"Gathered and Rejoicing in God's Word" (Nehemiah 8:1-3, 5-6, 8-10)

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Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Amen! Dear brothers and sisters in Christ:

“All the people gathered as one man into the square before the Water Gate. And they told Ezra the scribe to bring the Book of the Law of Moses that the Lord had commanded Israel” … “And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was above all the people, and as he opened it all the people stood” (Nehemiah 8:1, 5).

 

In today’s Old Testament and Gospel readings, God’s people heard the Word of the Lord. In both circumstances, God’s people wanted to hear the Word of the Lord spoken to them. But how the people reacted to God’s Word is what differs.

 

In our reading from Nehemiah 8, all the people of God are assembled and attentive as they hear the Book of the Law of Moses read to them. And oddly enough, God’s people wanted to hear God’s Word read to them. They urged Ezra the priest to bring the Book of the Law of Moses and read it to them.

 

As a parent of a toddler, Melissa and I get this request a lot from Elsie. “Daddy, read this to me!” “Mommy, read this to me!” Like Elsie who wants to be read to, God’s people desired Ezra to read to them the Scriptures.

 

So, standing on an elevated platform, Ezra reads the Law of Moses to God’s people. 

 

But before I go into what Ezra read, let’s get some context on what led to this moment. You see, God’s people had recently returned to Jerusalem from Babylonian exile. And like many people today, when we get back home, we want to get back to what makes home, feel like home. For God’s people, home meant getting reacquainted with God’s Word and His teaching, so God used Ezra the prophet and Nehemiah the governor to remind His people of His joy for them. God wanted to turn His people’s 70 years of repentance into lasting and ongoing joy.

 

And so, standing on that elevated platform, Ezra reads the Law of Moses to God’s people. And no doubt that there were pauses as Ezra read, since the Levites would have translated and explained the sections of text read to God’s people.

 

But why the translating? Well, for any person who has moved away to a foreign country for a long period of time, you will likely get rusty with your first language. And for God’s people, many of them were rusty, and many of them never heard and never spoke Hebrew. You see, Aramaic was the language spoken when they were captive, so Aramaic became second nature as many lost Hebrew. 

 

For us, it would be like reading Shakespeare or Chaucer today. Yes, they wrote in English, but their English is not today’s English. So, sometimes, we may need to translate old English to modern English.

 

And finishing the reading, “Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God, and all the people answered, ‘Amen, Amen,’ lifting up their hands. And they bowed their heads and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground … [and] the people understood the reading” (Nehemiah 8:5-6, 8).

 

God’s people understood and delighted in hearing the Book of the Law of Moses! They immediately worshiped and confessed Yahweh as their God!

 

Can you imagine such a reaction in hearing God’s inerrant Word in 2025? When the Scriptures are read in the public square or in the Divine Service, how do people in our day typically respond? Is it with the same joy and the same reverence of God’s people then? And what is your response when you hear God’s Word rightly proclaimed?

 

As the Psalmist David wrote, “The Law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple” (Psalm 19:7). God’s Law is perfect because it is His perfect Word. And His Law completely recounts what the Lord has done to redeem His people.

 

Now, you may ask, what exactly did God’s people hear that day? Now, Ezra could have read in entirety the Books of Moses: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. But most likely, Ezra read passages from Exodus and Deuteronomy which describe Yahweh’s covenant with His people, Israel.

 

So, they would have heard about Israel’s release from slavery in Egypt, God’s deliverance in the Red Sea, God’s miracles to preserve His people in the wilderness, God’s Ten Commandments as His will for all time. They would have heard God’s command to teach their children to know, love, and obey the Lord. And they would have heard about the coming Messiah. Such beautiful words of God’s love through His Law and His Gospel! God’s people answered, “Amen, Amen” (Nehemiah 8:6).

 

But even in saying, “Amen, Amen,” God’s people also mourned and wept. They mourned and wept as God’s Law brought the conviction of sin to their hearts. God’s Law pierced them “for the Word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword” (Hebrews 4:12). They realized that they had not lived up to God’s commandments. But then they found peace as God turned their hearts to Him as they found their joy in Him.

