Download The Marks Of A Wise Man Matt. 2:1-12 St. John`s

The Marks Of A Wise Man
St. John’s – East Moline
Matt. 2:1-12
01/08/12
Intro.: A number of years ago, we had a vicar who had the secretaries convinced that he was the smartest guy
who ever lived. He would sit in his office, overhear a conversation involving some unknown fact, and shout
out the missing information. “Genius,” the secretaries would exclaim. “Google,” the vicar would snicker to
himself as he sat at his computer.
We live in the “Information Age” when individuals are able to instantly access knowledge that would have
been difficult, even impossible, to have acquired before. In ages past Wise Men, like those who traveled to
Bethlehem, were among the elite few who were highly educated and served as depositories of knowledge. If
a personal computer can, now, put all that information at everyone’s fingertips then what are the real marks
of a wise man, today? Our Gospel reading for the celebration of Epiphany offers us a few.
I. The Wise Will Seek Him.
The evangelist records that the wise men saw a star that announced to them that the promised Christ Child,
the King of the Jews, had been born. So they traveled a long time over many miles in search of Him. This is
the first mark of a wise man; it is a person who seeks the LORD.
A. The wise men from the east, without benefit of Google, had great knowledge of the stars, history, and
sacred writings. Perhaps since the time of Daniel their kind had been looking for that special sign of the
Savior’s birth, so what would wise men do when it finally appeared? Would they just look up and say, “Cool, I
wonder where that little dude is?” Of course not! Anyone who is truly wise will do exactly what the wise
men of our Gospel did – they will leave everything behind to find Him. Regardless of how busy they are or
how important they believe their work and activity might be, they will pack it all up and seek Him and His
kingdom, first. They will leave everything else because they know that He is the One thing needful. Are you
there yet or did you just casually walk by the manger this Christmas, say “That’s Cool!” and move on with your
busy life and all the more important things you had to do? It is time for all of us to wise-up, set aside
everything else and seek Him as our first priority and as the One thing we need for an abundant and
everlasting life.
B. When the wise men of our Gospel were searching for the LORD they looked to God’s Word to find Him.
They did not aimlessly wander around the middle-east, but went to Jerusalem, the place where God promised
to dwell in His temple. That was where they could find out from those who knew the scriptures where the
Christ-child was to be born. And they did, because the prophet Micah had foretold that the ruler and
shepherd of God’s people, the promised Savior of all, would be born in Bethlehem. So led by God’s Word that
is where the wise men went to find Him. When it comes to looking for the LORD it is still wise to seek Him
here, in His Word.
Imagine being given a clearly marked map that leads you across deadly terrain on a dangerous path with
only a limited amount of time to make it to your destination before you run out of supplies and perish, but you
choose instead to use your own uninformed intuition. Foolish, right? Well, why do so many people and even
some of you act so foolishly when it comes to looking for the LORD, God? People say it all the time: I look for
God in nature or I seek Him through my personal experiences or in my mind I have my own idea of who God is.
Why do so many wander aimlessly in their spiritual journey and risk perishing eternally when the map that
leads us to the LORD is right here! Those who are truly wise are the ones who will continue to look to the
Scriptures which are able to make them wise unto salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. This, His Word, is the
light for our path and lamp for our feet that will lead us straight to the LORD and the salvation that He offers
us.
C. By following the path laid out in God’s Word those who are wise soon discover the LORD in places where
others least expect Him.
In our Gospel we hear that the wise men from the east did not find the one who was born as king of the
Jews in the palace at Jerusalem, adorned in royal robes. They found the Christ-child in the arms of a peasant
girl, living in a little house at Bethlehem.
While some scoff at what they consider our foolishness, we who have been made spiritually wise know that
our Lord continues to be found in the most unexpected places. Here, among this little flock, as the two or
three gather together in His name to hear Him speak to them through the Gospel. There, at the baptismal
font, as He comes to give us spiritual life and new birth through the Water and the Word. There, at that table,
as He comes to feed us His very body and give us to drink of His own blood shed for the forgiveness of our
sins. He still comes to us in this unexpected place and in some unexpected ways, but made wise unto
salvation we know that this is where He has promised we would find Him. You are those who bear the mark
of wisdom because you have left everything else behind this morning/evening to seek the LORD through His
Word and you have been blessed to find Him in these unexpected ways.
Transition: I thank God that, you are not content to casually observe Him from afar, but like the wise men of
our Gospel have come here to worship Him, which is another mark of those who are wise.
