Listen to Sermon
Pastor Tom Johnson, January 5, 2020
On Mars Hill, the Apostle Paul talks about how “God made from one man every nation of humankind to live on all the face of the earth…that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us” (Acts 17:26-27). The wise men are from the east. They are not of Jewish ancestry. And yet they are believers. They are just as fearfully and wonderfully made as any of God’s people. God has put in all of us a longing for a relationship with him. The wisdom of the wise men is their teachable spirit and desire to discover God’s promises. They are wise because they seek God’s signs in creation and, even more importantly, the holy Scriptures. They set out on a journey from a far country. They have information King Herod and the Israelites don’t seem to have: they have been watching an astronomical phenomenon—a curious star drawing them near the Christ Child. They are wise because they ask what the Scriptures say about the location of the Child. The chief priests and scribes tell them the prophecy of Micah: “the city of Bethlehem in Judah.”
In contrast to these wise foreigners, all this news and information makes King Herod frightened. The King is scared. And what could possibly make him afraid? The wise men’s question: “Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? King Herod will soon be out of a job. Herod is about to lose his power. The long-awaited Messiah—the King whom God promised to liberate his people and bring peace to the whole world has just been born. Herod’s days as king are numbered. Herod tells the wise men to go search diligently for the child and then come back to him so that he too can worship him. But that is all a lie. God knows the thoughts and intentions of his heart. So God warns the wise men not to go back to Herod. Herod will do the unthinkable. He will try to kill this newborn King by killing all the male children two years and younger in and around Bethlehem. Fear leads him to mass murder. That is how much Herod is held captive by fear and evil.
Fear sends us in the wrong direction. Fear clouds our minds to wisdom. Fear robs us of faith in God. Fear makes us turn to ourselves and not to God in our time of need. Fear prevents us from trusting that the one who is within us is great than the one who is in the world (1 John 4:4). Fear leads us to harm others and ourselves.
We often see the wise men wearing kingly crowns on their heads. They are much more noble than King Herod is. The reverential fear of the Lord—not the fear of losing power—is the beginning of wisdom. Their motive is to worship the newborn King and give him kingly gifts—gold and rare and precious spices. They are eager to lay down their crowns and treasure at the feet of the Christ Child. But what I admire so much about them is their joy. When the star finally leads them to Mary and Jesus, they are “overwhelmed with joy.” This is one of those times the English translation falls short. It says, “they rejoiced with great joy very greatly.” The word “great” is where we get the word “mega.” The wise men had mega joy. And just so we understand, joy is mentioned in its verbal and noun form: rejoice, joy. And there are two intensifiers: greatly, mega. “They greatly rejoice with mega-joy.”
Joy is so vital to our Christian faith. All this talk about Jesus, his birth, the gift of his life, death, and resurrection is not just to make us smarter or even merely wiser. It’s not even just to make us better people. Although those things are important. Our highest honor and our greatest privilege is to participate in joyful worship. The wise men did not come all this way to just be closer in proximity or a little bit wiser but to worship—to kneel down, pay him homage, and give them their very best as offerings of thanksgiving. In the book of Revelation, the sainted elders cast their crowns at the feet of Jesus and say, “Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created” (Revelation 4:11). Just as we sang earlier in the service, “You alone are the Lord, You alone are the Most High.” And later during Communion we will sing, “Holy, holy, holy Lord, Lord God of power and might: heaven and earth are full of your glory. Hosanna in the highest.”
God wants to take us on our own spiritual pilgrimage—our own journey of faith. It is okay that it may feel like a far off country from east or west. The Holy Spirit will draw us through the magnificence and beauty of his creation. He will lead us through trial and temptation and keep us safe by his Word. He makes us teachable and rewards us with the joy of discovery. He leads us again and again to the Christ Child—the One who perfectly reveals the love and wonder of God himself. And he wants us to be filled with amazement each time. God transforms us into joyful and worshipful people. He takes us to the feet of Jesus where we lay down our pride, our treasure, our prayers, our thanksgiving, throw down some serious celebration, and adore the newborn King.
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