NOTE: Some of the thoughts in this sermon were cleaned from Rev. David Petersen of Redeemer Evangelical Lutheran Church of Fort Wayne, Indiana.
MATTHEW 2:1-12
JESUS IS THE
SAVIOR OF THE UNLIKED AND THE UNLIKELY.
In
the name + of Jesus.
If you’ve ever read the first nine
chapters of 1 Chronicles, you’ve probably gutted through them for the sake of
completing them, but also wondered, “Why on earth is this in the Bible? Who cares?
I don’t even know who these people are!
It’s like reading a phone book!”
(Note for anyone under 25: Phone books listed the names, addresses, and phone
numbers of people in your city. Every
house had a phone book.) The genealogies mattered in the Old
Testament because it proved their connection to the covenant. To prove you were from Israel was to prove
you were God’s chosen people. The New
Testament does not have such lists because the new covenant is not focused on
one nation.
If any of the names in 1 Chronicles
resonates with you, it is because you remember something they did. For the most part, though, you will only know
name and nationality. You know nothing
else about those people. Today’s gospel
gives us the exact opposite of that. We
hear about the Magi and their connection to Jesus. They had some words to say. They had gifts to present. They knelt before the baby Jesus, perhaps a
year old by this time, probably younger.
And they had traveled some distance to see the Christ. So, we know what they did, but we know very
little else about them. Tradition gives
them names; the Bible does not.
Tradition gives them a homeland; the Bible does not.
The Bible says they were “wise men from
the east” (Matthew 2:1). It is
assumed that they came from Persia. The word
“Magi” is a Babylonian word, so that’s reasonable. And Persia is east of Jerusalem. At the same time, the prophet Isaiah had
foretold that “a multitude
of camels shall cover you, the young camels of Midian and Ephah; all
those from Sheba shall come. They
shall bring gold and frankincense, and shall bring good news, the praises of
the Lord” (Isaiah 60:6). Midian, Ephah,
and Sheba are equivalent to Saudi Arabia and Yemen. If the Magi came up from the south, they
would have come up the east side of the Jordan River and crossed over at Jericho,
which means they came from the east. The
etymology of the word “Magi” suggests Iran, but the prophet Isaiah hints at
Yemen. So, their names are unknown. Their homeland is an educated guess. Even their number is in question, other than
the fact that Magi is plural. Three gifts
do not guarantee only three visitors.
The Magi would have surprised the Jews because they were foreigners. The Magi did not come with credentials or with
a 1 Chronicles-type lineage. We are not
so surprised since we do not depend upon our nationality for God’s favor. What surprises us about the Magi is their
vocation. It is not merely off-putting; it
is offensive. The word “Magi” means that
they practiced magic arts and were astrologers.
They interpreted the constellations for divine revelation and spiritual
guidance. If we had been there, we would
have sneered at them and thought to ourselves, “What makes you think you belong
here?” It would be like seeing psychics
from Iran or members of Hamas showing up here for worship. But Jesus is the Savior of the unliked and
the unlikely.
The same could be said of the
shepherds. The shepherds were the lowlifes
of society. We might compare them to people
who have been released from prison and now need employment. Even if they were good at their job, that
does not mean people respected them. And
yet, who is it to whom the angels preached good news of great joy? And who was it that “made known the saying that had been told
them concerning this child” (Luke 2:17)? The Lord did not
summon the people who were deemed worthy or proper. Jesus is the Savior of the unliked and the
unlikely. So, these are the ones whom we
see with the Christ Child.
Of course, the
powerful and influential were involved too.
The Magi sought the king of the Jews, so they went where you would
expect to find him—to the palace in Jerusalem.
But “when
Herod the king heard (their reason for coming), he was troubled, and all
Jerusalem with him” (Matthew 2:3). Herod knew about the Christ, but he had no
desire for him. Herod’s interest in the Christ
was only political. He summoned the priests
and rabbis to find out where the Christ would be born. Finally, someone opened a Bible and saw that
the prophet Micah had foretold his birth would be in Bethlehem. Now, how did the powerful and influential
respond to this? Herod plotted to kill
the Christ. The Bible scholars did
bother to travel the six and a half miles to Bethlehem to check it out. It was the Magi, the unlikeable foreigners
and the unlikely magicians, who completed their long journey to see the Christ,
the king of the Jews.
We find the
account of the Magi endearing because they represent us. We were not a part of the Old Testament
covenant. We are the outsiders whom God
has graciously brought in. If you have
been in God’s kingdom from birth and have known nothing different, then thank
God. Many people have not known this
much grace. But our life-long heritage
can tempt us to think like the priests and the rabbis who were in Jerusalem. We want to preserve our little kingdom and
keep it safe from the unliked and the unlikely.