 

In hearing God’s Word that day, God’s people learned once again that God had not abandoned them, His chosen nation. Even though sin came through Adam and Eve, and they had sinned against God, God still had not left them. Generation after generation, God continued to invite His people to return to Him.

 

God’s people heard afresh how God delivered their ancestors from Egyptian captivity and caused His glory to dwell with them in the tabernacle. Even the sacrificial system was instituted with its attendant priesthood to provide forgiveness for the people’s failings and sins. 

 

As they heard and took to heart God’s Word, they were surrounded by gracious signs of God’s abiding presence with them: the second temple, Zion’s restoration, and the rebuilt walls of Jerusalem. God had brought home His people after decades in exile. 

 

Then on another day, centuries later at the synagogue in Nazareth, Jesus spoke God’s Word. Jesus was given the scroll of the prophet Isaiah and began speaking. As He finished, He rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down.

 

Immediately, with all the eyes fixed on Jesus, they desired to hear God’s Word interpreted. Filled with anticipation in hearing their son of the congregation speak, Jesus then began speaking saying, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing” (Luke 4:21).

 

Jesus is saying that this Word: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me…” has literally been fulfilled in their hearing. Those words of the prophet have now taken on flesh, stepped off the scroll, and now literally stands right in front of them.

 

And how did the people react? At first “all spoke well of Him and marveled at the gracious words that were coming from His mouth” (Luke 4:22a). But then some said, “Is not this Joseph’s son?”(Luke 4:22b).

 

After hearing Ezra, God’s people rejoiced in hearing God’s Word. But after hearing Jesus, God’s people eventually took to unbelief, as Jesus proved in saying they are like the people of Elijah’s and Elisha’s time. The people in the Nazareth synagogue became “filled with wrath” (Luke 4:28) as their hatred “flared up” at Jesus as they attempted to murder Jesus, but Jesus passes unharmed from their clutches and continues on His way.

 

When people hear God’s Word, there are often different reactions. To those who desire a Savior for their sins, they may rejoice in hearing God’s saving Word. But for others, who do not see any need for a Savior, God’s saving Word is often despised and rejected.

 

But no matter the reaction, Jesus has come to save. You see, Jesus was not just present in Nazareth. Jesus was also present in Jerusalem as Ezra spoke the Book of the Law of Moses. Jesus, the eternal Son of God, inspired Moses, Ezra and Nehemiah.

 

As Ezra spoke the Law of Moses, he spoke “the whole counsel of God,” both Law and Gospel, God’s condemnation of sin and His grace in forgiving sin. He spoke of the coming and promised Messiah. 

 

Likewise, when we hear God’s Word today, we should have much to repent of: false idolatry, lack of forgiveness, sexual immorality. The list goes on. But as we hear God’s Word, let us also turn our hearts to joy as we hear His Gospel, God’s Word of absolution. The Savior which Ezra, Nehemiah and their hearers looked forward to has come. Jesus has taken away sin’s power through His substitutionary atonement upon the cross, so that through His death and His bodily resurrection all who would trust in Him as their Lord and Savior would have life forever!

 

So, let us “eat the fat and drink sweet wine” (Nehemiah 8:10), the body and blood of Jesus broken and shed for us, for the forgiveness of our sins. Let us rejoice as we gather around God’s Word and His Sacraments as they point us to God’s saving gift of forgiveness, life, and salvation won for us as we receive through faith in His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ! Amen.

 

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding,

 keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.  

+ SOLI DEO GLORIA +

"Given a Sign" (John 2:1-11)

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Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Amen! Dear brothers and sisters in Christ:

“This, the first of His signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested His glory. And His disciples believed in Him” (John 2:11).

 

The account of Jesus at the wedding at Cana is often used as an example of the high place Jesus gives to the sanctity of marriage. While it is true that Jesus honors the marriage of husband and wife, St. John tells us that this miracle of Jesus turning water into wine is a sign that manifests Jesus’ glory. St. John tells of the events at Cana for one purpose and one purpose alone: that “His disciples believed in Him” (John 2:11).

