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Go West
Matthew 2:1-12
01/06/2008
Welcome to worship today as we celebrate Epiphany. The question everyone seems to have around now is: What is Epiphany? I imagine that if we went around the room tonight about half of us would not know what Epiphany was. Epiphany is the twelth and last day of the season of Christmas. It is the celebration of the visit of the wise men, or magi to Jesus. It was noted that in Luke Jesus is described as being born in a manger in Bethlehem. But when we read Matthew it says that the family is in a house. So, probably some time elapsed between Jesus’ birth and the appearance of these men. Not two years old: Herod slaughtered all males 2 and under.
It is doubtful they would have stayed in Bethlehem very long. They were just passing through to be taxed.But two questions are most prominent in our minds:First, who were these wise men?-Not kings-Nowhere does the Bible say there are three of them, or that one of them is black. It is possible, but these are just legends. There were, however, three gifts, and very expensive ones at that... gold, incense and oil or perfume. They were obviously very wealthy men.-Came from the East, most probably from the area we call Persia, or Iran, although we really don’t know that for certain. Probably all three were rather dark complected.-reported sightings of magi are recorded elsewhere, however. We do know something about their practices. They considered themselves to be prophets and interpreted dreams and omens, such as the signs in the sky. They could be spotted by their dress. They wore white robes with a tall felt cap which had lappets, flaps which came down far enough to cover the jaws. They were a very strange group of people, but very revered in the ancient world. So, when Herod heard that some of them were in Jerusalem claiming to see the sign of the newborn king, he did not take it lightly. He didn’t want any other king. So he had the prophesies checked out. The messiah was to be born in Bethlehem according to Micah.Herod then gets them to tell him when the star appeared, i.e., what time the child was born. And you know the rest of the story. Herod pretends to want to worship Him, but really intends to kill Him. So the wise men resume their long journey and the star appears again. This time it leads them to Bethlehem, just down the road from Jerusalem.
The child was now in a house, and so they find the house and lay presents before Him and worship the newborn king. And God protects Jesus by routing the wise men through another city on the way home.This story is indeed mysterious, but what does it mean to us? Why do we celebrate it even today? I believe that it is in the nature of man to search for things of great value. Who does not dream of finding hidden treasure? Who does not like to find a great bargain? And when royalty is present, have you noticed the crowds which will gather? We celebrate Epiphany, I believe, because people of wisdom still seek Jesus. They still present Jesus with the gift of their best. And if you are a Christian you are to be one of the magi, one who enters a lifelong search for the miraculous gift of God to man.I said that we seek Jesus. The truth is that long before we ever thought of it, God was seeking and searching for us. The story of the Prodigal Son tells us that. This parable might be better called the parable of the Loving Father. Before the son ever came to his senses he had a father who was watching down the road, waiting for him to return.Now people have sometimes sought Jesus for the wrong reasons. In Matthew 2:13 we read that Herod sought Jesus for the purpose of destroying Him. Is it possible that today there are those who still seek Jesus from impure reasons? I believe it is. -money-power-greed-to make a bargain with himIn short, any time we seek God for personal or selfish reasons we are unbalanced. We seek God because God is God and when we seek God we put ourselves in the rightful place of submission as His children.The prophet Isaiah warned the people of wrath to come. And just before he promised restoration of the kingdom he said in 34:16 “Seek from the book of the Lord and read.” One of the ways God has revealed Himself is in His word. It is never too late to start. One of the ways we know whether we are growing in our relationship with God is whether or not we have a real hunger for His word. Not so that we can beat people over the head with quoting scripture verses, but so that we, personally, can know more about this God we claim to worship. Do we delight to spend time with God in His word? Is it perhaps time you returned to Sunday School?
The prophet Zecheriah prophesied of the peace and prosperity to come in Zion. And he said that “all the inhabitants of one city will go to another saying, “Let us go at once to entrerat the favor of the Lord, and to seek the Lord of hosts..." Hear the message. When we seek the Lord, if we are really striving to follow God, we will do it in unity. Let me issue a warning I have said many times from this pulpit: We must strive for unity at all costs. It doesn’t mean we always agree. There is room for honest disagreement. But there is never room in the body of Christ for unloving attitudes and childish treatment of one another. Seeking Christ means we do it in community, in love, and in agreement. We are to go forward in the kingdom with our eyes on Jesus Christ, the Alpha and Omega, and as Zechariah said, we are to do it together. Not just physically, but in unity of purpose and mind. If we say that we love God and do not love our brothers and sisters in Christ, James says that we have, at best, a dead faith.Let me end with some really good news. God wants to be sought. And God promises that if we will seek Him, like the wise men, we will find Christ. Deuteronomy 5: 29 says that “you will seek the Lord, and you will find Him if you search for Him with all your heart and your soul.”Do we really want God’s presence in our lives? If so, then seek Him. And do it for the right reason. Seek God in prayer and repentance. Seek God in His word. Seek God in unity. And seek God with all that is within us. Let us pray.
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