Perhaps that is the reason the priests and rabbis did not lead the
charge to Bethlehem. Jerusalem was safe. It allowed them to enjoy their wealth, their influence,
and their control. To leave Jerusalem
was to enter a messy, uncontrolled environment with risks and discomfort.
If you remember about
eight years ago, many people fled Syria because of the conflicts that were
going on with ISIS. Thousands ended up
in Germany. Many of those Muslim
refugees reported having what is known as the “Jesus dream.” In this dream, Jesus appears and tells them, “Go
to a Christian church.” Many Muslims
dutifully obeyed. A Lutheran pastor in
Berlin ended up baptizing hundreds of Muslims into the Christian faith. We are all filled with amazement and joy over
the conversion of so many into the Christian faith. But let me ask you, what if dozens (we won’t
dream of hundreds) of Muslims showed up for church here? How would you feel? Would you sneer and think to yourself, “What
makes you think you belong here?” Would
you want to refer them to a different church?
Would you want to preserve our little kingdom and try to keep things
safe, clean, and controlled? Are we any
different than the priests and rabbis from Jerusalem? Repent.
Jesus is the Savior
of the unliked and the unlikely. The Magi
were no saints. They had practiced magic
arts. They worshipped the stars, seeking
from them divine revelation and guidance.
And in fact, God used a star to bring them to something better. When the Magi got to Jerusalem, they were given
something much more reliable than the stars.
They heard the words of Scripture.
God’s love and God’s salvation are revealed there. In the same way, those Muslims who were
guided to the Christian church by a dream were not told to rely on their dreams
any longer. They were baptized into Christ
and pointed to the Scripture as the only source of truth and light. That is where the Lord speaks. The stars do not hold secrets, and dreams are
weird. But the word of the Lord is firm
and true.
Jesus is the Savior
of the unliked and the unlikely.
Therefore, the Magi were not chased away from the Christ. Rather, they made a strong confession about
him. Besides traveling a great distance
to come to him, they also expressed the reason for their visit: “We saw his star when it rose and
have come to worship him” (Matthew 2:2). Worship is reserved only for
God. If they worshiped the Christ Child
as God, they no longer had need for the stars or magic. Forgiveness of sins and salvation cannot come
from stars or tricks or even miracles.
They can only come from God who has come to earth as a human being. This the Magi needed to see, to confess, and
to worship.
Jesus is the
Savior of the unliked and the unlikely.
The Magi presented their lavish gifts—gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Their gifts were also acts of worship. However, it was Jesus who would give up everything
to deliver the Magi from all their sins.
Jesus has come for the unliked and the unlikely. Like the Magi, there is nothing in us that
God should like—not when we think that we are superior to other people, not when
we despise others because their lives are so messed up, not when the fear of
what we might lose means more than the mercy that others might gain. Jesus has come to suffer everything so that
we will not suffer for our sins. Jesus
has endured the agonies of divine wrath so that we would receive divine mercy. He was condemned so that we would be pardoned. How unlikely that the pure and innocent Lord
would bear responsibility for the sins which he does not like! But he did, and he did it gladly to secure
our salvation. He purifies hearts stained
by loveless attitudes. He provides cleansing
for all who have made a mess of their lives.
He proclaims words of truth to any who have yearned for guidance for
their lives. Jesus is the Savior of the unliked
and the unlikely, and he makes us his beloved.
Since the Lord has
poured out so much mercy upon us, it is good and right for us to have mercy
upon others. If we truly fear what we
might lose, then we are clinging too tightly to things that will perish
anyway. But you cannot lose the mercy of
God by extending it to others. And you
cannot lessen the value of salvation by giving it away. Even if others reject God’s goodness, God is
still good to you. But let it never be
suggested that Jesus has nothing to offer to someone whose life is messed
up. Let us never refuse to offer hope in
Jesus’ name. Yes, it might get a little
messy because sinners have messy lives.
People who are broken often don’t have their lives in order. Rather than focus on our comfort, let’s strive
to provide comfort for the hurting, the lost, the lonely, and even the
unlikeable. Jesus comes for such people
with healing and hope.
The Magi “rejoiced
exceedingly with great joy” (Matthew 2:10) that they got to see the
Christ. Whatever their past was, Jesus
would wipe the record clean. Whatever anyone
would have thought of them, the Lord had made it clear that he loved them. He made a place for them in his kingdom. That place did not depend upon their names,
their nationality, or their past. It
depended upon the Savior who forgives sins and purifies us from all unrighteousness. If nobody remembers your name, if nobody remembers
what you have done with your life, even if people do not like you, the Lord
Jesus does. He is the Savior of the
unliked and the unlikely, and he desires you to be his forever.
In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
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