 

So, at the wedding in Cana, Jesus gives us a sign that reveals Him as our salvation. 

St. John writes, “This, the first of His signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested His glory. And His disciples believed in Him” (John 2:11). But St. John does not speak of signs as we may think of them. You see, often, we may think of signs as mere symbols, or something that stands for something else. For St. John, this is not the case. For St. John, the word “sign” really means something that points to, or is linked with. Quite literally, the Greek word that we translate for “sign” here means “mystery.” In the same way, “mystery” in Latin is translated as “sacrament.”

 

A sacrament is a mystery and a mystery is a sign that points to something or reveals something hidden from ordinary sight.

 

So, these “signs” reveal something that you would not otherwise know or recognize unless someone or something revealed it to you. A “sign” is something like a gift waiting to be opened. That gift is a mystery until it is opened and revealed. A sign is something visible for our faith to hold on to. And so it is with the Lord’s gifts of His Means of Grace manifested in lowly water, simple bread, and wine. They are signs. They are mysteries. These Means of Grace point to Jesus because they are linked to Jesus. Holy Baptism, Absolution, the Word, and the Lord’s Supper are signs of Jesus’ real bodily presence among us as the Creator and Redeemer. In these signs, we experience the death Jesus died to give us life.

 

This is how Jesus has chosen to reveal Himself to you and to come to you, in signs in which He resides. But there is a problem. Now, the problem is not with the signs. The problem is us. We are all poor, miserable sinners who seek after all sorts of signs, and not just the signs that Jesus has given to us. 

 

You see, sometimes we seek Jesus through emotions, which lift us to heaven so that we can feel His presence, while we ignore Him when He is right in our very presence in water, Word, bread and wine. We often pray for miracles and signs instead of relying on the miracles and signs He has already provided. You may be afraid that Jesus will not fulfill what He has promised unless we see or experience some sort of a miraculous sign.

 

Because of that fear, we often cannot find comfort in what Jesus has already given, so we seek Jesus in the Law. But the thing is, the Law is empty. The Law cannot save you. The Law can only accuse us and destroy us. So many of us have drank this inferior wine and how has it left us? Not satisfied. We drank the bottles dry and all we have left is pain, despair and death.

 

But Jesus came to fulfill the Law. Just as there were six stone jars to be filled, Jesus fulfilled all that was commanded in the Law. He lived the perfect life for you. He accomplished what we are unable to do. And for living the perfect life, He was falsely accused as a blasphemer, a fraud. He would suffer and die as the perfect sacrifice for yours and my sins.

 

We know Jesus was the perfect sacrifice since He is no longer in the grave. He lives! After spending three days in the belly of the earth, He gives us His greatest sign. His grave is empty! He is not there! He is risen! Jesus has fulfilled the Law to the brim, and now His cup of grace runs over.

 

Through His death and bodily resurrection, Jesus now gives us a new and better wine. We are not purified by the Law, but instead by His holy and precious blood shed for you and me for the forgiveness of yours and my sins. In Him and through Him, we are given the gifts of forgiveness, life, and salvation!

 

And Jesus loves life! This is why He came into this fallen and dark world. He came into a world that was made through Him, and yet the world did not know Him. His own people did not recognize Him. They did not receive Him. 

 

On this Sanctity of Human Life Sunday, we recall how many parents sadly do not recognize their own offspring by choosing to live in the dark. This darkness has a name, and it is sin, iniquity, and evil. Many parents only see their offspring as a “choice” rather than a life. But there is an answer for this darkness. You see, “the light shines in the darkness” (John 1:5a). Despite our sinful selves, Jesus enters as He drives away the darkness by His everlasting light. He died blameless to absolve all guilt and He rose from the dead so our consciences would have release.

 

Today, Jesus continues to provide His light through signs that point to Him. He has provided us mysteries in the Sacraments. There, Jesus is hidden in lowly water and simple bread and wine. In these divine miracles, Jesus is revealed to you. In the Sacraments, Jesus continues to reveal Himself as Lord over all creation.

