Sermon Text: Matthew 2:1-12
Date: January 4, 2026
Event: The Epiphany of Our Lord (Observed), Year A

Matthew 2:1-12 (EHV)

After Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, when Herod was king, Wise Men from the east came to Jerusalem. They asked, 2“Where is he who has been born King of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” 3When King Herod heard this, he was alarmed, and all Jerusalem with him. 4He gathered together all the people’s chief priests and experts in the law. He asked them where the Christ was to be born. 5They said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, because this was written through the prophet:

6You, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are certainly not least among the rulers of Judah: because out of you will come a ruler, who will shepherd my people, Israel.”

7Then Herod secretly summoned the Wise Men and found out from them exactly when the star had appeared. 8He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. When you find him, report to me, so that I may also go and worship him.”

9After listening to the king, they went on their way. Then the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them, until it stood still over the place where the child was. 10When they saw the star, they rejoiced with overwhelming joy. 11After they went into the house and saw the child with Mary, his mother, they bowed down and worshipped him. Then they opened their treasures and offered him gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 12Since they had been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they went back to their own country by another route.

Seek Him Out

Have you ever been on a scavenger hunt? Or maybe someone set up (or you set up for someone else) a trail of clues to follow to get to a big surprise. It can be fun, but it also can be a bit nerve-racking if you don’t know what’s at the end of the trail or if you’re not really confident about where to look to find the next item or clue on the list.

In some ways, you might see the Wise Men’s journey to find and worship the young Savior as kind of like a scavenger hunt. They had some indication of what had happened. In a way that isn’t clear to us, they knew that the appearance of a special star in the sky told them the Messiah had arrived. But they weren’t really sure where to find him or who to talk to about it, and yet in the confidence that God gave through faith, they sought him out.

While we don’t have as many unknowns in seeking out our Savior as the Wise Men did, we do well to follow their example in this young, new year. As we make our way through the days and weeks ahead, we do well to make the spiritual journey to seek out our Savior at his crib, during his ministry, to his cross, and then at his empty tomb. May God give us guidance in the days ahead just as he led the Wise Men to the young Jesus!

Despite what our nativity scenes might show, the Wise Men were not there at the stable while the newborn Jesus slept in the manger in his swaddling cloths. Likely for a variety of reasons, Mary and Joseph chose to settle down a bit in Bethlehem after Jesus was born. Once the Wise Men arrive in Bethlehem, Matthew tells us they find Jesus in a house, not a stable or an inn. Likewise, the word used to describe Jesus (translated here as “child”) is closer to our word “toddler” than to “newborn.” That, paired with Herod’s despicable actions that take place after our reading, we might assume that Jesus is somewhere around two years old at the time of the Wise Men’s visit.

But, we’re getting a little bit ahead of ourselves. At the beginning of Matthew chapter 2, we meet up with the Wise Men as they come into Jerusalem. They saw a star that indicated that the King of the Jews, the promised eternal descendant of David, had been born. Immediately, this raises a ton of questions in our minds. What was this star? How did they know that this star indicated this specific birth? How did they have all of this information but not Micah’s clear prophecy that he would be born in David’s city of Bethlehem (Micah 5:2)? We’re going to have to leave most of those open questions as God doesn’t clarify for us, but what we can say for sure is that these gentile men knew the promised Savior was going to come from the Jewish people and in some way God let them know it had happened, so they sought him out to worship him and give thanks to God for his mercy.

In some way, these men knew the eternal King had been born, and they went to the most logical place to find this young King of the Jewish people, the royal palace in the capital city of Jerusalem. But, of course, he wasn’t there. They did get the nudge they needed; the chief priests and experts in the law knew the promise made in Micah well, and so the Wise Men were directed about 5½ miles away from Jerusalem to Bethlehem to find the child, and the star God used to guide them initally confirmed they were on the right track, even somehow indicating the exact place where Jesus was. There, they were able to see him, worship him, and share the gifts they had brought with him.

This whole account is a fascinating reminder of who God lets in on the early stages of his plan of salvation. That first Christmas night, it wasn’t the priests and scribes who heard about the Savior’s birth, but angels spoke to lowly shepherds. And even now, some time later, Rome’s appointed rulers for the area and the religious leaders still have no idea that the Messiah has been born. Instead, the Wise Men, these non-Jewish foreigners, are dropping this bombshell on them as they innocently ask for directions. “Where is he who has been born King of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” When King Herod heard this, he was alarmed, and all Jerusalem with him.

