide. We continue to follow the star, that is, the Word of God, “to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place,” as it says in 2 Peter 1. Like the magi, we keep our eyes on our guide and press on with anticipation of arriving at our destination. The star of God’s Word will lead us to a house, to a heavenly palace, where we too will see the Lord face to face. Amen.