Our kids are learning Algebra and Calculus, are expected to memorize the periodic table and to read Shakespeare. Their marching-band routines are ever more complicated, and they are supposed to know all the plays in the playbook. But when it comes to church, we say, "Don't bother me with the details."
‹Rev. Dr. Peter J. Scaer›
Atlantis: the domain of the Stingray
6Jan
2012
Fri
22:12
author: Stingray
category: Sermons
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Epiphany of Our Lord

Matthew 2:1-12

In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

The tale begins about some 600 years before. Judah is taken captive by Babylon. It was the third year of the reign of the king Jehoiakim, and King Nebuchadnezzar besieged Jerusalem.

And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, with some of the articles of the house of God, which he carried into the land of Shinar to the house of his god; and he brought the articles into the treasure house of his god. Then the king instructed Ashpenaz, the master of his eunuchs, to bring some of the children of Israel and some of the king’s descendants and some of the nobles, young men in whom there was no blemish, but good-looking, gifted in all wisdom, possessing knowledge and quick to understand, who had ability to serve in the king’s palace, and whom they might teach the language and literature of the Chaldeans. And the king appointed for them a daily provision of the king’s delicacies and of the wine which he drank, and three years of training for them, so that at the end of that time they might serve before the king. Now from among those of the sons of Judah were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. To them the chief of the eunuchs gave names: he gave Daniel the name Belteshazzar; to Hananiah, Shadrach; to Mishael, Meshach; and to Azariah, Abed-Nego. (Daniel 1:2-7)

It was no accident that Nebuchadnezzar picked these young men for these positions. He knew that if he was to effectively rule over the Judeans, He would need to be surrounded by Judeans who were popular among the people, but also wise and intelligent, and easy to instruct in the ways and words of the Chaldeans—the Babylonians.

You probably know how the tale goes from there. Daniel grew in favor with the Babylonian king, despite enemies who sought to have him and his three friends killed. Surviving a lion’s den and a fiery furnace, these four wise men eventually became advisors to the Babylonian king, having also been allowed to worship their God—the one, true God—over and above the king and his gods.

It was no accident that God gave Jehoiakim and Judea into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar. It was no accident that, in God’s providence, Daniel and his three friends were selected as advisors to the king. God was bringing word of salvation to the Gentiles, long before He called a Jew named Saul to the task.

Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah fulfilled their vocation well. They learned from their Chaldean captors and probably even instructed them as well. It is very certain that these four men, wise men in their own right as described in the passage quoted, were more than kings’ advisors, but gathered disciples whom they instructed in their own ways, in their own words, and, more importantly, in the Word of God, giving them the knowledge of salvation as far as they knew it.

And so it was, some two or so years after the birth of the Savior of the world, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem. They possess some knowledge of salvation, as they have come to worship the newborn King. They possess some knowledge of the Word of God—perhaps as disciples in the line of Daniel and his three friends—though tempered with the words and ways of the Chaldeans: “We have seen His star in the east”—they still search for signs in the heavens.

Again, no accident—God gives them the sign they were looking for. So, they make their way west to look for the newborn King. And, where do you go to look for the king of the Jews? To Jerusalem, where the palace was.

It must have been a bit surprising to these wise travelers when they arrived in Jerusalem. Expecting fanfare and celebration, Jerusalem appears to be going about it’s business as usual. And let’s be clear, it’s safe to say that the wise men weren’t expecting the fanfare for themselves, but over the birth of the King; after all, they saw the sign, things should be going the way it had been told them, as has been passed down from generation to generation for 600 years.

They have their audience with Herod, a non-Jew who sits on the throne in Jerusalem, and ask their bewildered question: “Where is He who has been born king of the Jews?” You might imagine further bewilderment when Herod and all Jerusalem were troubled at their question. Instead of rejoicing at the news of salvation, Jerusalem is troubled by it.

Jerusalem knows nothing about the birth of the Savior, or does it? Interestingly, when the wise men ask their question, Herod calls his wise men to him to ask where the Christ was to be born. Notice the word choice here—Herod doesn’t ask about a king, but about the Christ. And His wise men respond:

In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet:
But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
Are not the least among the rulers of Judah;
For out of you shall come a Ruler
Who will shepherd My people Israel.

They quote from Micah the prophet, words that could have been familiar to the eastern wise men, but apparently were not; they had a great amount of knowledge, but it was not the fuller revelation that Herod’s wise men had access to.

So, the eastern wise men leave Jerusalem for a little town outside of Jerusalem, a little farming town called Bethlehem. When they left Jerusalem, they saw the star again, rejoiced exceedingly, and followed it to the house where the Child was. “And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.”

No new king in Jerusalem and the palace, and no celebration for the coming of Salvation, yet trouble and fear in its place. What we have is Gentiles who, by all rights, should not celebrate Salvation by a god who is not theirs, yet come to worship Him who is the God of all creation, and a People who should know what is going on and be rejoicing in it being clueless and showing fear when they are clued in. The very scribes who relayed the prophecy of the Christ-child’s whereabouts apparently never saw the star, and we have no word that any of them traveled with the eastern wise men to Bethlehem.

It is widely known that the Bible is the best-selling book in history. This was a fact I heard again on a recently-aired episode of Pawn Stars in which a man wanted to sell an old edition of Don Quixote, the second best-selling book in history. The Bible is the most-translated book in all of history, and you can go to just about any book store and find myriads of translations available for purchase. The Bible still outsells any book on the shelves, from what I have read.

However, what I find astounding is that public knowledge of things Biblical does not match with the number of Bibles that are sold. If you were to watch Jeopardy, the contestants often fly through the categories presented, yet it is a rare day when anyone is able to give the question for clues about the Bible as quickly as those from other categories, if at all. People have Bibles, if sales numbers are to be believed, yet very few know anything of what’s between the Bible’s covers.

