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In the name of Jesus, Amen. He has crammed just about every word for joy in the smallest possible space. Listen to what happens with these wise men when they see the star, which apparently had disappeared for a little while while they got to Jerusalem, and then the scribes called by Herod tell them that the Messiah is going to be born in Bethlehem, and then they go on the way. And then it stops over the house where Jesus is with Mary and Joseph.
And listen to what it says. This is crampacked. They saw the star. They rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. Now, maybe for us it’s good to think tonight: When is the last time that you have rejoiced exceedingly with great joy? Right? You would think, well, maybe last week I was happy about something or I laughed at a joke yesterday, but this is over the top. If you were with the wise men that day, if you were one of the servants that was accompanying them, or one of the soldiers, or one of the guards that was holding their treasures of gold and frankincense and whatever, and you would have seen them, and they looked at the star, and then they just start laughing, and their faces are smiling, and they’re weeping, and they can’t contain themselves because they know where to find their God and Savior.
They know that He’s right there. And they’re rejoicing exceedingly with great joy. There’s nothing more that they could want, nothing more that they could desire, nothing more that they could have than this great gift that the one promised, the Savior of the world, the King of the world, the sacrifice for sins, God in the flesh was there for them.
Now, we know that they believe this marvelously. I mean, there’s a lot of mysteries in the text, like who are these guys? Where did they come from? How did they know that the star meant that the king of the Jews was born? I mean, our best guess is that they were from Babylon, and the prophet Daniel had taught them to expect this, maybe from teaching them the prophecy of Balaam from Numbers and some of the Psalms. This is our best guess.
And so they’re waiting for centuries and centuries, and then finally the star is there, so they know where to go, Jerusalem. And they figure that if it’s the king of the Jews, he’s probably in the castle, so they go and knock on the castle door, and Herod is there, who, by the way, whose title is the king of the Jews, which describes probably or helps understand why Herod was not so pleased with his visit. And so he calls together the scribes, and they said, well, he’s not here. He’s not born in Jerusalem, not born in the capital. He’s going to be born down there in Bethlehem. And they believe the word and they go.
And what do they do? When they see the house, they come into the house and they fall down in worship, and they open their treasures and they give to our Lord Jesus gold and frankincense and myrrh. Now, I want this to be a confession of their faith. It’s not just that they were bringing gifts for the king. And as my dad always, he, my dad loves to talk about how the holy family would have been stranded in Bethlehem had the kings or the wise men not given them provision to be able to flee to Egypt. It’s amazing how the Lord provides just when we need it.
But these gifts that come from these wise men are confessions. With the gold, they’re confessing that this child is the king of the Jews. And not just the king of the Jews, the king of the world. Right? With the frankincense, they’re confessing that this is the greatest of all the high priests who will offer his prayers for us. And with the myrrh, they’re confessing that this is the one who will die as the sacrifice for all of our sins. That’s what they would anoint the bodies with, myrrh.
But maybe more than all of this, than their confession of Christ, this baby as king and the wildest thing of all: they fall down on their knees, they fall down on their faces, and they worship him and so confess that he is their God. I think I’ve told you this before, that Luther, who loves to preach on this text, who imagines being there that night and just walking by, like you’re out walking your dog on the streets of Bethlehem, and you walk by the house, and you look in the window, and you’re like, what are these guys doing? These crazy three rich, wise, kingly magi from the east, and they park their camels all the wrong way on the street, and now they’re in there at this house, and they’re falling down on their faces, and they’re worshiping a baby?
What great fools they seem… to the eyes of the world, to the eyes of the flesh, to the eyes of unbelief. But to us, to you who believe, to you the baptized, they are the great example of faith. They know that this baby is God in the flesh, king of the universe, savior of the world, high priest who intercedes for us. They know where to find their God and Savior, and so they rejoice exceedingly with great joy.
And dear saints, the same is true for us. You know the same things they know. In fact, you might even know a little bit more. You have been guided by the Word of God to find your God in the flesh and blood of Christ. You’ve been led by the Holy Spirit to know where He is, that He’s with you even now in His Word, that He abides with you never to forsake you.
And even there on the altar, I don’t know if… You know, someone’s out walking their dog and walking by here, and they’re going to see you on your knees up here and say, what great fools these people are, but you have this great wisdom of faith. You know where to find your God. You know where to find your Savior. Or maybe even a little bit better, you know where he finds you, at his altar with his great gifts.
So this is what the Lord has set before us, this epiphany. This is the work that he wants to give to you tonight. This is the command and the example that he wants you to take to heart. Ready? Rejoice exceedingly with great joy. The Lord is here with you. May God grant us this abiding joy and peace.
In the name of Jesus, Amen. The peace of God which passes all understanding, guard your hearts and minds through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.