Jan. 7 Sermon - Bible Study on Matthew 2:1-12
You know the story of the Wise Men - but what does it mean for us? To answer that question you need to know a
little about the structure of Matthew’s gospel.
Matthew’s account of the events surrounding Jesus’ birth is organized
around five prophecies from the Old Testament.
For example, in today’s reading, Jesus’ birth in
For the reader who really knows his or her Bible, that short reading
also includes allusions to passages in the books of Samuel and Isaiah and also
to Psalm 72.
Presumably, Matthew was written for Christians with a Jewish
background, who were raised reading the Old Testament – and who still cherished
their Jewish Heritage. So the gospel shows them that Jesus is not only a part
of that tradition but is the fulfillment of it.
Then, surprisingly, the heroes in Matthew’s account of Jesus’ birth are
not Jews, but outsiders – Gentile stargazers, who do not know the Hebrew scriptures.
Why did Matthew, writing for Jewish Christians, emphasize the part of
the story in which non-Jews seek, and worship the new born king of the Jews?
And what might be the message for us?
To answer that question, you need to know one more thing about the
stories of Jesus’ birth in the gospel.
These brief accounts are meant to be an introduction to the whole
gospel. They point ahead to what will
happen in the rest of the book – all the way to the last chapters.
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The magi – the wise men – came to
Herod was frightened. He wasn’t a Jew, but had been appointed King of
the Jews by the Romans. He wanted to
keep his job at all costs, and began to plot to get rid of this new-born
contender for his throne.
The chief priest and scribes – the religious leaders and scholars –
know where to go for the answer –the scriptures. The prophets had foretold that the Messiah
would be born in little
They know the scriptures, but they have no interest in seeking the
Messiah or worshipping him.
The wise men, on the other hand, equipped with this information,
continue their journey to bring homage to the King of the Jews.
So in just a few verses, we get a preview of how people will react to
Jesus when he grows up and begins his ministry.
Some will respond as did the Wise Men.
They will come to Jesus – and accept Him as their Lord, worshipping Him.
But others will show the same indifference as those scribes in today’s
gospel. The Pharisees, who like the
scribes know the scriptures, generally will not accept Jesus, but will
challenge and oppose Him.
Finally, still others will be like Herod. Pilate and the chief priests will try to
destroy Him.
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We started with a question: Why
does Matthew, writing for Jewish Christians, tell the story of Jesus birth in
the way he does: On the one hand, pointing out that Jesus fulfills the Old
Testament prophecies, but on the other hand, making the heroes of this
particular story some non-Jews who seek out and worship him?
Again the answer both looks back to the Old Testament – and ahead to
last chapter of the gospel.
The Magi are the beginning of the fulfillment of the promise that
people of all nations – both Jews and Gentiles – will come to the Lord God, as
our lesson from Isaiah foretold:
For darkness shall cover the earth... but the Lord
will arise upon you, and the glory of the Lord will appear before you. Nations shall come to your light, and kings to
the brightness of your dawn…They shall bring gold and frankincense... 60:2,3,6
And psalm 72,
All kings shall bow
down before him,
and all the nations do him service. [10,11]
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These texts have inspired artists to express the meaning of the story
by depicting three kings, each of them as from a different race – perhaps
African and Arab and even Asian kings offering gifts to Jesus.
The fulfillment of this universal promise begins at Jesus birth –
continues in His ministry when outsiders come to him – and then becomes the
mission of the church.
So Matthew is telling the Jewish Christians that they should welcome
people of every race and nation into their fellowship.
At the same time, he assures them that this does not mean giving up
their Jewish heritage, but rather fulfilling it and passing it on to those
outside it. That is in accordance
with God’s eternal purpose, as Paul says in our second lesson:
In former generations this mystery was not made known…
but now it has been revealed… that is, the Gentiles have become fellow heirs,
members of the same body, and sharers in the promise in Christ Jesus through
the gospel. Ephesians 3:5,6
Not only are these Gentiles – these outsiders welcome, but they are
fellow heirs – equal in God’s eyes. This
diverse group is to be united in one community under the rule of Christ.
The task, Paul says, is to bring the Gentiles- those not like us
- the good news of the boundless riches of Christ. 8
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The journey of the Wise Men ended with them kneeling before Jesus and
worshipping Him.
Matthew’s gospel ends when, sometime after the resurrection, the risen
Christ appears to His disciples – and they, like the Wise men, kneel down and
worship Him. Then Jesus commands
“Go. Make
disciples of all nations, baptizing… teaching…” 28:17,18
Those Wise Men were just the
beginning in fulfilling the prophecy of Isaiah that people of all nations shall
come to worship the Lord. The disciples
of Jesus now must be the light to the nations so that all people may come to
know Christ.
Go make disciples of all – get moving and reach out to all kinds of
people – to the Gentiles – those not like us.
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Probably in most churches there is a tendency to reach out to people
who are like us. For example, some
Lutheran congregations thought their primary mission was to minister to folks
with a Lutheran background. They
unconsciously “spoke Lutheran” and sang Lutheran hymns.
But Matthew suggests that a congregation can be faithful to its
tradition and proud of its heritage – just like those early Jewish-Christian
churches – and still be obedient to Christ’s mandate – Go and reach out – make
disciples of all.
In the story of the Wise Men, Matthew reminds us that there are always
seekers out there. Perhaps, these
seekers do not really know the scriptures, but they are seeking God – they need
to be pointed in the right direction.
Ultimately these seekers can become worshippers. And they come bearing gifts – themselves,
their view points, their talents – and thus their presence would enrich
us. Their value to our community is that
they are “not like us”. That’s a good
translation of that Biblical word “Gentile” – not like us.
Their diversity enriches us.
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We are blessed by the variety in our congregation, and we’ll celebrate
that diversity in two weeks on Heritage Sunday.
We’ll celebrate with hymns and songs from many different nations and
cultures. After the service we’ll enjoy
your culinary contributions at a potluck.
The variety of dishes that we’ll savor demonstrates how diversity does
enrich our lives.
But more than simply enjoying the diverse foods, a fellowship event is
always an opportunity to enjoy our diverse personalities and backgrounds. I hope you’ll use it as an opportunity to get
acquainted with some members you don’t know.
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God led the wise men with light in the sky.
Where would
he lead us by the light of His Word?
Perhaps first to each other - and then to those not like us.
God’s vision for His people is a universal one, for it embraces all the
different kinds of people he has made.
He made us to be different so that we could not only appreciate, but
enjoy the diversity. He encourages us to
broaden our circle from those who are like us to intentionally include those
who are different.
God’s ways are not our ways. The
most natural tendency is to associate with those with whom we have things in
common. Yet the Lord would draw us into
fellowship others, that we might learn from them – and broaden our outlook – or
simply appreciate the difference.
He assures us that the real basis of our fellowship is not based on
human affinity, but rather on being members of the same body – the body of
Christ – and sharers in the promise of God through the gospel.