 

As we heard last week, in the waters of Holy Baptism, Jesus says, “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine” (Isaiah 43:1). There in the waters of Holy Baptism, He makes you His own!

 

Now, it’s not the water only that makes you His own, for that is just plain water, but He makes you His own when His Word and command is added to that water.

 

So, just as He turned water into wine, with His Word and by His command, He also gave water the power to redeem you. Baptism is a “washing of regeneration” (Titus 3:5) as it re-creates you in newness of life in Christ Jesus!

 

Likewise, the Lord’s Supper is a sign of your redemption in Jesus Christ. For “the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:7). This is a miracle that we will soon witness as Jesus’ true Body and true Blood under bread and wine forgives your sins and gives you life everlasting. Through these means, He restores His Bride, the Church. 

 

Today, we recall how Jesus began using signs to reveal His glory. And again, a “sign” points to something. And this sign as Jesus turned six water jars into wine provided a physical way to point to a spiritual truth that Jesus is the Son of God. This “sign” proved Jesus’ divine authority and majesty.

 

This, Jesus’ first sign, took place not in Jerusalem, but in the obscure village of Cana in Galilee. 

 

We may have expected a huge crowd of witnesses for this first sign. Instead, without fanfare, Jesus did what God set before Him to do. He needed to reveal Himself as the Messiah to strengthen the faith of His disciples. And He did that. “This, the first of His signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested His glory. And His disciples believed in Him” (John 2:11). They had new evidence that Jesus was the promised Messiah. They saw the glory of God through this sign. We, too, see God’s glory through His Means of Grace, His Word and Sacraments.

 

So now let us do as Mary advised: “Do whatever He tells you” (John 2:5). For Jesus says, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:15) and “Take, eat; this is My body, which is given for you. Take, drink; this is My blood, which is shed for you for the forgiveness of your sins.” Amen.  

 

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding,

 keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.  

+ SOLI DEO GLORIA +

"Fear Not, You Are Mine" (Isaiah 43:1-7)

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Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Amen! Dear brothers and sisters in Christ:

“But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: ‘Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine’” (Isaiah 43:1).

Isaiah 43 begins with an unexpected thought: “But now thus says the Lord…” This is unexpected because the last verse of Isaiah 42 announced God’s burning wrath upon His people. So, why was God full of wrath? It’s because His people did not obey His Law, and they were blind and deaf to all that God had done for them. Because of their sins, God “poured the heat of His anger” (Isaiah 42:25) upon them. But His people still did not change. They did not repent. They remained spiritually blind and spiritually deaf.

 

Since God’s people ignored God, you may expect that God would call upon Isaiah to speak of a fierce judgment. Afterall, they deserved God’s judgment. God would be justified to punish such ungrateful and stubborn people to their own sins.

 

But He does the unexpected. Instead, God says, 

“But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: ‘Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine’” (Isaiah 43:1).

 

Now, these are some unexpected words of love and grace. Despite their spiritual blindness and spiritual deafness, despite their sin, God does not announce His judgment upon their sin. Instead, He says, “Fear not, sinner. Fear not My people. Instead of punishment and judgment, I will give you deliverance.”

 

His unexpected mercy comes for three reasons. 

 

First, the Lord says, “I have redeemed you.” While God’s people were spiritually blind and spiritually deaf, while God’s people were in bondage to their own sinful nature, and while God’s people were headed toward certain judgment, it was the Lord who purchased them out of their predicament. It was the Lord who redeemed them. 

 

And this was a recurring theme. God redeemed Israel when they were in bondage to Egypt. It would be true again when Israel would be taken as prisoners of war and exiled to Babylon. This remains true for every sinner. God has also rescued us from ourselves and rescued us from the consequences of our own sins and failures.

 

You see, the word “redeem” implies that God’s people – you and me – are helplessly trapped and unable to gain our own release from sin’s bondage. We can’t save ourselves. But God says, “Fear not, for I have redeemed you.” Now, that is an unexpected word of comfort and peace. 