II. The Wise Will Worship Him.
A. Still, today, the wise are those who will humble themselves and fall down in reverence before the LORD.
The wise men who came from the east were not the first to worship Jesus, but they were not like the lowly
shepherds who came to the stable on Christmas. These were society’s elite – men who were used to being in
the presence of kings. They were high and mighty, wealthy and influential, but look what they did when they
came to that modest house in the little town of Bethlehem: “Going into the house they saw the child with
Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshipped Him.”
Yes, they were great and learned men, but they did not come to Jesus or offer their worship in a high and
mighty spirit. They had not come to give Jesus the honor of their noble presence or to impress lowly Joseph
and Mary with their great knowledge. They had not come to show the people on the street what a great work
they were doing for God. They fell down before Jesus in true humility and worshipped Him. They understood
that the honor and privilege was all theirs. They had come so that they might see the great work that God
was doing for them. So, they bowed down and they worshipped the Lord for who He was – the LORD of lords
and King of kings. In the eyes of the world they may have been important and powerful but there they were
humble creatures before their Creator and poor miserable sinners blessed to look upon the Son of God who
had come to bring them forgiveness and salvation. Knowing that “the fear of the LORD is the beginning of
wisdom” they fell down before Jesus and worshipped Him.
This Christmas season we have all had opportunities to see the Christ Child for ourselves and are here again
to fall down before Him in humility of faith to worship Him, together with the Father and the Holy Spirit. I
pray that none of you are here because you think that this is some great work that makes you right with God,
or to impress other people or to show the people out there on the street how good you are. I pray that in the
wisdom of those men who travelled from the east you are here to fall down and worship the LORD in true
humility for who He is and for the great work that He did for you there on the cross and is still doing for you
here in this Divine Service.
Some of us may consider ourselves the elite of society, a little smarter than others, more powerful, wealthy
or influential, perhaps even somewhat morally superior. We are each proud in our own way, but here in
God’s presence, in Christ’s presence, the wise realize that none of that counts for anything. In the eyes of a
Holy God we are all sinful and unclean. Those who are wise by God’s standards recognize that it is not God
who is honored by their presence in worship, but they who have been given the honor of God’s presence and
the and privilege of receiving His undeserved blessings. We are here to humble ourselves before God, to bow
down and confess that we are poor miserable sinners and to receive the forgiveness and salvation that Christ
has won for us through His holy life, innocent death and glorious resurrection. This is the humble house
where we, like the wise men of old, get to see Jesus and to receive the grace of God and the truth of God’s
love that has come to us through Him.
B. Another thing we can learn from the wise men of our Gospel is that their worship included the offering of
extraordinary gifts. The gifts were not just items they found laying around the house, left-over regifts, or
white elephant throw aways. Consider the three kinds of gifts they presented: Gold, denoting the riches of
royalty. Frankincense, such as that offered to God as a sweet-smelling sacrifice. And Myrrh that was often
used for anointing and embalming the dead. These were meaningful gifts which paid tribute to Jesus as the
King of kings, the true God, and the One who would die for the sins of all people.
When we worship God with our gifts, what do they say about our thoughts concerning Christ and what
meaning do they hold? Are they leftovers after we have used our share? Are they like the tip we leave on the
table for the waitress in which we say, “God, you gave me pretty good service this week” or “God, I think you
could have done a better job”? If the so then our gifts are saying that we do not think much of Christ, at all
and they mean that we do not love and honor Him as we should.
The mark of a wise person is that they worship the LORD with the first and the best of all that God has given
them. And they do it not because of what others will think of them. They do it because they believe that
Jesus is their true and everlasting King, their God who has blessed them with life and every blessing, and their
Savior who died on the cross for their sins, so that they may have eternal life.
We worship the LORD with extraordinary gifts from the time, talents and treasures He has given us as a
testimony to the whole world of who He is to us and should be to them. We worship Him by offering all that
we are and all that we have as a living sacrifice simply because we love Him and want to honor for who He is
and for the love that He first showed us.
Concl.: Google may allow us to fool some people into thinking that we are geniuses, but what does God see
when he looks upon us, tonight/today? Has the Holy Spirit led you to seek Him and to find Him here in His
Word? Have you come to fall down in worship and to give Him extraordinary gifts from your heart? Then
surely He is looking down and saying, “There are the truly wise!” Yes, by God’s power and grace you have
been made wise unto salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. You have the marks of a true wise man. Amen.