Sermon for the Epiphany of Our Lord
Isaiah 60:1-6 + Matthew 2:1-12
It’s January 6th. This day has special significance for New Mexico, as it became the 47th state of the United States on this day in 1912. Tragically, the godless media in our country are seeing to it that most of the country now thinks of this day as the anniversary of a so-called “insurrection” at the U.S. capitol. It’s more than tragic, really. It’s of the devil. Not only because of all the fake news and the narrative of lies that people who are in league with the devil have been spinning over the past year, but because it distracts people from the real significance of this day that has been celebrated in the Christian Church for almost two thousand years, even longer than December 25th has been celebrated, according to some historians. It’s a day that points to the revelation of the divinity of Christ Jesus that was hidden under an appearance of humility. On this day, Christians celebrate the revelation of that hidden divinity of the Child born in Bethlehem, first, to the Gentiles, by means of a star; second, to John the Baptist at the Baptism of Christ; and finally, to all the nations through the Sacrament of Holy Baptism, which happens to line up again with our focus on the Small Catechism.
As we heard Isaiah prophesy this evening, a light rose over Israel when Christ was born, like the rising of the sun or like the rising of the morning star. The wise men in the East saw the brightness of a star in the sky. But there was no visible brightness in the Child they eventually found in Bethlehem. We don’t know what they expected to find, except that, when they arrived in Jerusalem, they expected all Judea to be celebrating. These Gentiles from the East had no political relation to King David or to any of his descendants who had been kings in Israel. No king of the Jews had ever reigned over them. And yet they came from afar when they saw His star in order to worship Him and present Him with their gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh.
But the Jews—they had all sorts of promises from the Old Testament Scriptures foretelling the coming of the King of the Jews, the great Son of David who would be born to them, to be a light for enlightening the Gentiles and for glory to the people of Israel. This was their promised King, their promised Savior.
And yet, when the wise men arrived in Jerusalem, they found everyone going about business as usual. They found no celebration. No joy in King Herod’s palace. No knowledge at all of Christ’s birth. And, most tragically, no interest in it even after the wise men announced the rising of the star that they had followed. Oh, the scribes knew where the Christ was to be born, but no one celebrated when they learned that He had come. On the contrary, we’re told that When King Herod heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.
You see, they were distracted, too, distracted by political wranglings among the Jewish parties and with the imperial government; distracted by the outward show of their religion without the inner devotion to God and His Word, without the inner recognition of their sins, without the longing for God to finally step into the world, to reveal Himself to them for their salvation from sin, death, and the devil. No, they weren’t interested in such a salvation, or in such a divine Savior.
So God continued to hide Himself from them, even as He revealed Himself to the Gentiles and brought back the star so that the wise men could follow it right to the house where Jesus was. They weren’t part of Israel, and yet God had given them the sure hope that this King of the Jews would welcome them into the new Israel He would one day fashion out of Jews and Gentiles, not a political kingdom or a secular kingdom, but the kingdom of heaven.
That’s the Holy Christian Church. God revealed to us the hidden divinity of Christ by His Holy Spirit, through the Holy Scriptures and the preaching of His Word. He invited us to enter that Church, just as all nations are invited to enter it, not embracing their sins, but confessing their sins and looking to the King of the Jews for the forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation.
That’s just what people were doing, confessing their sins—mainly Jews but also some Gentiles—30 or so years after the wise men left Bethlehem to go back to their own country, when John the Baptist preached his Baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. They came and confessed their sins and were baptized by John in the Jordan river for the forgiveness of sins.
That’s what made it so strange when Jesus came to be baptized by John. He had no sins to confess, and somehow, John knew that, or at least he knew that Jesus was greater than he. Matthew tells us that Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. And John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?” But Jesus answered and said to him, “Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” “To fulfill all righteousness.” Jesus was the Righteous One. But His perfect righteousness as the Son of God was hidden from sight. He looked just like every other descendant of Adam and Eve, and every other descendant of Adam and Eve is unrighteous by nature, so the people of Israel might have assumed that Jesus, too, was unrighteous by birth.
But the hidden divinity of Christ was revealed clearly to John when Jesus was baptized. The Holy Spirit rested on Him in the form of a dove, and the Father’s voice spoke from heaven, This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. There were Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, all present at Jesus’ Baptism, revealing what was hidden, both Jesus’ divine origins, and His human righteousness. God is not well-pleased with any sinner. But He declared that He was well-pleased with Jesus, because He alone, among all the sons of man, was righteous.
So what did it mean that He had to be baptized to “fulfill all righteousness”? It indicates that there is a connection between Jesus’ Baptism as the Righteous One and the Baptism of all the rest of us unrighteous ones. How can we, as sinners, fulfill the righteous standards of a holy God? We can’t. So God chose to make this connection between the unrighteous and the Righteous One through this Sacrament of Holy Baptism, so that all righteousness may be fulfilled in us. In other words, so that we may be justified by our connection to Christ through Baptism and faith.
And so we come to the second part of Holy Baptism in the Small Catechism as Luther explains the benefits of this Sacrament:
What benefit does Baptism give? It works forgiveness of sins, delivers from death and the devil, and gives eternal salvation to all who believe this, as the word and promise of God declare. Which word and promise of God are these? Our Lord Christ says in the last chapter of Mark: “He who believes and is baptized will be saved, but he who does not believe will be condemned.”
You see, Baptism isn’t a work we do for God. It’s a work that God does for us as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are present at Holy Baptism today, just as the three Persons of the Trinity were present at Jesus’ Baptism. And what is the work He does through Baptism? He forgives us our sins. He delivers from death and the devil. And He gives eternal salvation to all who believe this. That’s why St. Peter can say in his first epistle that Baptism now saves us. It’s why he could preach to the crowds on Pentecost, Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins. Because Baptism, combined with faith in what Baptism promises, is God’s tool for uniting us with the Righteous One who was also baptized. And just as our sins were counted against Him when He died for them on the cross, so His righteousness is counted toward us who are baptized and believe in Him.
So celebrate your Baptism again today on January 6th, even as we also celebrate the coming of the wise men and the Baptism of our Lord. Let those things fill your thoughts on this day while the world loses its mind over other things. The hidden divinity of Christ was first revealed to those Gentiles from the East, and they worshiped Him with joy. His divinity has now been revealed also to us Gentiles from the West. And not just His divinity, but His promise of salvation through faith and Holy Baptism, so our joy must be even greater. Amen.
