Jesus is the Light to lighten the Gentiles.                                                                                                Matthew 2:1-12

1.  He was the Magi’s Light.

2.  He is our Light.

How far did you travel to get here this morning—five miles?  Fifteen miles?  Fifty miles?  Imagine traveling five hundred miles, or fifteen hundred miles!  You’d really have to want to worship in order to travel that kind of distance.  Somewhere between 500 and 1,500 miles, is the distance the Magi probably traveled to worship their King, the One they referred to as the King of the Jews.  Can you imagine traveling that kind of distance to go to worship?  I don’t think we can.  Besides, who needs to?  We have the luxury of having churches scattered all over the country.  But imagine living in a time when there was no such thing as a Christian church.  The Magi weren’t merely going to a house of worship, they were going to a special house to worship.

What in the world led them to go all that way to worship?  Actually it was nothing at all in the world that led them.  It was, in fact, something out of this world.  It was a star—a special light sent by God to guide the Magi to the newborn Savior.  Just imagine, God used the light of a star to guide the Magi to the Light of the world—Jesus, the Light to lighten the Gentiles.  (1) He was the Magi’s Light.  (2) He is our Light.

1.

In the first verse of our text Matthew writes: “Magi from the east came to Jerusalem .”  We know very little about the Magi.  As best we can tell they were astronomers or scientists or philosophers from the east.  Our text doesn’t give us many clues about them, but we do know this: they came from a land shrouded in darkness.  We can be sure of that because they came from a country of this world, and every country of this world was similar in that respect.  They were all shrouded in sin and darkness and unbelief.  Maybe the Magi came from the area of modern day Iraq —five hundred miles due east.  Or maybe they came a greater distance; we don’t know for sure.  Conceivably they could have traveled for months.  Regardless of where these Gentiles came from, what matters is why they came.  Somehow in some way the wonderful message of the Savior’s birth was revealed to the Magi.  They had been brought out of spiritual darkness and into the wonderful light of the knowledge that their Savior had been born.  How that happened God doesn’t tell us.  What matters is that it happened.  That truly is the miracle of the Epiphany.  In light of their knowledge of the Savior, their eagerness to worship Him made the distance they traveled insignificant.  They were on a quest, and yet they weren’t alone on that quest.  The Lord God Himself was guiding them by the light of the star so that they would ultimately find the Light of the Gentiles—Jesus—the One they were looking for.  So, when they arrived in Jerusalem they didn’t ask if the king of the Jews had been born, they asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.”

They knew that the Christ had been born, what they didn’t know is where they could find Him.  Imagine their surprise, and perhaps dismay, when they posed their question to the citizens of Jerusalem and the response they got back was: “Huh?  What are you talking about?”  Apparently the people of Jerusalem were clueless about the Christ’s birth.  A few miles to the north in the little town of Bethlehem things where different.  There the news had gotten out.  In fact, it was heralded by angels and proclaimed by shepherds the very night of Jesus’ birth.  But as wonderful as the news was, it hadn’t as yet made its way to the capital city of Jerusalem .

While the wise men sought after the One who was born king of the Jews, living in a palace in Jerusalem was one who fancied himself the king of the Jews.  Our text calls him King Herod; he is known in secular history as Herod the Great.  However, Herod was “great” only in his lust for power.  King Herod had caught wind of the inquiry that was being made by the Magi; remember they were asking, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews?”  Matthew tells us, “When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him.”  Herod was disturbed because he feared that his own rule, which was given to him by the Roman Emperor, was threatened by this One who was “born king of the Jews.”  And to borrow an old axiom: “if Herod not happy, ain’t nobody happy.”  The people living in Jerusalem had seen enough of Herod’s tyrannical behavior to know that anyone other than Herod referred to as “king of the Jews” had better watch his back.

