The Possibilities of Epiphany

Welcome and Intro

Good morning Oak Grove. It is a pleasure to be bringing you God’s word this morning.

My name is Randy, I am the pastoral resident at Grace Baptist Church, in west Asheville.

That’s all I will say about me at this moment because you all didn’t come for me, you came to hear the word.

So I invite you to open God’s word with me to the book of Matthew, chapter 2. We will be going through the first 12 verses.

As you are turning there, I want to briefly talk about the reason we’re spending time at this place is scripture. Because as I said the reference, some of you might have immediently picked up on the narrative, and thought wait…these are verses that we read at Christmas.

And you’re right!

Many Christmas sermons, devotionals, or advent countdowns include content from Matthew 2.

But these verses also serve a purpose for today as we find ourselves 11 days removed from Christmas.

Today, in the liturgical calender, is the Sunday of Epiphany.

Now what is Epiphany?

On the liturgical calendar, Epiphany is a church holiday celebrated on January 6th.

In Western History and tradition it is a feast day that commemorates the arrival of the Magi to the nativity scene.

It’s observed in many places in the east, and west, and especially in Mexico where it is called Dia de los Reyes.

And amidst the food, and the activities, and games, it’s core purpose is to remind us of the fact that very shorty after Jesus was born, He fulfilled The prophecy in Isiah 49 and clarified in Luke 2. He was a light of revelation to the gentiles.

A light of revelation that has continued to this day, all the way to you. Today.

What have you done with this revelation? How do you approach Jesus? And not just the baby in the manger, but the Incarnate deity . The second person of the trinity who stepped into your darkness to give you the light of his life.

In these 12 verses we see several people encounter the person of Jesus and they all approach Him differently. and they all leave in different ways.

The way this chapter flows is through 5 divisions.

The Magi arrive in Jerusalem

The priests’ prophecy

Herod’s deceit

The Magi arrive in Bethlehem

The magi leave changed.

From these 5 divisions we will see 4 possibilities of epiphany that will effect your life as a disciple of Christ

Which is why I’ve entitled this sermon: The Possibilities of Epiphany.

And the main point of this scripture that I want you to see is this:

The revelation of Jesus can radically change our lives, and make us true worshippers

Let’s Dive into the text

Read Matthew 2:1-12

We’ve heard this story read to us as many times as we’ve had christmases.

But there are a couple of things that we can probably address together. One is we don’t really know that much about the wise men, or magi.

We don’t know exactly when they arrived on the scene. It could have been 12 days after Jesus’ birth, it could have been 2 years after. We don’t really know how many there were. We get the number 3 from the gifts that they give. But that’s it. Most of what we know about the magi comes from context clues from knowledge of antiquity, and what Matthew says about them in these verses.

So the first thing we see is

The Magi arrive in Jerusalem Vs. 1-3

Read Vs 1-3

We don’t know when they arrive, but we know that after Jesus was born, there are wise men who show up in Jerusalem. The capital city of Israel where the Royal palace of Herod was.

Historically speaking, it is not weird or random for this to happen. Sometimes, we read the Birth account of Luke and are not really shocked at all when angels come down and announce His birth but we are a little confused as to why Magi show up in Jerusalem.

It was common practice in the ancient word to employ Magi and royal advisors. Wisemen, or soothesayers. Men who studied history and astrology would be kept close to the kings and queens and give counsel, help with laws and such, and even strengthen political alliances.

One of the ways this was done, was sending magi to the births of royal families to crown the new born kings and queens. A sign of recognition of the divine right to rule by other nations.

Which is exactly the point that Matthew is trying to make to his original audience. That imeediently and with no mistake. Jesus is the promised messiah, the lion of the tribe of Judah, and the God-King of the jews. And even the other nations knew it.

But they’re expecting the birth of a king so where do they go, the royal palace

They show up and say where is he? We’re here.

We’ve seen the star!

