Summary: There are many mysteries in the New Testament; this is one of the biggest reveal by Paul. Soak it up and set yourself free.
Isaiah 60:1-6 Ephesians 3:1-12 Matthew 2:1-12 Psalm 72:1-7,10-14
This sermon was delivered to the congregation of St Oswald’s in Maybole, Ayrshire, Scotland on the 6th January 2013: by Gordon McCulloch (A Scottish Episcopal Church in the Dioceses of Glasgow and Dumfries).
Prayer: In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit let these words bring you honour, and help us understand your great plan of salvation. Amen.
Introduction.
Today is Epiphany Sunday, so I will begin by asking a rhetorical question, what exactly does “epiphany” mean? An epiphany is a revelation; a deep awareness of something; it is that point in time when you suddenly realise a higher truth about something.
For example, somebody could phone you, and although the person seems to know all about you, you have absolutely no idea of who they are, or what they are talking about; then a keyword or phase is said, and then suddenly everything fits into place. You suddenly know exactly who they are, and possible what they are calling for; the “Ah Ha moment”.
(1st Mystery is Pauls convertion)
In today’s text in Ephesians, Paul talks about the mystery revealed to him. In fact there were many mysteries revealed to Paul, not just the big one, his conversion on the road to Damascus, when he had his encounter with God; and which resulted in him, radically changing his ways.'
In the first three verses of chapter three, Paul is defending himself as an apostle. Paul, originally called Saul, was one of the most vicious persecutors of the Church; he was a murderer and fanatic, who sought to stamp out Christianity with brutality, so can forgive those who where sceptic at his conversion.
In fact, the conversion of Paul has been compared to converting Osama Bin Laden to Christianity, as this would be no less of a miracle. Saul was a zealot for his religion, willing to murder for his cause, and yet, God chose HIM of all people to be his spokesman.
After Paul’s conversion, many did not believe him and sought to cast him away, so you can see where Paul is coming from when he says that he is now in prison for preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ; reminding them of the work he did by God’s Grace in Ephesus; to the Gentiles, as well as to the Jews.
Paul’s first mystery was in finding why God chose him, a gentile, to preach the Gospel of Grace, instead of choosing one of God Jewish believers and followers. God chose an absolute enemy of Christ, the murderer of Christians, to carry out his will.
2nd mystery gospel is to be preached to all nations.
The second mystery I want to talk about is preaching the Gospel to all nations and not just the Jews, thereby making Gentiles co-heirs together with Israel.
At first sight this doesn’t sound intriguing, but it is. Paul said that this mystery was kept hidden by God, but it was revealed in the Old Testament, which as we all know is a book about how God would keep his promise of the Saviour alive through the Jews, the Jews being God’s chosen people.
So where do we, the Gentiles fit in, because the Old testament is basically a history of God’s chosen people, the Jews; who were basically encouraged into Egypt, then re-established in Canaan, defeated and carted of to Babylon, and then reinstated to Israel; to whom Jesus himself was finally born.
Never in the Old Testament do the non-Jewish people, like us take a major part. We are part of the Canaanites and the Assyrians and the Babylonians and the Egyptians who were all actually referred to as the enemies of God, or the enemies of God’s people, the Jews.
In fact, when the gentiles were mentioned, they were normally defeated and wiped out by the Jews; being described as people walking in darkness, or as people on their way to hell.
So our mystery here is that if God loved the Jews so much, and hated the Gentiles, why are we here today worshipping Jesus, with and the Jews in their synagogues denying him? There has been a drastic transformation somewhere!
Yet, in the Old Testament, God made it clear that he wanted non-Jews to be saved as well as the Jews.
1. God promised Abraham that all nations on earth will be blessed through his offspring;
2. when the Jews entered the Promised Land, the Gibeonites were allowed to be a part of the Jewish community and,
3. Isaiah 42:6 says ”I the LORD have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles”.
There are many verses in the Old Testament which says the Gentiles are favoured, you could also add, Isaiah 11:10 “And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious”.
3rd Mystery, how is God going to save the gentiles?
So the Old Testament is pretty clear, the Gentiles or heathens are to be saved along with God’s chosen people; and so we come to our 3rd mystery, how is God going to save the gentiles?
Well Paul explained this in verse 5 “in former generations this mystery was not made known to humankind, as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles, and prophets by the (Holy) Spirit: that is, the Gentiles have become fellow-heirs, members of the same body, and sharers in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.”
Do you see the words, “Through the gospel”, the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, through the gospel”, that is the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.
God took Jesus, (His only Son), and nailed him to the cross for a crime that he did not commit. Why he did this was such a mystery at the time, to blame his own son, sentence him to suffering and death, and then send him into hell when he was innocent of all charges?
