January 5, 2020 – Epiphany Text: Matthew 2:1-12
Dear Friends in Christ,
As we celebrate Epiphany today let’s continue to debunk a couple of myths about this day. First, this is one you hear me talk about all the time – we do not know the number of wise men who visited Jesus. We just sang “We Three Kings” but that is just a number in a hymn. There could have been an entourage of men or very few.
The second myth perpetuated by manger scenes and greeting cards is that the wise men worshipped Jesus in the manger. Verse 11 of our text tells us they went into “a house.” No barn or feeding trough. Just a nice bi-level for the carpenter and his wife and their new baby. Oops, let’s not create another myth – nobody knows what style of home the first family lived in.
What is clear is that these Magi from the East have come to worship Him. The Christ Child – Jesus by name. So do we. With the Wise Men, on this Epiphany…
“WE HAVE COME TO WORSHIP HIM”
Why? Well along with the mistaken ideas about Jesus’ coming there are some even stranger ones that have circulated throughout the years. Ever hear the one about Jesus turning mud into doves. How about bringing a dead playmate back to life? My favorite is this one – Jesus zapped dead a buddy who cheated in a game.
What we do know is that the first miracle Jesus performed was turning water into wine at a wedding in the town of Cana. This did not happen until he was 30. Jesus’ miracles were always acts of kindness. He wasn’t zapping people dead.
The biggest misconception of Jesus has been the one that has now gone on for centuries. He is a great religious teacher and prophet who espouses love to one another. That is partly true but does not reach into the realm of who He really is. The Bible says there is so much more. There would be no need for worship and our gathering here today if he were just a prophet that is here today and gone tomorrow.
What did the Wise Men think of Jesus? “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.” (v. 2)
Word of their arrival quickly reaches King Herod. He is a descendant of Esau and more than a little edgy about a legitimate “king of the Jews.” When Herod gets edgy people die, including many in his own family.
The other thing that upset Herod is that these Wise Men have come to worship Him. Not only was He the crown prince of Israel, but the crown prince of heaven as well. They have come to worship Him because they know who He really is. Christ deserved to be worshipped then. He deserves to be worshipped today.
Why? Why worship Him? Because in His birth He took on human flesh, and his death he took all the sins of human flesh to the cross. When he died, the sins remained there on the cross. Now he lives, having arisen from the dead. He is to be worshipped. That baby is the Savior of the world.
Herod couldn’t bring himself to worship Jesus. He hated Jesus. To acknowledge Jesus means we have to admit that we are sinners. Can we do that? Can you and I admit we are horrible human beings and we deserve death and hell on Judgment Day?
Yes, we can do that. We did it this morning in our confession. We do it daily in our prayers. You confess. Jesus forgives. The Holy Spirit lives in you and works in you. He inspires your prayer life and your worship life. Like the Wise Men you have come to worship Him.
There in the home they fell down and worshipped Him and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. One day Jesus would hang on a cross robed in a glory gold can never show, sending forth into heaven a prayer that frankincense could never carry, buried as a sacrifice myrrh could never make sweeter. They are grand gifts to be sure, but they do not compare to the greater gift Jesus would offer.
Jesus has a gift for you. It is the gift of forgiveness. It is the gift of salvation. It is the gift of eternal life. All for free. A gift paid for by His sinless death on the cross and His glorious resurrection from the dead.
So we come to worship and we also bring our gifts. We offer up our prayers. We lift our voices. We bring our offerings in joy. In the eyes of Jesus these gifts are as precious as gold and frankincense and myrrh.
In humbleness Lord, accept our worship this day.
Amen.