Today is the day known as Epiphany in the Church Year. This comes from a Greek word meaning “manifestation,” and it is the celebration of the the Wisemen coming to see the child Jesus. The saving revelation of God was manifested to these Gentiles who followed the light that they had, even though they did not have the privileges of knowing God’s Word and possessing a godly heritage. It is sadly ironic that the religious leaders in Jerusalem who did have these privileges (they knew from Scripture exactly where the promised King would be born) for the most part chose to reject Jesus.
As was suggested in the message last Sunday morning, these mysterious Magi teach us several important points about what it means to seek and find Jesus.
1. Truly worshiping this King means we must humble ourselves and recognize his rightful reign over our lives. This is exactly what King Herod did not do. Instead he murdered innocent children in Bethlehem in an attempt to hold on to his own autonomy. The message of Epiphany is that those who seek to know and serve King Jesus today must joyfully bow the knee before him as those Wisemen did.
2. Worshiping this King means giving him our best–our very selves. The Wisemen brought gold, frankincense, and myrrh, gifts fit for royalty. We today may not feel like we have a lot of money to give or be blessed with multiple talents to use, but in the end Jesus really wants us to just give him our all. He will use and bless whatever resources we can offer, but the primary gift must be a full surrender of everything we are.
3. Finally, the story of the Magi teaches us that it doesn’t matter who you are or where you came from, it only matters that you follow God wholeheartedly and obey everything he reveals to you. Thus, the Wisemen were willing to travel a long, hard route, find, and worship the Child while the religious leaders five miles north in Jerusalem never made the trip to discover what was literally at their doorstep. Many of us are blessed with a godly heritage and multiple opportunities to learn about God, but the message of Epiphany is that no matter where you come from or what background you have, you can find and worship Jesus if you follow the light he gives you and make seeking him a number one priority.
Let’s make that our priority as a church during this coming year and always. For more information about the celebration of Epiphany within the Church Year, click here.
