Isaiah 60:1–6 “Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD rises upon you. 2 See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the LORD rises upon you and his glory appears over you. 3 Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn. 4 “Lift up your eyes and look about you: All assemble and come to you; your sons come from afar, and your daughters are carried on the arm. 5 Then you will look and be radiant, your heart will throb and swell with joy; the wealth on the seas will be brought to you, to you the riches of the nations will come. 6 Herds of camels will cover your land, young camels of Midian and Ephah. And all from Sheba will come, bearing gold and incense and proclaiming the praise of the LORD.
Matthew 2:1-12 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem 2 and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.” 3 When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Christ was to be born. 5 “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written: 6 ” ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will be the shepherd of my people Israel.’ ” 7 Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. 8 He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and make a careful search for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.” 9 After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11 On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh. 12 And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.
Epiphany: The Light That Still Leads Us
Show of hands, did anyone stay up to watch the ball drop in Times Square last night? I did not but I did hear lots of fireworks go off at midnight. Did you know that in Hershey they drop a giant Kiss? A pastor I know lived in Port Clinton, Ohio where they drop an oversized walleye, that’s a large fish. Apparently, Port Clinton is the walleye capital of the world. There are quite a variety of things that are dropped for New Years. With the help of the internet, I found a few other traditional drops. In Raleigh, NC, they drop a giant acorn. Mobile, AL drops a Moon Pie, that sandwich of graham cracker and marshmallow covered in chocolate. In Easton, MD, they drop a large crab. That, at least makes sense in Maryland. In our own state, the town of Bethlehem drops a marshmallow Peep. Key West, FL has a giant red high heel with a person in it drop. In Mount Olive, NC, they drop, maybe you would think an olive but no, they drop a pickle. And finally I just learned this year that in our own Delaware County there is a ball drop in Media, much better than traveling to New York City.
Today is the 4th day of the new year. Many think that Christmas is over but for Christians we are still in Christmastide. The Twelve Days of Christmas isn’t just a song, there actually are twelve days to Christmas. Christmastide doesn’t end until Epiphany which is January 6th, this coming Tuesday.
Today we are celebrating Epiphany because this is the Sunday before it.
Epiphany celebrates the arrival of the Wise Men. Now I know we see the wise men in all our manger scenes. I hope this doesn’t disappoint anyone but the wise men were not at the manger. There is controversy among scholars as to when they actually arrived, anywhere from a few days after the birth to two years after the birth.
Scholars love to argue these things and I confess I read many articles about it while studying for this sermon. What is actually important isn’t when they came but that they came.
Our word epiphany comes from a Greek word meaning “manifestation or appearance. Epiphany celebrates the visit of the wise men. It is the revelation of Christ to Gentiles. Jesus’ birth, life, death and resurrection are the clearest and most revealing expression of God’s presence and power and of his great love.
We actually know very little about the wise men. Our song calls them the three kings but it is doubtful they were kings. Matthew calls them Magi, which in many translations is “wise men”. It is most likely that they were priests from Persia, and probably belonged to the priestly caste of Zoroastrianism, which paid particular attention to the stars. This priestly caste gained an international reputation for astrology, which was at that time highly regarded as a science.
Look at the difference of who God reached out to between Luke’s version and Matthew’s. In Luke, God reaches out through angels to the lowest of the low, to shepherds, the very bottom of society to announce the birth of His Son, Jesus on Christmas. Now in Matthew, we have priests of a different religion than Judaism entirely brought by a star to see the Christ child on Epiphany. How ironic that God used priests of a different religion to let King Herod and the chief priests and scribes of the Jewish people know that their Messiah had been born. Herod and his priests were blind to the truth that the Magi were able to see. What we can take away from both Matthew and Luke is that God uses any and all means to reach His people for ultimately whether people acknowledge it or not, heathen, atheist, Moslem, Jewish or Christian; we are all God’s people. He is our creator and we all belong to God.
Now let’s look at the Wise Men’s reaction to finding Jesus. We are told they were overwhelmed with joy. They knelt down and paid him homage. They offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh —gifts that recognized Christ as King, God, and Savior. These gifts were rare, precious and expensive but not typical gifts for a child. For the wise men, they represented their best to honor the newborn king.
Following this sermon we are going to sing, “We Three Kings of Orient Are” so I thought we could use the verses of this carol to learn about the wise men and the significance of their gifts.
Did you know that this carol was the first Christmas carol that originated in the United States? It was written by John Henry Hopkins Jr. in 1857. He was born in Pittsburgh, became an Episcopal priest and served a church in Williamsport, a true Pennsylvania man. I will read each verse and discuss it.
We three kings of Orient are, Bearing gifts we traverse afar, Field and fountain, moor and mountain, Following yonder star.
The carol starts, “We three kings of Orient are,” – all our manger scenes show three wise men but Matthew’s gospel doesn’t say kings, it says Magi from the east and it doesn’t give the number of Magi. The tradition of three comes from the three gifts.
The idea of them being kings comes from some verses in various psalms. For example, a verse in Psalm 72, talks about kings of Tarshish and kings of Sheba bringing tribute. Matthew doesn’t say that they were kings, he just says that they were Magi or wise men. But I think we can see where the idea that they were kings came from.
Back to the carol. “Bearing gifts we traverse afar. Field and fountain, moor and mountain following yonder star.. Our verses in Matthew confirm this. They are men from the East. They are coming from far away – over fields and fountains, moors and mountains – to come and see this young boy who is the King of the Jews. We know they came because they saw the star when it rose and have come to worship the newborn king.