 

Second, the Lord says, “I have called you by name.” Despite their unfaithfulness, their spiritual blindness and spiritual deafness, God focused on His people, not as a people group, but individually. You see, the “you” here is singular in Hebrew, not plural. It’s “you,” not “you all.”  This singular “you” denotes a focus that is individual and intimate, particular and personal.

 

God uses this expression, “I have called you by name” elsewhere in Scripture.

§  “The Lord said to Moses, ‘See, I have called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with ability and intelligence, with knowledge and all craftsmanship…’” (Exodus 31:1-4).

§  “And the LORD called again, “Samuel!” and Samuel arose and went to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me’” (1 Samuel 3:6).

§  “The LORD said to [Elijah], “What are you doing here, Elijah?’” (1 Kings 19:9).

§  “The LORD said to [Amos], “Amos, what do you see?” (Amos 7:8).

§  And: “The word of the LORD came to [Jeremiah], saying, ‘Jeremiah, what do you see?”(Jeremiah 1:11).

 

Naming is a claim of ownership. For Jesus says, “To [the Good Shepherd] the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear His voice, and He calls His own sheep by name and leads them out” (John 10:3). Jesus calls His sheep by name. He calls upon everyone who listens to His voice. Jesus calls you by your name.

 

And even more unexpected is what Jesus Christ accomplished for us on this day nearly 2,000 years ago. On this day, we recall how Jesus stood in a line that He didn’t need to stand in. He stood in a line with sinners waiting to be baptized by John the Baptist. 

When Jesus reached the end of the line and met John, John knowing that Jesus was righteous attempted to prevent baptizing Jesus, as he said to Jesus, “I need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?” (Matthew 3:14) But Jesus answered him saying, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness” (Matthew 3:15).

 

This was a shock for John the Baptist. But it all made sense when Jesus was baptized as “the heavens were opened, and the Holy Spirit descended on Him in bodily form, like a dove; and a voice came from heaven, ‘You are My beloved Son; with You I am well pleased’” (Luke 3:21-22).

 

You see, through Christ’s lowering of Himself to a sinner’s baptism, He has affixed the Name of the Triune God upon us who have been baptized into Christ!

 

Third, the Lord says, “You are mine.” We are His possession. God says, “You are mine,” for He has created you. God is the ultimate Creator for He created everything “out of nothing” (Genesis 1:1). Just as God took Israel out of nothing to be His treasured possession, He creates the Church on earth today. St. Peter wrote, “Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy” (1 Peter 2:10). Although we were not God’s people, God created us to be His people as “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for His own possession” (1 Peter 2:9). In those waters of Holy Baptism, God re-created us. He drowned the old Adam so that we would be His new creation in Christ.

 

These words of Isaiah 43:1 were sweet words of comfort for God’s people then. Those words gave comfort to God’s faithful people in the days of Isaiah. Despite all the hardship God’s people went through because of their sins, God claimed them as His special possession. Throughout all those troubled days in Babylonian bondage, these words of God sustained them.

 

These words of Isaiah 43:1 are also sweet words of comfort for God’s people today since He has redeemed us too, but from an even greater bondage. You see, by our sins, we were slaves of sin and thus we were in bondage to eternal death and eternal punishment. Then came Jesus. As He began His public ministry through a sinner’s baptism, He would complete His mission by redeeming us through His blood on Calvary’s cross. There, He redeemed us from the powers of sin, death, and hell.

 

Then, God called you by name when you were washed in the waters of Holy Baptism. And because of your Baptism into Christ, the Holy Spirit brought you to faith, and all who trust in Christ are His possession!

 

In Holy Baptism, Christ gives us His Robe of Righteousness that covers all of our sins. With His Robe, our shame is fully covered, He makes us holy, right, and good before God the Father.

 

Now, armed with Christ’s Robe of Righteousness, Jesus does not promise that we, who are in Christ, will escape all difficulty and pass through life without trouble. So, “when you pass through the waters, [God] will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you” (Isaiah 43:2). By God’s power, Moses made a way through the Red Sea. That deliverance stood in the background of these promises. Just as the Lord had provided such deliverance in the past, He will provide an even greater deliverance in the future!

