The Universality of the Gospel
A Sermon preached on Sunday, January 6, 2008
by Pastor Terry Davis
First Presbyterian Church, Hartford, CT
There is serious disagreement among scholars about the historicity of the birth accounts as given by both Mathew and Luke. Each of them tell quite different stories, neither of which are repeated elsewhere in the Bible. Luke as we all remember tells us that Joseph and Mary were living in Nazareth and traveled to Bethlehem for the census where they are forced to take refuge in a stable while Mary has her first baby. A few weeks later they take Jesus to the temple where he is presented to the Lord and sacrifice is made; they then return to their hometown of Nazareth.
But, according to Matthew when the wise men find Jesus the family is living in Bethlehem, not Nazareth but not in a stable but in a house. We are led to believe that Jesus is a year or two old when the wise men appear since when Herod seeks to put him to death because he is a threat to his throne he slays all the babies two years and younger, based on what the wise men told him about when the Messiah’s star first appeared. The family immigrates to Nazareth only after they return from exile in Egypt after the death of Herod.
Although it is possible to make some assumptions that would make it possible that both accounts of Jesus birth are true it involves some far fetched thinking.
But there are messages in each of the stories, messages whose truth is not dependent on whether they are historically accurate or not. Each of the Gospel writers has chosen to include stories that make the theological points which are of key importance to the writers in putting forth their understanding of the meaning of Jesus birth, life, teachings, death and resurrection. One of the keys to understanding Matthew’s gospel is understanding his profound faith that Jesus came into the world to save the whole world. Jesus is the fulfillment of the promise to Abraham that through his descendants all nations should be blessed. We read how Isaiah repeatedly envisioned that all nations would come to Jerusalem for knowledge and worship. Isaiah 60:3 we read that ”Nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.” Surely Matthew had this passage that we read this morning in mind when he wrote that the wise men brought gold, frankincense to the baby Jesus.
So here shortly after Jesus’ birth Matthew wants us to know that important people from far away came to worship him. It was in Persia that people worshipped the sun and moon and stars. They believed that what was happening in the stars could predict what was happening on the earth. If they saw a comet or a new star arise in the constellation that represented the nation of Israel it would be natural to believe a new king had been born to the Jewish nation, and not any new king but a king of such great power and significance that the heavens announced his birth. It was this king that they came to worship and bring gifts to.
Geographically ancient Persia is modern day Iran, a part of Bush’s Axis of Evil, a nation our President and others would have our troops invading if we had any significant troops left that were not already stretched thin occupying Afghanistan and Iraq. Just as modern day Iran is portrayed as the enemy of our country, a potential possessor or nuclear weapons, so ancient Persia was the enemy of the Jewish people. It was from that part of the world that invaders had come to defeat their nation in the past and carry their leaders into exile. And yet Luke says that these wise men, these astrologers, followers of a foreign religion, these representatives of an enemy nation came to worship Jesus and Jesus family received and welcomed them.
The other thing that we notice in this passage is that although these pagan priests worshipped Jesus; Herod the Jewish King wanted to kill him. Jesus has always been the enemy of the establishment. The Christian Church today seems to be the buttress of the values of rich and powerful; the claim is made that this is a Christian nation; in fact the gospel is always good news to the poor and the alienated, the social enemies, the gentiles and the outsiders.
The importance of Jesus for the Gentiles is central from the beginning to the end of Matthew’s Gospel. In the very first chapter he mentions three non Jewish women in Jesus genealogy, Tamar a Canaanite, Rahab a prostitute from Jericho, and Ruth a Moabite and in the fourth chapter Matthew quotes Isaiah 9 to explain why Jesus moved to Capernaum, a largely gentile city.
One of the first specific stories of Jesus healing ministry is about the healing of the servant of a Centurion a pagan Roman soldier.
This emphasis continues right up to the end of the gospel when Jesus commands them to go and make disciples of all nations.
We so easily fall into the assumption that Jesus came for us and for people like us, but the story of the wise men and the whole gospel of Matthew demonstrate the universality of Jesus appeal and significance. Even those who do not believe in his divinity revere Jesus as a central figure in human history. Muslims who we too often regard as enemies of Christianity revere Jesus as a prophet and my Muslim friends tell me that the Koran devotes more chapters to Mary the mother of Jesus than does the Christian Bible. Even Einstein whose God was a God of reason and order, not in anyway a personal God is still quoted by Walter Isaacson as saying I am enthralled by the luminous figure of the Nazarene. His questioner asked incredulously, “you accept the historical existence of Jesus?’ Einstein replied “Unquestionably! No one can read the gospels without feeling the actual presence of Jesus. His personality pulsates in every word. No myth is filled with such life.”
We need to come to have greater respect to the true Jesus whose appeal reaches far beyond our religion and cultures and discover one who is truly savior of the entire world, the centerpiece of the human race.
The Visit of the Wise Men
Matthew 2
1In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, 2asking, “Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage.” 3When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; 4and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. 5They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet:
6 ‘And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for from you shall come a ruler
who is to shepherd my people Israel.’”
7Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. 8Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage.” 9When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. 11On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 12And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.