The next three verses tell us about the gifts they brought.
Verse 2 Born a King on Bethlehem’s plain, Gold I bring to crown Him again King forever, ceasing never, Over us all to reign
In Isaiah 9 it was predicted of the messiah that “He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom”. When the angel Gabriel told Mary she would have a son he also told her, “The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David.” Jesus was king before he was born. We know he was born in Bethlehem. This was prophesized in Micah 5:2, 2 “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.”
The Magi came to honor him as king. They ask, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews?”.They bring gold which was the usual offering presented to kings. When the wise men presented gold, they were honoring Jesus with the very best they possessed, and they also were recognizing that Jesus was king. We, too need to acknowledge Jesus as king in our lives and give our very best to him.
King forever, ceasing never, Over us all to reign Jesus is King forever, never ceasing. Jesus is king, he always was king and always will be king. Isaiah 9 says, “6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever.
So Jesus is King. He reigns over all of us. This is why Jesus is called the King of kings in Revelation – capital K “King” of lower-case k “kings.”
Verse 3 is: Frankincense to offer have I, Incense owns a Deity nigh, Prayer and praising, we are raising, Worship Him, God most high
Frankincense is the second gift given. It was used in temple worship and in priestly offering. It is a very costly and fragrant gum distilled from a tree found Persia, Arabia and India. Frankincense is burned as a sweet incense during worship. During the Exodus Aaron would burn frankincense at the altar as a sweet offering to the Lord.
Symbolically, frankincense represents Jesus’ divinity. He’s not just an earthly King, but He is a divine King who has come near. This verse ends with “Prayer and praising, voices raising, worshipping God on high. That’s what Christmas is about, isn’t it? It’s about worshipping God on high – worshipping Jesus who is God on high, who came and humbled Himself to be born in a manger.
Myrrh is mine, its bitter perfume, Breathes of life of gathering gloom
Sorrowing, sighing, bleeding, dying, Sealed in the stone-cold tomb
While frankincense represents sweetness, myrrh represents bitterness. Myrrh, like frankincense is an aromatic gum and is distilled from a tree the same way as frankincense. It was used chiefly in embalming the dead because it had the property to preserve.
Symbolically, myrrh represents Jesus as our savior. It acknowledges the human suffering Jesus would experience as a man and is a foreshadowing of His death. Isaiah 53 calls Him the suffering servant and talks about the messiah being a man of sorrows. This verse ends, “sealed in the stone cold tomb.” After the crucifixion Nicodemus brought bitter perfume – aloes and myrrh – for Jesus’ burial. So perhaps myrrh represents the bitterness of the cross that Jesus would have to endure in order to become our Savior.
We come to the final verse . Glorious now behold Him arise, King and God and Sacrifice, Alleluia, Alleluia Sounds through the earth and skies.
This verse goes beyond the account in Matthew 2 and takes us from Jesus’ birth to his resurrection. As we say at Easter, He is risen! He is risen! He is risen from the grave. He’s not there in that tomb that verse four spoke of. King and God and sacrifice – the gold was for Him as a King, the frankincense was for Him as a deity, and the myrrh was for Him as a sacrificial lamb. So all through the earth and skies there is worship of the King, this baby who would die and then rise again is the one true God.
Now we can’t forget about the chorus. “O Star of wonder, star of night, Star with royal beauty bright, Westward leading, still proceeding, Guide us to Thy perfect light.
That star is the feature of the chorus. It is indeed a wonder in the night.. It’s the light that guided the wise men to Jesus. It shone with royal beauty bright. The star is leading them to see true royalty and to encounter the real King.
Westward leading, still proceeding. The wise men came from the east so of course it’s leading them west as they proceed to the place where Jesus is.
Then, guide us to Thy perfect light. As the star is bright and shining, it’s guiding them to the real light, the perfect light, the true light which is Jesus Christ. Jesus said, “I am the light of the world,” and so that’s what the star was all about – leading the wise men to the light of our world, Jesus Christ.
Now something that was not in the carol but is in our verses. The wise men came to Jerusalem seeking the king. We might have thought that the Scribes and Pharisees would have been the first to hasten to Bethlehem on the slightest rumor that the Savior was born. But it was not so. The first to see Jesus were the shepherds mentioned by Luke and now a few unknown strangers from a distant land came to rejoice at His birth.
These verses teach us that there may be knowledge of Scripture in the head, while there is no grace in the heart. King Herod asks the chief priests and teachers of the law where the Christ was to be born.” They knew the answer which shows they are well acquainted with Scripture but they never went to Bethlehem to seek the coming Savior. Let us not be like them.
Instead let us look at the conduct of the wise men which is a splendid example of spiritual diligence. What trouble it must have cost them to travel from their homes to the place where Jesus was born! How many weary miles they must have journeyed!
Also the conduct of the wise men is a striking example of faith. They believed in Christ when they had never seen Him – but that was not all. They believed in Him when the Scribes and Pharisees were unbelieving – but that, again, was not all. They believed in Him when they saw Him as a little infant on Mary’s knee and worshiped Him as a king. Let us be like the wise men, let us be diligent and faithful.
The Jewish people expected the Messiah to come, in fact, they had been longing for his appearance for centuries. What we see here in our celebration of Epiphany is that Jesus came not just to the Jewish people but to all of humankind. This is represented by the coming of the Magi, the Wise Men from the East who sought out the Christ child and honored him. This teaches us how far God can reach to bring all to faith and we can be inspired, once again, by the far-reaching all-encompassing love of God.