 

Here, God cites two dangers – water and fire. Water and fire symbolize all dangers God’s people would experience. And as God’s people – you and I – we experience the dangers of this fallen world and God Himself pledges His eternal protection. 

 

Today, the Lord, who created you, the Lord who formed you, the Lord who redeemed you claims you as His own! And even today, the Lord continues to form you and me through His Word. Yes, we often rebel and resist Him. We turn away and try other things to devote our time. Nevertheless, through His Word, the Lord continues to form us, shape us, and mold us to be His people. When we are out of shape and lazy because of our sins, the Lord remolds us with His mercy and grace. Through the confession of our sins, repentance and faith, the Lord reforms us daily in the assurance of forgiveness won for us through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. He loves us. We are His own!

 

God has made us His people, so let us confess Him and serve Him, He who created you, He who formed you, He who redeemed you. We belong to Him. We are His. So, fear not, He has called you by name, you are His! Amen.

 

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding,

 keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.  

+ SOLI DEO GLORIA +

"Revealing God's Unexpected Grace" (Matthew 2:1-12)

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Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Amen! Dear brothers and sisters in Christ:

“Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, ‘Where is He who has been born King of the Jews?” (Matthew 2:1-2a).

 

For “wise men,” these Magi were more foolish than wise. Now, these Magi were educated. They were educated at the universities of their day. They were educated as priests, astronomers and astrologers. Because of their education, they were influential advisors. But they also were men who knew a great deal about the occult arts. And they did not worship the God of Israel. So, nobody would have expected the Magi to search for the promised King of Israel prophesied in the Scriptures.

 

But on this day, as we observe the Epiphany of Our Lord, we find these unlikely men searching for the King of the Jews.

 

For these learned men, they likely learned about the Messiah for whom the Jews were waiting – from Daniel, who served as the presiding officer of the Magi during the Babylonian exile of the Jews. As learned men, they wanted to learn more about the culture around them, so they took seriously the prophecies of the Messiah. In today’s lingo, we could describe the Magi as agnostic. They were curious about the prophecy, but they were not devout believers in the Messiah. They were not Jews, but Gentiles.

 

One day as the Magi were looking up into the sky, they noticed something different. Something was off. They noticed a star that was unlike any other star in the night sky. This star wasn’t there before, and it didn’t act like any other star they had seen. 

 

As astronomers, these Magi noticed this star and they decided to follow this star, since it was moving in the sky. So, they travel west. And they may have recalled Numbers 24:17 which says, “I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near: a star shall come out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel.” Although the true context is that this “star” is the Messiah Himself and not a heavenly body announcing His birth. But again, these men were more foolish than wise.

 

But even in their foolishness, God leads these Gentiles west.

They follow a star, but they wind up not at Jesus’ birthplace in Bethlehem, but in Jerusalem. And when they arrive in Jerusalem, they act more like lost tourists as they say, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews?” (Matthew 2:2)

 

As they wander around Jerusalem, knocking on doors and asking locals at the marketplace where the King has been born, they cause a stir.

 

Now, it was only natural for the Magi to come to the capital city of Jerusalem. That would be the city everyone would expect the King of the Jews to be born. But these men were certainly surprised when everyone they asked offered no information. And after a while, the news of the Magi asking questions came to Herod the Great.

 

Now, Herod had a mixed relationship with the Jews. He was a clever and capable warrior, orator and diplomat. He helped raise money for the poor in Jerusalem. He built theaters to entertain the people. He raised the money to remodel the Temple. But Herod was also cruel, merciless, and extremely jealous. He remodeled the Temple not for any other reason but to make a name for himself and to make Jerusalem a prominent Roman city. He had his wife’s brother drowned. He had his own wife murdered, as well as her mother and three of his own sons. And as Herod neared death, he had the most distinguished citizens of Jerusalem imprisoned for no other reason than that they would be executed at the moment of his own death, so that the people would mourn, since he feared there would only be rejoicing at his death.