This mystery that has been revealed here is God’s grace. Grace is God’s undeserved love. We do not deserve God to love us, because God absolutely abhors hates sin, and we do nothing but sin, small sins are just the same as large sins to God, God demands perfection, and because we are weak, because we sins, God just cannot commune with us.
The only way God could reach us, was to sentence his own unblemished son to die for us, instead of us, to be punished for our sins, and that way he could meet and commune with us. Yet even before the crucifixion, John 3:15, says “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life”.
God loved us so much that he sent his son to die for us. Jesus was first punished for us, and then executed instead of us. You see Jesus had to be the son of God to free all of us. If he was not the son of God, then only those in close relation to him would be saved, and that itself is a huge epiphany in itself. This alone proves that Jesus is God’s own son.
This is the very essence of our salvation. That when Christ, (the son of God), was on that cross, all the sins of the world were crucified in Christ.
John 3:17 ”For God did not sent his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: and he that believeth not in him is condemned already”.
This is what I keep saying in my sermons, all we need for salvation is to believe that Jesus is Lord. It has absolutely nothing to how we behave, or act in our lives, (although this will have consequences), our behaviour has nothing to do with God love, it all has to do with our faith in Jesus.
This is the Gospel that should be preached in every church, and I know it is not, in the most, it is greatly watered down and misinterpreted.
Through belief in Jesus, the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, but not yet. Why, because Israel does not recognise Jesus. Israel refuses to say, Jesus is Lord. However the bible tells us they will, in time. That way, we will all be one in Christ, and co-heirs of eternal salvation because of our faith in Jesus.
There is also a mystery as to why Jesus was a Jew; all of his 12 disciples being Jews, and his ministry predominantly to the Jewish people. That too is a mystery for another sermon, but who would have guessed that the Christian Church would be some predominately Gentile.
The purpose of the season of Epiphany is to show who God is, and how he reveals himself to us, and why Jesus is our Lord.
Now to change the topic, do you remember the 3 wise men, the ones you thought you were going to hear about today? Well there are many mysteries associated with them including; who were they, where they came from and what was the star they followed, but a few.
These too are mysteries but I feel they are not as important as the Gospel itself. It doesn’t really matter who the wise men were, or where they came from, what matters is that they were Gentiles, and they found Jesus.
It was revealed to them somewhere, who Jesus was, that God had come in human flesh to make the payment for their sins; and without that revelation they would never have came.
These Gentiles then could return back to Babylon or wherever it was they came from, with the good news that Christ the Saviour was born, revealing the mystery to them that he was their salvation. What an epiphany for them, as they finally met him.
I mentioned last week that we should try and find out where we would be without the revelation of the intervention of God in our lives. Thinking back to where we came from: we were all born dead in our sins; Satan owned our very soul; and we were all on our way to hell. Notice I am not saying we are on our way to hell, because believing in Jesus takes us in another direction entirely.
Sometimes we do not feel God is near, but think, what if the Holy Spirit withdrew? The fact that we are here worshipping the Lord today is proof that he is with us, and he wants us here this morning.
John 20:31 says “these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is Christ” or as the modern translations say, “Jesus is Lord”. If you can you say Jesus is Lord this morning, then you will have life through his name?
Don’t be afraid to remember your past, I know, I find it difficult, but it always makes me appreciate what God has done for me in Christ. Sometimes we wish we had more, but he has certainly washed us clean; he taken our sins and left them at the cross; he has given us the ability to approach God with confidence, to look him in the face no matter what state we are in, our sin has been completely washed away in the blood of Christ, with whom we now have faith.
It’s wonderful for me to be able to preach this message, I just love it, it is so full of life and hope for the future, and we can never tire of hearing this good news from God; and it is all there in the Gospel.
Through Jesus, I can only but wish you a Happy New Year and all the best 2013. Amen.
Let us pray,
Father, we can only but thank you this morning for Jesus and what he achieved for us on the cross.
We thank you that he took all our sins on the cross with him, and through him we are free to worship you without fear of condemnation.
Father we thank you that you want to commune with us, that you have much to say to us, yet somehow we cannot hear your voice. So for your purposes and glory, speak to us today, enable us to listen to you, and empower us to do what ever you want us to do.
As we enter 2013, we do not know what is ahead of us; but your word says, “Do not worry as Jesus has conquered the world”. Let us enter 2013 with hope and thanks giving, with confidence and praise, that you are our guide, our mentor and protector.
Let 2013 be a victorious year for us; let us be guided from victory to victory; let us live in hope, in love in joy for being alive; and let us live in confidence that we know you, and want to know us more.
Father empower today us to live for you, and not ourselves; let us live knowing that we are promoting your kingdom here on earth; doing the things you want us to do; and giving us that sense of achievement, a sense that you are pleased us, a sense that you love us.
Father, for the name of Jesus, make your presence known.
Amen.
