Our Sermons

Bible Passage: Matthew 2:1-12
Pastor: Pastor Berg
Sermon Date:  January 7, 2024

Brandon and Tristan Spoerly were having the time of their lives. They had entered an essay contest sponsored by the Houston Texans. This got them onto the field at halftime. It got them a bunch of Texans merch. And while all of this was being presented, the Texans mascot, Toro, drove up with a giant gift-wrapped box–one more present for the boys. The box opened and inside…their dad, Chief Warrant Officer Eric Spoerle, home from serving overseas, just in time for Christmas. When the boys saw their dad, they lost it. Emotions spilled out as they ran to him and showered him with hugs and kisses. How long those boys had been waiting for dad to come home! How much they wanted to see him again, to hug him again! And when they finally saw him, their joy spilled over and they didn’t care who saw them!

“After Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, when Herod was king, Wise Men from the east came to Jerusalem…” We don’t know their names, though tradition has called them Caspar, Melchior, and Balthazar. We don’t know how many of them there were–again tradition always pictures three. We don’t know exactly where they came from or exactly when they came. But we do know that they came looking for the Morning Star foretold in the Old Testament. “I see him, but not now. I behold him, but not near. A star will come out of Jacob. A scepter will rise up out of Israel.” They came seeking the King, the scepter rising out of Israel. 

How do you picture these Wise Men as they come? Do you picture them stately and calm, steadily riding on their camels toward Jerusalem? Do you picture them regal and composed as they move on toward Bethlehem? My guess is that you don’t picture them like Brandon and Tristan when they saw their dad jump out of the box. And yet, isn’t that how Matthew describes them? “When they saw the star, they rejoiced with overwhelming joy.” When joy spills over, it’s usually not a calm, refined debonair scene. There’s excitement. There’s emotion. There are outbursts. “When they saw the star, they rejoiced with overwhelming joy.” Can you picture the Wise Men dancing in the sand, shouting praises to God at the top of their lungs when they saw that wondrous star again? Perhaps a better question is why? Why were these men overwhelmed with joy, rejoicing exceedingly when they saw the star? 

Think about the longest car ride you’ve ever taken. Growing up in California with grandmas and grandpas in Wisconsin meant many long car rides for my family. 48 hours one way. As you picture your long ride, can you remember how you felt when you finally reached your destination? Can you remember how happy you were to see grandma’s house or your own house after so many long hours? We don’t know exactly where these Wise Men came from, but we do know it was a long distance. Some think they may have come from Babylon, where Daniel and other Jews had been captives for 70 years. That’s a 500 mile trip. Still others think that these Wise Men came from Sheba, where the famous Queen who visited Solomon ruled. In First Kings chapter 10, she praises God for how he had blessed Solomon. Could she have taken that knowledge back and passed it down? We also have the words from Isaiah: “All those from Sheba will come. They will carry gold and incense, and they will announce the good news of the praise of the Lord.” If these Wise Men were from Sheba, that’s nearly 1500 miles to Jerusalem. So, perhaps part of the Wise Men’s overwhelming joy ist that feeling of finally reaching their destination.

But it can’t be just that. The end of a long journey is nice, but there’s more to it here. Perhaps, it’s the journey itself. Somehow, someway, the promise of the Messiah had been made known to these Wise Men. You can picture them, each and every night, gazing at the sky, looking for a sign that the Messiah had come. And somehow, someway, God told them that this special star, which is now a freak alignment of planets as some will say to try and explain this all away; God told them that this special star would lead them to Messiah, to the scepter, to the King that would rise out of Jacob. Time and distance didn’t matter. These Wise Men got their finest gifts, loaded up their camels or donkeys or horses, and they set out to see the King.

And that’s really what the story of the Wise Men is all about. It’s not about the Wise Men–where they’re from, how many of them, etc. Those are interesting questions that we can ponder and debate. But this is a story about Jesus. it’s about the truth that Jesus came as God promised and these Wise Men had to see him. They were overwhelmed with joy; they rejoiced exceedingly because they knew the Savior had come. They sought Jesus. They found him. They were not disturbed by his humble circumstances. They received him as he chose to come to them, a Jewish infant in the little town of Bethlehem. And they worshiped him. The praises that filled the air when they saw the start once again were now directed at that baby Jesus. They bowed down, they lowered themselves and acknowledged him as greater. They brought him gifts. Gifts of gold fit for a king. Frankincense whose smoke would filter up to heaven as Jesus intercedes and prays for his people, and myrrh, a burial ointment for the King who would die for them. Everything about their journey, everything about their joy was about Jesus. That’s why, “When they saw the star, they rejoiced with overwhelming joy.”