Rather than seeing the Christ-Child as his Savior from sin, wicked King Herod felt threatened by this baby whom he feared would lay hold of his precious throne.  He didn’t realize that Jesus had no interest in an earthly reign.  Similarly, individual sinners are also threatened by the Christ-Child.  Even though Jesus comes in peace, with gentleness and love for all, sinful mankind rejects Him because Jesus wants to reign in our hearts by His word.  According to our sinful nature we want to be the masters of our own destiny; we want to call the shots and remain enthroned at the center of our lives.  To the sinful mind of man, Jesus is a threat—a threat to our way of life, a threat to our comfort, a threat to our happiness.  Our sinful human reason doesn’t see Jesus as the Savior who can set us free from our worst enemies.  The old Adam perceives Jesus as the enemy.

In his wrong-headed and irrational fears, Herod intended to murder the Christ-child.  The sad truth is that according to our old Adam you and I would have been pleased to join in Herod’s plot.  If it were not for the miracle of the Epiphany in our hearts we too would be able to do nothing more than rebel and resist and refuse to believe in Jesus or follow Him anywhere.

2.

Just as Jesus was the Magi’s light—the Light to lighten the Gentiles—Jesus is our Light too.  Thank God that He has turned our darkened hearts to light.  By His grace the Holy Spirit has revealed the Light of Christ to us.  Our eyes have been opened by the Spirit of God to trust in Christ and to see that this King is no tyrant.  By the gift of His grace we have the peace of sins forgiven, the joy of the promise of heaven, strength for facing challenges on earth and confidence in the face of death.

What a great testimony it is to the mercy and love of a wondrous God, who saw fit to lead the Magi into the very presence of their Savior.  By His grace God has led us to the very same place.  Truly, those living in the land of darkness have seen a great light.  The Magi were overjoyed not only because they saw the star, but because of what that star meant for them—because of the One illuminated by the light of that star—“the true light that gives light to every man.”

We might wonder why the Magi were made to go to Jerusalem at all.  God could have easily led the Magi directly to the cradle of the Christ-Child without a detour to Jerusalem , but in His wisdom He didn’t do that.  By letting the Magi begin their search in Jerusalem , God was giving an opportunity for the testimony of His word to be heard.  Herod was forced to ask where the Christ would be born, and the chief priests and teachers of the law responded: “In Bethlehem in Judea, for this is what the prophet has written: ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will be the shepherd of my people Israel.’”  It’s ironic that, armed with the Biblical facts, it was Herod himself who sent the Magi on their way to finish the last leg of their journey.  And when they arrived at the house where Jesus was they opened up their treasures to Him.  In addition to their riches they poured out their worship and praises to Him who is the Light to lighten the Gentiles.

Jesus is our Light as well.  Surely, no gift that we could ever give to Jesus could compare with the wondrous gifts that God has already lavished on us.  God has given us His Son.  Jesus has offered Himself as a payment for our sins.  He has redeemed us by His own precious blood.  He has revealed His plan of salvation to us.  He has made us heirs of God with full rights as sons.  We who were Gentiles and not His people are now the very people of God.  Consider the depths of darkness from which Christ has rescued you to bring you into the light of His love.  What gifts will we now bring to the Christ out of thankfulness?  The Magi brought gold, frankincense and myrrh—costly gifts befitting a king.  You and I bring our time, our talents and our treasures.  Are they our best, fit for a King?  What do we have that we did not receive from God’s gracious hand?  What do we know of Christ that was not revealed to us by God?  No distance is ever too great, no time commitment is ever too long, no cost is ever too much to worship our Lord Jesus Christ—our God and our King. 

We have been truly blessed that we might be a blessing to others.  The Light of Christ Jesus was shown to the Magi.  His light has been shown to us as well, and the Light of Christ will also shine through us to others through our personal witness.  Thanks be to God!  We have the honor of being a part of His eternal plan and sharers in the work of proclaiming the gospel.

When the Magi were “warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.”  I’ve got to believe that they didn’t sneak back into their country and remain silent about all that they had seen and heard.  They must have been vocal and joyous about seeing their Savior.  That’s what hearts touched by the love of God do.  They overflow with thanksgiving and praise and proclamation, because of God’s generosity.  As you return home from your worship of the Lord, with your heart touched by God’s love, overflowing with praise and thanksgiving, joyously tell all that God has done for you!  Talk about your Savior—Jesus your light!  Amen.