We’ve seen a natural wonder appear. And we know it’s time.

Which is an interesting detail that’s only included in Matthew.

Why did a start show up at Jesus’ birth? And how did these wisemen know about it?

Some scholars believe, and I am convinced as well that these Magi were influenced by the teachings of the only other magi that’s mentioned in Scripture. The jewish slave: Daniel who served as a Magi under king Nebucanezzer, Belshazzar, and King Darius.

Daniel, who would write in the 12th chapter And those who are wise she;; shine like the brightness of the sky above; and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.

Daniel who was acutely aware of the promises of the coming messiah who knew verses like Numbers 24:17

I see him, but not now…I behold him, but not near: a start shall come out of Jacob and a scepter shall rise out of Israel

Application:

Do you have some one in your life that turns you to righteousness?

Or are you that someone? This is what we call discipling relationships. Who are the people that you have the ability to influence them and grow them and be grown by them in your discipleship to Christ? This is an invaluable aspect of the church and It starts simple. Just with influence. And can lead to a life long impact.

Magi hundreds of years after the death of Daniel are able to recall his writings and know when the King is born.

When you leave this earth, who is going to look at your life and your teaching and your influence and know who their true King is?

The Priests Prophecy Vs 4-6

Herod hears the request of the wisemen and he freaks out. So he calls the scribes and pharasiees to him and asks them where is the messiah supposed to be born?

The the will thing is: they know exactly where he is supposed to be born.

Bethlehem. So they tell him directly.

And that’s it….

And that bothers me.

If these magi show up, and start asking where the king of the Jews is? And all of Jerusalem is talking about it, and even the sitting King is nervous about it, and you knew where He was supposed to be born…that should be a good sign that the messiah’s here! Maybe we should get down to Bethlehem and check it out!

But they don’t…

They leave.

And nothing is ever said about them again.

Application

Does it bother you too that that is the scribes and pharasfee’s reaction? It should. It probably shouldn’t surprise you because we know the MO of the Pharisees but it should bother you.

Why is it that the pharisees who spend their lives studying the scriptures, hear about the messiah and do nothing?

Why is it that we hear the preaching of God’s word ever Sunday….yet we do nothing with it.

The problem with the Pharisees is that’s always been their problem is that they knew about the Messiah, but they didn’t honor Him as God.

The first possibility of Epiphany is that it’s possible for those to know intellectually about Jesus, but that knowledge doesn’t effect or move our hearts to change.

We spend our lives hearing of the good news, and hearing the word preached but we treat it only as if it’s information. It’s no different that sports statistics, or a news story.

When was the last time you heard the Gospel, you heard a sermon, you read a devotional, and the Holy Spirit lead to repent, to forgive, or to trust more?

The pharisee’s don’t do anything and the announcement of fulfilled scripture, But Herod does do something..

Herod’s deceit Vs 7-8

He hatches a plot to find out where the Christ child is, so he can kill Him.

And sends the wisemen as unknowing double agents to find him.

And so they leave. Not knowing the task that the are sent to,

Application: This is the scariest application for me: but The second possibility of Epiphany is that it’s possible to say that you are worshipping Christ, but all the while you harbor false motives in your heart.

You don’t worship God because of who he is, but only for what you think He can give you.

This can play out in the most heart breaking or the most painful scenarios imaginable.

Every day I hear stories of people who by all appearances live a christian life morally, but the moment that trouble comes their way, or they have an unmet desire, They leave.

Or worse, there are those that see the worship of Christ as a way to gain more earthly influence, or power, or control over a person or a church .

Sometimes they succeed. But only for a while. Because the scepter of Israel will NOT be shared.

I want to submit to you today that the type of person does not see or treat Jesus as the King that he is. They see him a threat to their kingdom, or only a means to an end.

And I want to ask you lovingly what are your motives for being here today? Do you want to surrender your life to Jesus who loves you, who promises you peace, and freedom? Do you want to deepen your relationship with him? Or is it something else?

