Christ is the Light to the Gentiles

Epiphany | Matthew 2:1-12| Pastor James Preus| Trinity Lutheran Church| January 6, 2026

Last week we heard Simeon prophesy of the Christ child, that He was a “light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of Your people Israel.” (Luke 2:32) And so, we know that Christ has not come for the Jews only, but also for the Gentiles (Romans 3:29; 9:24). St. Paul writes in Romans 1, “For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for all who believe, for the Jew first, and also for the Greek, for in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith, as it is written, the just shall live by faith.” (vss. 16-17) And so, when Jesus first sent out His disciples, early on in His ministry, He said to them, “Go nowhere among the Gentiles and enter no town of the Samaritans, but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” (Matthew 10:5-6). Yet, after His crucifixion and resurrection, before He ascended into heaven, Jesus commanded His disciples, “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” (Matthew 28:19). The term Gentile means of the nations. Gentiles refers to the non-Jewish nations. Likewise, because the dominant language of the nations was Greek, St. Paul uses the term Greek to mean Gentile, that is, non-Jew. First, the Gospel went to the Jews, that is, the house of Israel. Then the Gospel went out to all nations.

And so, on Christmas night, the angel announced the birth of Christ Jesus first to shepherds, the perfect representatives of the house of Israel. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the fathers of the people of Israel, were shepherds. David, the first Judean King to whom God promised one of his sons to be the Christ, was a shepherd. These shepherds of Bethlehem, the birthplace of King David, were kinsmen of the kings of Judah, heirs of the house of Israel, Israelites of Israelites, Jews of Jews. To these Jews first the angel proclaimed the Good News of Jesus’ birth.

And now also to these Gentile wise men, the Good News of Jesus’ birth has come, so that they too may be counted among the just who are saved through faith. Epiphany is the celebration of Jesus’ appearing to the Gentiles. Many thought the Christ would come only to save the people of Israel according to the flesh. Yet, the Holy Spirit makes clear that Christ has come to be the Savior of all people, the Gentiles included. But since this salvation can only be received through faith, Christ’s birth and redemption does no one any good if He is not revealed to them. And so, just as we should celebrate the birth of Christ, God becoming a man to save us, so also should we celebrate the revelation of Christ to the Gentiles, including us, otherwise, we could not be saved.

And the fact that God sent a star to lead the Gentile wise men to Jesus, and that the Holy Spirit moved them to worship Christ and present their gifts to Him, proves to us that Jesus has come to be the Savior of the Gentiles too. Now, we do not know for sure which nations the wise men were from, or even how many wise men there were. Yet, we do know that they were not of Israel nor were they descended from Jacob. Yet, they worshiped Christ. Christ has come to be the Savior of all people. This is why He sent His disciples with the command to proclaim the Gospel to the whole creation (Mark 16:15), to make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19). God desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of Christ (1 Timothy 2:4).

And so, we should rejoice in God’s universal desire of salvation and that He has sent such a Savior who has power to save all peoples. And as Scripture says that God desires all people to be saved, and Scripture cannot lie or deceive, so we too should desire this salvation for all people. We should teach our children the Gospel and bring them to church. We should share the Gospel with others and not think that it doesn’t matter or that it isn’t for them. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is for Jews and Germans, for Americans and Chinese, Japanese, and Koreans, for Indians and Africans, the Gospel of Jesus is for atheists and Muslims, for Hindus and Buddhists, for Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses. God desires all these to come to the knowledge of the truth, to recognize Christ Jesus as their Savior, who became their brother, who died for them and saves them, so that they too may be just through faith in Christ.

As some in the first century thought only Jews could be Christians, so today there are many who think Christianity is only for those whose parents are Christians. It is thought disrespectful and bigoted to try to convert a Muslim or Hindu or Jew to Christianity. Rather, we are told to respect other religions.  But Christ was born to be a light to those living in darkness, to bring to truth those who believe lies. So, as we rejoice that we do not worship the idols of our ancestors, so we should also desire to bring to salvation those who live under the tyranny of Satan, in the delusion of unbelief.