Are you? Are you overjoyed when you see the star? Much of what we see in this story hits home with us. Isn’t it interesting that those who should have known the prophecies and in fact did know them: “He gathered together all the people’s chief priests and experts in the law. He asked them where the Christ was to be born. They said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, because this was written through the prophet: You, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are certainly not least among the rulers of Judah: because out of you will come a ruler, who will shepherd my people, Israel.”” Isn’t interesting how they didn’t recognize him? They didn’t bother to greet him. Some even worked against him. As those who have been baptized and instructed, we do well to take the warning! What a commentary it is on our faith when others who have never known the Lord before come to him with greater joy and diligence than we do, when we take him for granted.

Are you overjoyed when you see the star? That star, that light in the sky certainly has influenced us. It’s one of the reasons why we put lights and stars on our Christmas trees. That star is what led these Wise Men to find Jesus. These Wise Men are not Jews, they are Gentiles like you and me. This star reveals the mystery that had haunted the Gentiles for so long. So long on the outside, looking in. But Jesus came to save all. No one is beyond his reach or his grace. He wants all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of his mercy. But are we living that? Or do we hesitate to share the news of his birth with others, wondering if they are the Christian type or not? There is no Christian type. There are only sinners who need saving, among whom we are the worst. The star reminds us that Jesus, the Light of the world, has come to earth to rescue even the worst of sinners, even you and me. 

Are you overjoyed when you see the star? These Wise Men went to great lengths to see Jesus. But that wasn’t enough for them. They also brought him gifts, gifts fit for a King. They brought him their best. Their worship was their best. Isn’t that what we try to instill in our children: whatever you do, give it your best effort? Does seeing Jesus our Savior, born to save us horrible sinners, prompt our best in our worship, in our gifts? Are we giving ourselves fully to the Lord as those living sacrifices, which God has made holy and pleasing to himself?

Are you overjoyed when you see the star? Unfortunately, we can see ourselves all too well with Herod and the leaders of Israel, can’t we? Far too often, we take this great revelation that Jesus is our Savior for granted. Far too often we are preoccupied with the cares and concerns of this world, the pressures of daily life. Perhaps our hearts are even filled with fear, like those living in Jerusalem, who were disturbed at the news of this new King. What will it cost me to follow him? What must I give up? Will he really keep his promises to me? Yet, it was for this very reason that Jesus came. It was for this very reason that the star appeared in the sky and led these Gentile Wise Men to find him. Jesus came to save. “This is why the Son of God appeared: to destroy the works of the Devil.” “But when the kindness and love of God our Savior toward mankind appeared, he saved us—not by righteous works that we did ourselves, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and the renewal by the Holy Spirit,”

Are you overjoyed when you see the star? That same star that brought overwhelming joy to the Wise Men also brings us joy because it points us to Jesus. That was the goal of the Wise Men, to find and see and worship Jesus. And that’s our goal too! And this festival of Epiphany helps us in our goal. This day of Epiphany is sometimes called the “Gentile Christmas,” because it was in this event that Jesus was revealed clearly as the Savior of not just the Jews, but also the Gentiles. Many of our Christmas celebrations are influenced by this Day. Christmas lights stars on trees remind us of the star that pointed to Jesus. We exchange gifts as a reminder that the Wise Men brought gifts to Jesus, their King, who himself was the greatest gift of all–God’s gift to mankind! We can be overjoyed when we see the star! That doesn’t mean that we have to be exceedingly emotional when we think about what Jesus means for us–but it would be ok. What it means is that our lives will reflect that joy as we praise and worship God for the gift of his Son. That means our worship and our offerings will reflect the joy we have in the forgiveness of sins. It means we will continue to seek him and find him where he comes to us–in his Word and Sacraments.

There are many things that bring us joy in this world, but not too many that overwhelm, that cause us to rejoice exceedingly. The star that appeared to the Wise Men brought that joy, that reaction, because it pointed to Jesus. May all the pointers, all the stars that God has given us bring us that same joy, because they point us to the same Savior. Amen.