 

So, Herod accomplished many building projects, but he was ruthless as king.

 

With all the stir, Herod assembled the chief priests and scribes to inquire of them where the Christ was to be born. After searching the Scriptures, they told Herod, “In Bethlehem of Judea” (Matthew 2:5), which was just a few miles away.

 

Upon finding out the location, Herod summoned the Magi and questioned them. Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word, that I too may come and worship him” (Matthew 2:8).

 

Now, Herod never had any intention to worship the Christ. He only pretended to want to worship Him. What Herod really wanted was the location of this Boy so that he could easily destroy this threat to his personal authority.

 

Then lone and behold, the star appeared to the Magi again. These lost tourists were back on the right road again as they arrived in Bethlehem. Now, like St. Peter, it wasn’t their smarts that revealed the way to the Messiah. Yes, these Magi may have been “book smart,” but they lacked “street smarts.” They lacked true faith. So, just as Jesus said to Peter, “Flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 16:17), it was God the Father using that star to lead the Magi to His only begotten Son.

 

“And going into the house, they saw the Child with Mary His mother, and they fell down and worshiped Him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered Him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh” (Matthew 2:11).

 

When they saw the Child Jesus, they fell down and worshiped Him. These foolish men came to faith.

 

You would have thought that the chief priests and scribes would have looked for the Messiah as soon as they saw the prophecy in Micah 5:2. But they didn’t. They remained in Jerusalem as if this was no big news. Often, when the Gospel goes out, it’s not the righteous, but sinners who respond. It’s not the strong, but the weak. It’s the tax collectors and prostitutes who repent. It’s often not the people you’d expect. 

 

The Magi would have returned to Jerusalem if not for being warned in a dream for they truly believed Herod wished to worship the Christ Child.

 

So, what does this all mean for us? The Magi asked everyone they saw in Jerusalem, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews?” (Matthew 2:2a)

 

Now, it should not have been the Magi asking this question! It should have been the devout Jews who had the Scriptures available to them. The Epiphany moment here, the illuminating discovery, is that the Christ did not come only as the Savior for the Jews, but He came also as the Savior for the Gentiles! Jesus didn’t come as the Savior for a select few, but He came as the Savior for everyone!

 

Through the Magi, God in His wonderful and unexpected grace has revealed His Son to us. For Christ “is the propitiation – the atoning sacrifice – for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole word” (1 John 2:2).

 

The Lord’s leading of the Magi to Bethlehem proves that Jesus has come as the Savior of the world!

We are often like the Magi. If we were in their world of 2,000 years ago, we would have likely sought the King of the Jews in Jerusalem as well. Afterall, that is the expected place for a king to be born.

 

So, do you always look for Jesus in the right places? Maybe you expect Jesus to show up in places according to your expectations. And when you think He isn’t there, you may lose faith. Maybe you ask during struggles, burdens and worries, “Where are You God?”, “Where are You Jesus?”, and “Why don’t you answer my prayers?”

 

But how did the Magi truly locate Jesus? It really wasn’t the star. It was the scribes searching the Scriptures. That is how they got back on the right road. It wasn’t by their intellect – as their intellect only led them to the wrong city. You see, it was only by God’s revealing through Scripture – and then for added measure, God the Father dragging the Magi to the house in Bethlehem via His guiding star.

 

Today, God reveals Himself to us through means that our minds and intellect would not expect. Jesus is as present as He was with the Magi then as we read and hear the Scriptures. Today, Jesus is just as present as with the Magi as we receive His body and blood under bread and wine for the forgiveness of our sins and strength for our faith.

 

So, the next time you have your faith struggle, search for Jesus where He promises to be: His Means of Grace, His Word and Sacraments. Search the Scriptures, for there you will find Jesus and there He answers your prayers. So, read His Word, hear His Word and receive His grace for Jesus has come as Your Savior!

 

So, “arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you” (Isaiah 6:1) as Jesus has come revealing God’s unexpected grace to you! Happy Epiphany! Amen!

 

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding,

 keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.  

+ SOLI DEO GLORIA +