See! He's Right Here! :: Matthew 2:1-12
Wise Men Still Seek Him.
What a cute saying. It’s the title of a book and a song. It appears as wall art. It’s silk-screened onto T-shirts. It’s pressed onto the rear windows of cars. It’s probably even appeared on a sign near you ... maybe the one in Deepwater along Route 52. Wise men still seek Him.
Do you think it’s really true?
If wise men still seek Him, how come most modern wise men aren’t actually looking for Him? Self-identified Christians now comprise only 63 percent of the US population. Today the religiously unaffiliated now outnumber Roman Catholics, and the born-again evangelicals. (As Lutherans you fall into the Mainline category).
If wise men still seek him, how come our sanctuary isn’t packed? It’s not like he’s hiding. We’ve been able to read about him in English since 1382. Six years ago, the Guinness Book of World Records estimated that more than five billion Bibles had been sold telling his story. In the U.S. alone, there are more than 168 thousand Bibles sold every day.
Do wise men still seek him?
The real answer is: They never have. No one actually seeks him. Either He finds you, or you’ll never be found. Either he leads you, or you’ll never follow. Either he calls you, or you’ll never listen. Either he opens your eyes, or you’ll never have an epiphany.
That makes today’s reading more amazing. Today, we hear so-called wise men asking ...
WHERE IS HE? WE ARE SEEKING HIM.
Before I really begin, in fairness to the text, you need to know I would argue the words wise men don’t really appear in our text. The word many translations use for that comes from the word μάγος. A better translation is sorcerer, magician, astrologer, dream interpreter. I will concede this: They were wise men in the sense they followed an unusual star, and came to Jerusalem, saying, Where is the king of the Jews who has been born? For we saw his star in its rising and have come to worship him (vv. 1-2).
That was definitely a wise move.
1. Herod want nearly as wise. He had no interest in giving up his title as king of the Jews: He loved himself too much.
He had no interest in having a lord or master over his life. When he heard the μάγοι were not looking for him, Herod became troubled that these men were having an epiphany that he wasn’t the real king of the Jews and were instead following the light of the world (v 3). He knew his apple cart was about to be overturned. So he summoned all the priests and scribes to learn more (v 4).
Like Herod, the Sanhedrin thought they were wise. They thought they knew all about The Christ. They had certainly heard the stories from the scriptures. But they weren’t so smart: They didn’t go seeking him when told he had been born. They loved the way they worshipped.
So the wise men of the world pressed on to Bethlehem ... but only because they were drawn by His star. These were wise men only because the Only-Wise God was opening their eyes to see the light. He used his light to show them the way. And after they went into the house, they saw the child with Mary, his mother, and after they fell down on their faces, they worshipped him. And after opening their treasures, they brought to him gifts: gold, and frankincense, and myrrh (v 12).
2. The world is still filled with seekers today.
They seek what they call the truth. They seek it in science and history. They seek it through philosophy. They seek it ... longing for peace and tranquility.
But they have stopped seeking in the one place where we know he is. The church is the obvious place to look. The world knows this is where we find God. But they seek him everywhere else. As a result, the Light of God’s Gospel remains a mystery to the world. They can’t see it or hear it because they refuse to look for it in the one place he is for sure ... in word and sacrament ministry. The world is interested only in looking out for itself, seeking God on its own terms. The world isn’t actually interested in seeking God in the word and sacraments.
Perhaps, like Herod, they are their own lord and master ... their own king ... and they are only seeking something to reaffirm their mastery of the world around them ... seeking a god who gives them bling ... a god who will come to them on their own terms ... a god who will speak to them on their own terms. But those are not gods who save. They are looking for a god that gives them whatever they want, or a god that lets them live their lives their way in their time.
But this is not the true God.
3. People don’t know how to seek the true God.
They seek him in their heart. They seek him in their mind. They seek him in their feelings. They seek him in their efforts to become better people. They even seek him in their own pious efforts to be church. They think they can seek him.
The true God is beyond human comprehension. Therefore, anyone who seeks Him by their own wisdom will not find Him. They will only find an idol of their own making ... a false god modeled after their own desires, feelings, thoughts, whims.
We are all prone to this. We are born in sin. Our entire world is corrupted by sin. You did not instinctively know the true God or seek the true King. Apart from him, we can seek only false idols and false kings. Even now, if God stopped protecting your faith, you would quickly wander away in search of a new lord to worship ... a soft King who rewards good works ... a King of cheap grace who casually overlooks your disobedience to his word and sacraments.
That is one of the points Paul is striking in our epistle reading from Ephesians. The mystery of Christ is revealed only by God in Christ. ... And even now that God has revealed himself in the flesh ... conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary ... this remains a mystery to everyone. How can a virgin get pregnant? How can God be a man? How can God die? How can Jesus give us his body and blood to eat and to drink when he is in heaven? How can this be?
4. How do we find him? Where do we find him?
If the world knew how to find him they would gladly rejoice when they saw our worship, for here is where God comes to man, delivering his gifts of forgiveness. God’s Divine Service ... his service to you, for you, with you ... is what EVERYONE needs to seek. God’s service to you, for you, with you is where God in Christ meets you. Here, he proclaims his Gospel that gives the wisdom of God in the crucified Christ. And through the proclamation of his Gospel and the administration of his sacraments ... his mysteries of grace that impart saving faith and deliver the forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation ... He finds you.
He has reconciled himself to you so that you can then see him, touch him, believe in him, and be saved by him. Our Lord Jesus Christ was born to die as a King of the Jews. He was born to suffer on your behalf, in your place. He was born to bear all of the sin of the entire world for you. He was born to be crucified for you. And then after taking his Sabbath rest from all his labors atoning for your sin, he rose again ... this time as King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
And behold, today he is still with you ... shining the bright light of His Word upon you. He is drawing you back to his baptismal waters, washing you clean, making you holy just as he is holy. He is enlightening you, sanctifying you, preparing you to receive his life giving body and blood given and shed for the forgiveness of sins.
5. So brothers and sisters in Christ, you know where he is and how to seek him
As the wise men gladly fell on their faces at the feet of Jesus, you also long to worship Him, and kneel in joyful submission to Him, to hear His Word and to receive His forgiveness. It is not by your own wisdom that you do this. He has led you here ... by the faith in Christ that he gave you as a gift first, so that you can’t boast.
May this true King always preserve your faith into everlasting life.