Our Sermons

Bible Passage: Matthew 2:1-12
Pastor: Pastor Berg
Sermon Date:  January 5, 2020

Every single year, the Gospel reading for the festival of Epiphany is from Matthew 2. Matthew is the only writer who tells us about the Wise Men. Have you ever wondered why they are called that? It doesn’t come from the Greek word–that’s μάγοι–which is where we get Magi. The meaning of the word is varied, but most commonly magi were stargazers. So if it doesn’t come from their name, perhaps there’s another reason that these men who came from the East are called wise? Today, we’re going to look at three different groups of people, all of whom we could consider very intelligent. But are they wise? Are they wise in the way that God describes wisdom? Who is the Wise Man? Is it Herod, the King? Is it the teachers of the law? Is it the Wise Men from the East? May God give us ears and insight so we can leave here today knowing who is the Wise Man!

King Herod, also called Herod the Great, was the King of Judea. Though not a Jew, he was placed over Judea by the Romans. Herod was smart. He was shrewd. He knew how the world worked and he used it to his full advantage. History shows that Herod overcame his enemies the good old fashioned way: he either bought them or butchered them. Here’s a couple of examples: the Jewish religious leaders opposed his kingship because he wasn’t from the line of David. He wasn’t even Jewish. So what did Herod do? He built the Jewish leaders a beautiful new temple, the temple Jesus would worship in. The aristocracy, the rich, noble families of Palestine opposed him, so he simply killed off 45 of those families. And when it came to his chief opponent, Aristobulus, Herod invited him to a swimming party in the Jordan River, bribed his bodyguards and had him drowned. And then he turned around and threw him a magnificent funeral. Herod was one sharp, smart, shrewd cookie. 

 So how did this intelligent, smart, shrewd man use that intelligence when it came to Jesus? “Then Herod secretly summoned the Wise Men and found out from them exactly when the star had appeared.  He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. When you find him, report to me, so that I may also go and worship him.” Why was Herod so eager to find out the address of Mary and Joseph? Matthew tells us: “When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Wise Men, he was furious. He issued orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and in all the surrounding countryside, from two years old and under. This was in keeping with the exact time he had learned from the Wise Men.”  Herod had used his smarts to find out about this little rival king. He had invested his intelligence and efforts in Jesus’ destruction. Herod was plenty smart, be he wasn’t very wise. He wasn’t wise enough to see the important things in life. And he certainly wasn’t wise enough to see the Christ. Herod was smart, but spiritually foolish; eternally foolish.

So if Herod wasn’t the Wise Man, what about the Teachers of the Law? These men were no intellectual slouches! They were the best educated people in the land. They knew their Old Testaments–many of them from memory. They knew the Old Testament so well that when asked about the birthplace of the Messiah, they knew exactly where to look–The Book of Micah. “When King Herod heard this, he was alarmed, and all Jerusalem with him. 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.” But here’s where their intelligence seemed to fail them. Though they could quote Micah 5:2 at the drop of a hat, they didn’t seem all that interested that this prophecy was being fulfilled as they quoted. Not one of them saddled up their donkey to ride out to Bethlehem with the Wise Men, just a couple miles away. Forget worshiping him! These men were smart. Extremely intelligent. Biblically literate, but spiritually lazy. Their knowledge of the Scriptures revolved around the do’s and don’t’s. They were more concerned about their outward adherence to customs than they were about forgiveness. When it came to Christ and the true reason for his coming, these smart men were woefully ignorant.

Before we get to the Wise Men, I wonder if we see any of ourselves in these first two groups of people? Do we share any characteristics with these Epiphany people? I would hope not Herod…certainly not Herod…maybe, just a little bit, actually. Not that we have done our very best to snuff Jesus out, but think about this: Herod used all his abilities to serve himself and only himself. Unfortunately, that sounds familiar, doesn’t it? We take our God-given abilities–our smarts, our skills, our savvy–and with great effort and focus, in a Herod-like manner, we seek to advance and protect our own selfish interests. And as a stern warning against unbelief and spiritual stubbornness, we see how things ended up for Herod the Great. He died from a horrible and painful disease…he died in a state of paranoia…he died without any friends. Even the Great Friend of sinners, Jesus–who is eager to welcome the repentant 11th hour soul, was shunned by Herod. Herod the Great went to hell. He was not a wise man.

What about the teachers of the Law? Can you see yourself standing with them? Unfortunately, I can see myself. They had the words of everlasting life right there before them. They had the scriptures that testified about Jesus. Why didn’t they listen to him? Why didn’t they give that Word their full attention and have it be their highest delight? Silly, foolish, irresponsible teachers of the Law! And there sits my Bible, unopened, on the shelf. There I go again, looking of reasons or excuses not to come to church. Why is it that people in the saltwater districts of our synod will often travel more than an hour or more to get to our churches, but 10 minutes to church is far too taxing for us in south central Wisconsin? These teachers of the Law didn’t even bother to walk down the road from Jerusalem to Bethlehem, from here to MATC. Their Savior was there and they had every advantage to know it, but they just didn’t seem to care. These teachers of the Law were not wise, and sometimes, we show the same lack of wisdom.

But now for the good news. There are some genuinely wise men in Matthew 2. We don’t know exactly where they came from. We don’t know how many of them there were. We don’t know what the star they saw looked like. We know they were not Jews. We know they were waiting for their Savior from sin to come. We know they worshiped the baby as a king. We know that they brought the Christ child their best gifts. 

What was it that made these Wise Men wise? It wasn’t their education or their intellectual wit. It wasn’t because they travelled far and long. It wasn’t because they brought such beautiful, heartfelt, and generous gifts. These men were wise because they knew Jesus. By God’s powerful grace, they knew that Jesus was the fulfillment of the promises in the Old Testament that they had heard and believed. And that truth brought them to Bethlehem where they found overwhelming joy!

What overwhelms us with joy? What can we offer this Beautiful Savior, this King of Creation? We can certainly offer him our time and our talents and our treasures. And the Lord rejoices at the genuine and generous gifts you bring him. But that’s not our primary reason for being here today, is it? Nothing you bring and nothing you do can make you wise. What brings overwhelming joy is what Jesus gives you. The Psalmist says it so well: “Whoever is wise, let him consider the great love of the LORD.” Instead of worrying about what you can give to Jesus this Epiphany, perhaps it would be best if we stop and listen and simply receive through faith the riches of Jesus. God, right here, right now, proclaims good news to you. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they will be as white as snow.” Your God, right here, right now, proclaims peace to you in spite of your rebellion. Your God, right here, right now, proclaims his salvation for you: “A Savior has been born for you, he is Christ the Lord.” The Savior has come. He called us out of the darkness of sin. He delivered us from the darkness of death. The Lord has given us much more than gold, incense, and myrrh. The Lord has given us his Son. The Lord has given us forgiveness. He gives us heaven! Wise is the man who worships the Christ child in humble faith.

May our dear Lord Jesus bless you this Epiphany! May he reveal himself to you again so that you can reveal him to those who are still walking in darkness! May God bless you Wise Men and Women who find their hope, their light, their life in Jesus. Amen