God continues not to reveal himself to the high and mighty, to those of worldly prominence. In fact, the way he reveals himself today is in some ways even more humble and lowly than it was then. No angel hosts appearing to shepherds; no star appearing in the sky bringing people from far away; no religious leaders or prophets with a direct line to God’s will and purposes. No, the way Jesus is revealed to us today is in his Word. Even as we have spiritual leaders in our congregations—pastors and lay leaders—as well as administrators, teachers, and professors in our synod and schools, still the source of all of their guidance and information is the same as it is for everyone: the pages of Scripture.

On Christmas Day, we heard John’s observation that Jesus was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not recognize him. He came to what was his own, yet his own people did not accept him (John 1:10-11). This was specifically true early in Jesus’ life, as no one would have guessed that this little child was God who took on our human nature, but it was more broadly true during his ministry, and it’s still true today. People don’t recognize Jesus as their Creator and Savior because it doesn’t seem right, it doesn’t feel right. If someone is going to admit that there’s a God out there at all, they’re probably going to settle in their comfort zone and assume that whatever issues there might be between them and God, they need to fix them and make things right.

That’s what feels right, but it is far from accurate. The reality is that no matter what we do, we can’t make things right with God. We can’t patch up our past sins and then have him be happy with us. We need Jesus to intervene; we need Jesus to do everything for us to save us.

This flies in the face of what we naturally think and feel. When he wrong his first letter to the Corinthians, the apostle Paul commented on how wrong and demented this Jesus-for-us reality feels to us: An unspiritual person does not accept the truths taught by God’s Spirit, because they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually evaluated (1 Corinthians 2:14). Without the work of the Holy Spirit within us, we will never see the gospel as anything but, at best, utter foolishness.

Thankfully for us, the singular source we have to learn about what God has done for us—his Word—is also the tool the Holy Spirit uses to create and sustain faith in our hearts. So in the very moment that we are digging into God’s truths, the Holy Spirit is working to change these things from foolishness to the assurance of our salvation. By the Spirit’s work in our hearts, we see and trust Jesus’ life and death in our place as the only way we receive the forgiveness of our sins.

Let us follow the pattern of the Wise Men and seek Jesus out. To do that, we don’t need to make some long, harrowing pilgrimage. It’s not even about a total reset of your spiritual mindset. It’s all about going to where he reveals himself.

As we are still in the early hours of this year, perhaps it’s useful for us to reevaluate how we are doing at seeking him out. Are we as connected to God’s Word as we could be and want to be? Are there places we could make changes to better seek out our Savior? Are there Bible study opportunities at church that we could be making better use of? Could we be opening our Bibles or devotional books more at home?

This may sound ridiculous coming from your pastor, but I stand here this morning as someone who has really struggled with this through his life, up to and including today. Oh, I will commit myself to personal (not professional!) time in God’s Word, and it will go well for a while. Then, as I let so many good habits in my life do, it begins to fade, and I get distracted by other things, and suddenly, my personal seeking of Jesus is pretty low on the priority ladder. So then, I need to regroup and do it again. But that’s ok.

In these matters, we need to not let “perfect” become the enemy of “good.” Two days a week is better than zero days a week, even if the goal is seven; five minutes is better than zero minutes, even if the goal is twenty. The Wise Men weren’t perfect either—they sought Jesus in the wrong city! But they pressed on, they followed the guidance of God’s Word and eventually the star, and they found the treasure of their hearts.

Today, you will receive an email from me with several tools and suggestions to help you pursue this goal of seeking Jesus out. We are blessed to live at a time with such ready access to so many resources—not the least of which is God’s Word in many and varied translations accessible from almost any screen we are near—that when we wrestle with this, it’s not for lack of options or plans. Sometimes, it’s because we are overwhelmed or we just haven’t really found the right option that clicks for us here today.

So, let’s press on in seeking him out. Let’s dig into his Word, where we are reminded of the horrid reality of our sins and also the work that Jesus did to rescue us. Let’s join the Wise Men in making the journey to find him where he allows himself to be found. There we can bow down, offer our gifts, and worship the God who loves us and has saved us.

Merry Christmas and Happy Epiphany! Amen.

Soli Deo Gloria