The wise men are the first Gentiles to worship Christ Jesus, but they are by no means the last. How the wise men found Jesus teaches us today how the nations will find Jesus, so that they may worship Him. The wise men follow a miraculous, supernatural star from the east. They asked King Herod in Jerusalem, “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,” in fulfillment of Balaam’s prophesy in Numbers 25, “I see Him, but not now; I behold Him, but not near: a star shall come out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel.” (vs. 17) Yet, Jesus was not born in Jerusalem. Rather, King Herod inquired of the priests and scribes, who consulted the scroll of the prophet Micah, which prophesied that the Christ was to be born in Bethlehem. And so, not with the star alone, but through the guidance of Scripture did the wise men find the Christ child.

Now, it is uncertain how the wise men discerned that this star meant that the King of the Jews was born, whether it was revealed to them in a dream, or whether through studies of the Holy Scriptures introduced to the East by the prophet Daniel, they concluded that this unnatural star led to Christ. Suffice it to say, we cannot rely on supernatural signs today. The star represents to us faith in Christ, as St. Peter writes in his second epistle, “And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts,knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” (2 Peter 1:19-21)

Desiring Christ was not sufficient to bring them to Christ. The wise men needed the light of Scripture to correct them. Though they already had the desire to worship Jesus, they did not know where to find Him until Scripture lit their path. And so, we see that Scripture and faith in Christ go together. For, without Holy Scripture, we can never find Christ. And without faith, Scripture remains an empty book, and we have no desire to find Him.

Herod had access to the Scriptures. He even commanded the wise men to search diligently to find Christ. But He had no desire to worship Him. There was no star in His heart that drove Him to search for Christ to worship Him. And so, there are such herods today. Biblical so-called scholars have assaulted the Scriptures, dissecting it and studying it closely, but they have no light of faith. They have no desire to find Jesus and worship Him. So, Scripture remains a closed book. However, there are others who desire Christ, but they will not submit to Scripture or learn from it. They determine to follow the light of their own reason, which never leads them to Christ.

Yet, Jesus Himself teaches us how the Gentiles will find Christ, just as those first wise men did. In Luke 24, after Christ’s resurrection from the dead, He instructs His disciples, ‘“These are My words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.’ Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and said to them, ‘Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in His name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.’” (Luke 24:44-47)

And so, from Holy Scripture Christ’s ministers will preach to all nations repentance and forgiveness of sins in the name of Christ, who suffered, died, and rose. And salvation will be granted to those in whom the Holy Spirit raises the star of faith. And so, as the wise men’s course was corrected by Holy Scripture, so that they found Jesus and worshipped Him, so also, our course in life must frequently be corrected by the words of Holy Scripture, so that we do not stray from our Savior Jesus.

Finally, the wise men teach us how to worship Christ today. They go to Bethlehem, where Jesus resides. Bethlehem is Hebrew for House of Bread. Jesus calls Himself the bread of life, and that if anyone eats of Him, that is, believes in Him, he will have eternal life (John 6). And so, Bethlehem to us in the Holy Christian Church, where Christ’s Word is proclaimed and where His Sacraments are administered, where Christians eat the very bread of Life through faith and in the Sacrament of the Altar.

The wise men offered Jesus gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. With gold, they acknowledge Jesus as their king. So, in worship, we acknowledge Christ alone as the King of our life, who grants us everlasting life. With frankincense, they acknowledged Jesus as their God, as the priests offer incense when they pray to God (Psalm 141:2). And so, we acknowledge Christ, not only as our God, but as He whose sacrifice rises to God as a pleasing aroma to atone for our sins (Ephesians 5:2). With myrrh, they confessed the death and resurrection of Christ. When Jesus died, Nicodemus and Joseph anointed Jesus’ body with spices, as one does to cover up the stench of death. Yet, Jesus’ body never saw corruption but rose from the dead on the third day. So, to Jesus God granted the perfect myrrh, not that which covers up the stench of death, but that which undoes death. Christ has defeated death for us, having borne all our sins on the cross.

Finally, the wise men returned to their own country by another way, to evade Herod. And so, we do not walk as formerly before we came to worship Christ. The light of Christ has shone on us Gentiles, not for us to go on living as Gentiles, but for us to live as those belonging to Jesus (Ephesians 4:17). And so, our worship of Christ changes our present and eternal life, as we live for Christ now and forever.

The wise men teach us that Jesus was born to save all nations, and so He was born to save us. He was born to save you. Epiphany doesn’t mark the end of the Christmas Season but rather proclaims that Christmas is meant for all people to celebrate. Christ is born for all, that all might receive Him through faith and be saved. Amen.