A Sign from God
St. Matthew 2:1-12
3 January 2016 – Redeemer
Have you ever wanted a sign from God? Perhaps you were in the depths of some dark hole and you wanted a sign that God was listening? That He wasn’t out of the office or on vacation, but actually on duty and ready to help? Or maybe you were faced with a life changing decision – a career move, a new relationship, a different major in college. Someone may have even told you, “God will tell you what to do. He’ll give you a sign.”
The Wise Men received a sign – a star appeared in the sky and by its appearance they knew that somewhere in the land of Judah a King had been born and so they set out from their home in the East and they followed that star. Their experience teaches us much about signs from God – first God’s Word told them what the sign would be. Then God’s Word told them what the sign signified and finally, the sign pointed to Jesus.
The Bible is filled with signs – God gave Noah the sign of the bow in the clouds – the rainbow. God gave Abraham a sign of His promise – circumcision. God gave Moses numerous signs – that the people of Israel would return to Mount Sinai, Moses could make his hand leprous and clean in a moment, the 10 plagues on Egypt. In the wilderness God gave the Israelites the sign of the snake that cured them from death. The commandments were a sign to the nation of Israel that God had chosen them. As we entered this Christmas season we heard of the famous sign that Isaiah gave King Ahaz – the sign of a Virgin giving birth and naming her son Immanuel.
What was true of every one of those signs? God’s Word accompanied the sign. God’s Word told the seers of the sign what the sign meant. God told Noah the bow in the skies meant a flood would never again destroy the world. God told Abraham that the sign of circumcision meant he would be the father of many nations. God told Moses that all the signs meant God was with him and would through him deliver Israel from Egypt. The signs meant God had heard Israel cry out in slavery and was sending Moses to answer their cries.
The wise men from the East were looking for a star because hundreds of years earlier their ancestor wise men had heard the word of the Lord from a captive named Daniel. Daniel had told his Babylonian captors the prophesies of the world’s Savior. He spoke the words of Moses found in Numbers 24… a star shall come out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel. When these wise men astrologers noticed a new star over their eastern homeland they believed God’s Word and followed the star to the land of Judah.
But the sign wasn’t enough – the star stopped moving and then the wise men used their own wisdom to find this newborn King. Being wise men they probably stopped at a truck stop and asked for directions to the capital city. Or they pressed the button on the iPhone and asked Siri, “Where does the King of Judah live?” and Siri would have said, “King Herod lives in his palace in Jerusalem.” And off they went – Kings would be in palaces. Kings would be in the capital city. That’s what the wise would say. That’s how they would interpret the sign.
But Herod hadn’t heard the word. And the chief priests and Scribes weren’t even aware that a new King had been born. They didn’t have a clue until the Wise Men spoke God’s Word to them, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” (2) The Word of God from the Wise men drove the Scribes and Priests to God’s Word and from God’s Word they found out where the sign was pointing. The star was pointing to “Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet:”
When we desire a sign from God we really want His sign to agree with what we’ve already decided to do. We are far more likely to pray, “My will be done” and give me a sign that you agree God, than we are to pray, “Thy will be done and let your Word, O Lord, guide me to the truth.” But God gives His signs with His own Word and it reveals His way – not what the wise men thought, not what Herod was aware of, not what the Scribes and Chief Priests even wanted. This sign of God was upsetting news – the wise men left their homes in the East for a couple of years. Herod thought someone was threatening his throne. Jerusalem knew that when Herod was upset their blood would be shed. Right after the text Mary and Joseph must escape to Egypt and the mothers of Bethlehem will weep because Herod killed all their little boys in his effort to kill the newborn King of the Jews.
No one would ever have guessed that in the midst of this bizarre journey of the magi God was at work to deliver Jesus to the world and to you. And how did everyone in the story, including you, learn this? Did Joseph have a clue what was going on in Mary’s womb? Did the wise men know where to find Jesus? Were the Scribes and Chief Priests, who knew God’s Word best of all, aware that their Savior had come? Did King Herod, know God’s King had been born? Not one of them knew or could be expected to know. Everyone came to know what God was doing by His Word. Some believed it. Some doubted it. Some rebelled against it.
If you want a sign from God, you’d better be willing to listen to His Word. God doesn’t give signs apart from His Word – that’s the track record of Scripture speaking. Everyone who got a sign, got a Word from God, and God’s Word is finally and always Jesus His Son.
When you are wondering in the depth of some dark hole if God is at work, if He even knows you are alive, if He cares that you are dying – look at the signs – you will find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger, and the star in the east. Look at the sign of the cross and burial clothes lying empty in the tomb. God has heard your cries and delivered you from your shameful sins, from your fearful death, from the nasty and bitter assaults of the devil. He has heard you and delivered you by coming in the flesh and blood of Jesus.
When you want God to give you a sign about a major decision in life – read God’s Word. Look at the sign of His commandments – if your decision breaks a commandment there’s God’s sign. He is against sin. A sign that goes against the commandments is from Lord Satan, not the Lord God. If you’ve made a sinful decision where you followed your heart instead of God’s Word, if you’ve hurt your family by your sin, repent, and rejoice in the sign of the cross. Christ Jesus died for sinners. He died for you. God does not hold your sin against you because it has been held against Jesus. Remember the sign of the cross which is made over you when God is delivering to you His forgiveness – in your baptism, in absolution, in His Supper. All the signs of God’s Word point to this sign – the sign of God’s salvation, of His forgiveness, the sign of the cross, where God says, “Yes, I hear you. Yes, I forgive you. Yes, I will deliver you.” That’s the clear and certain sign that God gives in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Pr. Bruce Timm
2 January 2016 anno Domini