Sermon summary (Click on the title) Epiphany-Jesus revealed Matthew 2:1-12 Lorna Laister   ...

Epiphany Matthew 2:1-12 Matthew 3:13-16 Lorna Laister 8th January 2017

Epiphany = revealing; Today we celebrate when Jesus revealed somethings about himself.
Read Matthew 2:1-12; Matthew 3:13-16

Who were these men? They are called; Men who studied the stars; Wise men; Kings; Magi

Somehow they just knew that a ruler would come – a new king. And they had to follow the star to find him.

They first went to King Herod’s palace. Do you think King Herod was seeking the King of the Jews? If King Herod or any of the Jewish people were truly seeking the King of the Jews wouldn’t they have packed up and travelled with the Magi to worship the King too? Herod. He didn’t even go four and a half miles to see for himself. In fact, he is more concerned that the presence of the Christ will interfere with his power, with his position, with his lifestyle.

But there is more here than a visit to a child who would be king someday. These Magi worshipped him. That was the intent of their coming. And so this story also reminds us that this child Jesus was far more than a future king. Only if He is divine could He be worshipped. Worship includes submission, adoration, and homage. The evidence of their worship came in the gifts they gave, gifts fit for a divine king

So how brave and faithful were these wise men who visited Jesus? They travelled for perhaps months looking and searching. The magi were men who 1) sought Jesus, 2) recognized the worth of Christ, 3) humbled themselves to worship Jesus, and 4) obeyed God rather than man. They were truly wise men!

Epiphany means to reveal. We see Christ here revealing himself to the magi. Who were they? We don’t know EXCEPT they were not Jews. Not Israelites. They were GENTILES. So what does this mean? Jesus is revealing himself to the whole world!! The old story told about God’s chosen people. He wanted a relationship with them and they messed up. So here we have Jesus – sent by God to “save” the world. Sent as a baby. And already God is revealing himself through Jesus and God of ALL OF US

However there is another sign that god has given us. The signs didn’t just stop at the beginning of the New Testament! These signs kept pointing the way. The Eastern Orthodox Church celebrates Epiphany by remembering the Baptism of Jesus.

Epiphany means to reveal. We see Jesus revealing himself as one of the trinity?

The baptism recorded for all future generations the perfect embodiment or picture of the triune God. God was revealing his glory from heaven. The testimony directly from God of the Father’s pleasure with the Son and the descending of the Holy Spirit upon Jesus (Matthew 3:16-17) is a beautiful picture of the Trinitarian nature of God. It also depicts the work of the Father, Son, and Spirit in the salvation of those Jesus came to save. The Father loves the elect from before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4); He sends His Son to seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10); and the Spirit convicts of sin (John 16:8) and draws the believer to the Father through the Son. All the glorious truth of the mercy of God through Jesus Christ is on display at His baptism.

The question is now – what will we do with this information?

Jesus is the answer for our hurting world. So perhaps the best application we can make from celebrating Epiphany is to choose to let our light shine. We need to pray for boldness in the right place at the right time for courage to shine for Jesus. Pray that we can see the sacredness of the life of to which we are called. Realise that everyday there are opportunities to join Jesus in ministry

Imagine God’s light shining over you. Now imagine it radiating out to the world. We radiate. That’s our job. God shines. We radiate. We cannot produce the light. That’s God. He is the light.

What light can we offer to reflect God’s glory? Francis of Assisi wrote “All the darkness in the world cannot extinguish the light of a single candle’