WISEMEN
(Mt.2:1-12)
Tradition has it that there were three wisemen and their names were Balthazar, Melchoir, and Gaspar, but in the Bible it simply says that wisemen from the East came to Jerusalem saying: “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the East, and have come to worship him.”
What is more significant than how many wisemen there were or what were their names is the sovereignty of God we see in those who were chosen to receive the
announcement of Jesus’ birth, mainly, the shepherds on the hillside at night and these wisemen. You would think that God would have notified the “religious faithful”, the high priest, some of the elite religious leaders of the day, but they like so many others were “in the dark”. Some simple lowly shepherds who weren’t terribly religious and these wisemen from a long way away (other than
Joseph and Mary) were the only ones we are told, who by the grace and sovereignty of God, knew that the very living God, creator of all the universe, the judge of every man’s soul had come in flesh and blood, born as a child in Bethlehem. We could speculate a long time why the Lord God selected only these few to tell, but it should be a reminder to us that the Lord will have mercy on whom He chooses to have mercy just as Jesus was later to repeat in the parable of the workers when the landowner throughout the day continued to hire workers for his farm and then at the end of the day chose to pay them all the same wage.
This morning I want us to consider a few lessons from the story of these wisemen.
First, they came asking: Where is he? When in your life have you asked that question? Where is Jesus? Where is the God of Heaven? Most people only ask that question at a time of death or tragedy, as we saw again after September 11 when people flocked to churches and synagogues and mosques looking for comfort and hope-- looking for a Savior in the midst of their sorrow and pain.
Some asking in anger where is this God of love and comfort? Some asking in guilt and shame from a self-willed life that had no time for religious things -
where is He, the God who determines all of history? We ban Him from our schools and workplaces, we have no time for Him at home and then when war or hardship come, we want His safety and security; we want His blessing and supply.
Some ask the question from an internal yearning to know and understand what this life is all about? They see the stars in the Heavens as part of a magnificent and unexplainably beautiful universe; they hear preacher after preacher proclaiming“the word of God; they see the sinfulness of men; they understand both the ups and downs of life of life as they have experienced them. And as a result of all this and more, these people have a genuine yearning to know- where is He, this one called Jesus, the Savior of the world.
And don’t think they found Jesus in an instant; most scholars believe that the journey of the wisemen took months, even years. It was not an easy journey- travel conditions were at times very difficult due to the weather or to the terrain or the threat of robbery- only the star they saw in the East was their one assurance to carry on the sometimes very difficult and dangerous search. And perhaps for some of you here today, you may feel a kinship to those wisemen in that you too have been on a search to know, to see this Jesus, the Savior of the world.
You come to church or try to read the Bible and pray but He, the Christ, is not to be found- you may feel no closer to finding Him than when you first started your search years ago. There is no star in the East that you can follow other than this nagging feeling you can’t get rid of that there has to be something more to life if I can just find it.
To you who are searching, asking where is this Jesus, look again at the determination and perseverance of these wisemen. Many people including Christian people tire or become frustrated with the search and say to themselves it is enough that I go to church; I have been baptized; I take communion and do
good deeds, but Jesus remains hidden to them; it would be like the wisemen saying it is enough that we saw His star; enough that we made it to Jerusalem; the search has been long and hard and we gave it our best shot; but we still believe He, the Savior, is out there somewhere; we must return home now. Instead they were wise enough and brave enough to carry on and follow the inner urging God had given them in their hearts. So boldly they went to Herod, the King and asked: where is He who has been born King of the Jews?
And Herod after conferring with the Jewish High priest found the answer that the Christ was to be born in Bethlehem and told the wisemen to go there and find Him and then return to Herod and tell him so he too could worship the newborn king.
And Scripture says that when the wisemen headed for Bethlehem, that the star they had seen now went again before them until it rested over the place where the child was. Seek and you shall find, Jesus was to teach later, and so these wisemen are an example to all of us-- not to end our search for Jesus Christ until we have found Him-- do not be content with just coming to church and seeing your friends, do not give in to the compromise that at least you joined a church and had the sacraments, do not convince yourself that it enough to love and live a good life-- the goal is not church membership or good living; the goal is Jesus Christ to know Him personally, to love Him unconditionally but most of all as these wisemen teach us: to worship Him: We saw His star in the East and have come to worship Him.
The Bible describes the scene like this:
“…and going into the house the wisemen saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshipped him.”
This is not a circus sideshow where you buy your ticket, enter the tent to stand and gawk at some highly unusual sight and then leave.
And this is no place for us to be entertained as so many expect the church service to be-- with wonderful music and great oratory preaching -- where I can come,
sit, watch, feel good and leave.
For we have come to worship Him-- not to see Him, like you come to see a celebrity, not to have Him make me feel good; but to fall down on their knees and
to worship Jesus Christ as Lord and King. It is not me that is to be satisfied, it is not me that matters; it is He, the King of Kings and Lord of Lord who shall reign forever and ever, it is He the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world
---it is He who will die on a cross and shed His blood that sins may be washed away and the elect be dressed in His righteousness before the Father
---it is He who dead and buried will arise in three days, victorious over sin and death and ascend into Heaven and given all authority in Heaven and in
earth will come again in triumph and glory to rapture His Church.
No, it is not me or them; it is Jesus Christ that I will seek and find and finally worship.
The wisemen are wise:
--- because they know whom they are looking for,the King of Kings
---because they don’t give up, whether the journey takes months or years, whether the Star is bright or temporally hidden, they persevere with a faith driven by a God-given passion for Jesus Christ
---because when they see the child they worshipped Him, not for anything He might do for them, but solely for the honor and glory they might render to God now come incarnate.
And the truth of their worship speaks even louder to us as they offer costly and precious gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Anyone of us here knows that the moment someone has truly captured our heart, we are unrestrained in our giving. And when you and I have searched for this Savior and found Him,when with eyes of faith we have beheld Him and given our self to Him, then like the woman with the precious ointment in the alabaster jar and these wisemen with expensive gifts, we too will pour out from our hearts in overflowing love and adoration, gifts of untold value.
Oh, to love someone that much and greater still to give so freely so much can surely take one from the realm of self into the heavenly corridors of glory where even this day the angels in Heaven surround the throne of God and like the sound of mighty thunderpeals cry out in worship:
Hallelujah ! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns.
Let us rejoice and exult and give Him the glory….. (Rev.19:6-7)
That day is sure to come for each of us if like those wisemen we too will see His star in the East and come to worship Him.