This Gentile Christmas shows us that this is nothing new. So-called experts of the Scriptures knew of a passage to answer Herod’s question, yet there is no indication that the passage bore any significance to these scribes. Experts these days fare little better, if at all.

Along with Bibles, even right next to them on the store shelves, you can find all kinds of self-help books with a supposed Christian base. There are leaders who pastor churches who are hailed as great men of faith, yet the faith that they teach as Christianity is a false theology. Ironically, what they teach, both these self-help books and false teachers, is little different from what Herod’s experts most likely taught. If the other experts of Jesus’ time are any indication, they taught a salvation by works. There should be little wonder that news of a Savior-King, even as proclaimed by the very Scriptures these experts “knew,” troubled Herod and all of Jerusalem: the coming of the King was contrary to the very doctrine they espoused.

Though, we cannot single out false teaches as the only ones who demonstrate a lack of knowledge of the very Bibles they hold up as the basis of their doctrine. How many of you can or would confess to spending not as much time with your Bibles as you would like, or to buying a Bible you have never opened, or never intended to open? How many of you can or would confess to looking through the Bible to find one thing—we’ll call it an emotional uplift—only to find something completely contrary? Or, to go down a familiar path, why is it that church attendance hardly ever matches the church rolls (and I ask this for every congregation, not just this one)? And then, why is it that attendance at Bible studies hardly ever matches church attendance? Could it be that what the Bible says is troubling?

In all of this, I do not let myself off the hook. This so-called expert has often been put in his place by those who might be deemed to be less-than-expert. I have been asked questions to which I do not immediately know the answer. And, when I have found the answer, there have been times when I was troubled by it—I have discovered in those time, as much as in the times when I was put in my place, that what I had known and believed was wrong.

Yes, what the Bible says is troubling. Even the word of a Savior is troubling, for this word tells us that, though we may try, though we may believe we have it, we still we come up short. St. Paul tells us, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (cf. Romans 3:23) Therein lies the trouble. If all have sinned, then I have sinned, and if I have sinned, then God must be angry with me—He certainly has every right to be. God’s coming to earth, the Christ being here, is troubling.

But, hold on a minute. Let’s go back to the words of Herod’s experts, back to the words of the prophet Micah:

But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
Are not the least among the rulers of Judah;
For out of you shall come a Ruler
Who will shepherd My people Israel.

Yes, the King is come; the Ruler has come out of Bethlehem in the land of Judah. However, even right there in Micah’s words, we hear that He comes not as ruthless and wrathful Ruler, as an angry Judge, but as a shepherd. A shepherd cares for a flock, leading it and guiding it in the ways and places that are the best for it. He comes not to be served by high and lofty gifts—as if those were ours to give—but to serve with the greatest of gifts that He has to give—His Life, for a good shepherd gives his life for the sheep. (cf. John 10:11)

The thing is, we cannot simply stick with Micah’s words. There was another prophet by the name of Isaiah who tells us of this shepherd, even as he calls us sheep: “All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” (Isaiah 53:6) Yes, YHWH has laid on Him, on Himself, the iniquity of us all. Just before Isaiah let us know this, He wrote, “But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed.” (Isaiah 53:5)

And, God continues to instruct us as the Bible fills us in, as we look to the end of the Gospel accounts, for this King born in Bethlehem and visited by wise men from the east would grow up to be the sacrifice for sins—for all sins. Yes, the King would grow up and make His way to Jerusalem for His coronation—one of thorns—to be nailed to His throne—a cross—and receive His royal scepter by the lashes and stripes on His back. While it is true what St. Paul says, “All have sinned;” he continues, “[but are] justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith...” (Romans 3:25a)

Yes, the Word of God lets us know more than just what troubles us, but also reassures us that God is come, not simply out of wrath, but with grace and mercy. Did the wise men from the east know this? While it is not explicitly stated, we can gather that they did from their words—declaring their intent to worship the King—then going where the Word of God said He would be, along with their reaction to seeing the star again and the gifts they presented to the Christ-Child. Yes, even those gifts, as if they were theirs to give:

  • gold, riches that are fit for a King.
  • frankincense, an incense burned in worship.
  • myrrh, a spice used in burial

Their gifts indicate their knowledge that the King, God, had come to die and deserved the honor of their worship. Their actions are the actions of faith.

Conversely, the trouble and fear of Herod and Jerusalem, the apparent lack of knowledge and interest of Herod’s scribes do not negate the fact that God had come to earth to die, even for them, to remove their sin from them. However, all of these demonstrated their lack of faith, at least as Matthew related it for us, by showing no rejoicing, by not going to the place where God said He would be.

So it is with us. Buy all the Bibles you want—crack them open and read them if you want—study them diligently alone or with a Bible Study group at church—this is all well and good. In the Scriptures you will most certainly find life, as Jesus declares. (cf. John 5:39) But what else does He declare in that verse? The Scriptures testify of Him, and in testifying of Him, they tell you where He is for you, as much as they declared where He was to be born, where the wise men could go, by faith, to worship Him.

Therefore, though we may be troubled by what the Word of God declares, we go where He says He is, because He says He is there for you, to give you what He won for you on His throne and by His stripes. So, you come here by faith, and we rejoice in that, as much as the wise men from the east rejoiced to see the star, because in your being here by faith, you are receiving what your King is here to give you, the forgiveness of all of your sins.

In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Download media: 20120106.epiphanyofourlord.mp3 (9.15 MiB)
audio recorded on my digital recorder and converted to mp3
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