A good way to answer that for yourself is to ask If everything you own, everything that you are, or who you are, were to be stripped away tomorrow. But you would still have your relationship with Jesus would the be enough?

The star of JAcob comes back out in the sky and it leads them directly to the Christ Child.

The Magi Arrive in Bethlehem Vs 9-11

But I want you to see the details that are included in the magi’s arrival in Bethlehem Vs Judea.

It’s no accident they are recorded this way, and they are VASTLY different.

When they arrive in Jerusalem, they arrive asking for the King

When they arrive in Bethlehem, they know exactly who He is when they see Him.

When they arrive in Jerusalem, They want to honor a king.

When they arrive in Bethlehem, they fall down and worship God.

When they arrive in Jerusalem they want to give recognition.

When they arrive in Bethlehem, they freely give gifts of their treasures and belongings.

Something has drastically happened to the wisemen in this moment.

Something that can’t be explained by any policy or procedure or attitude towards royalty.

We’ve seen how these magi interact with a King.

This is different.

And the only explanation is that upon seeing this baby, is that they are met with the revelation of who Jesus truly is.

These magi are radically changed.

Application:

And this is the good news for you: the third possibility of Epiphany is that it is possible, this very day, to be radically changed by Jesus.

We may not have a baby in a manger to hold, but we have something better.

We have the testimony of Scripture of who Jesus is, and what he has done for us.

Jesus is the second person of the trinity. He is Fully God yet because God loves us, Jesus came to this earth and took on flesh. He lived a perfect life. Totally obeying God’ law.

And thus earned Righteousness before the Father.

He then gave his perfect life as a sacrifice for our sins. Eh shed his blood on the cross and satisfied the wrath of God that we were facing.

He was buried in a tomb

But three days later, He rose from the dead triumphantly proving his sacrifice was accepted!

And he tell us now, that if we repent of our sins and trust in his work that we will be forgiven, and cleansed of the stains of our mistakes.

What would it do to your life if you knew that every shameful act, every way you feel broken, could be mended by Jesus? And that every day with trust and obedience, He would shape you into his perfect image?

Would it give you hope? Joy? Would you thank him? Would you want to serve him because he’s so good?

That’s what the magi do!

Which is evidenced by more than just their activity before Jesus,

But afterwards.

The magi Leave changed Vs 12

When they leave, They are given orders by God, in the same way that Jospeh was, to not go back to Herod and what do they do?

They obey.

Application:

The last possibility of epiphany is that it’s possible to live in this light throughout your life. The salvation that Jesus offers isn’t just an emotional jolt or a high point. It’s something that continues throughout your entire life.

I think this is evidenced in this scripture by the fact that the magi leave and no longer are trusting in their own wisdom, their own plans, or purposes, They are hearing from God, and then obeying His truth.

I see people who are radically changed by their encounter with they Holy one of God, and that this encounter has made them into true worshippers.

And This is exactly what Jesus can do for you.

Main Application:

What is a true worshipper?

They follow: just like the magi, true worshippers follow the leading and calling of Jesus to come and meet him where He is. He doesn’t ask you to change or to lean yourself up, only to come.

They change their minds. Once the Gospel is shared, they don’t continue in their old paths or their own thinking or their own comfort. Their hearts are stirred to leave behind any previous pride and follow him where he will lead them.

They surrender. They don’t compete with the Lordship of Christ, they’ve made a wreck of their own lives. No, they freely give control of their life over to Christ.

They sacrifice. The things that they do have? They freely give. out of an attitude of appreciation. They’re thankful for what Jesus has given them. And so Anything is worth loosing if it means thanking Christ.

They obey. However the Lord directs them. What the Holy Spirit reveals to them through God’s word, they obey. They are people of the book.

Is this how you have approached the manager throne of God? When you first learned of Jesus is this what the Holy Spirit urged you to do?

Missional application: