By Rev. John Huxman
Pratt Bible Church
Special to the Tribune
January 6 marks the Feast of the Epiphany. Christmas’ 12 days, December 25 through January 5, having just ended, the emphasis is now on the visit of the Wise Men to the infant Jesus to present him with the three gifts of Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh. Epiphany is a Greek word meaning “appearance” or “manifestation” and is used in the original Greek text the New Testament to refer both to Jesus’ first coming at his birth (2 Timothy 1:10, translated “made manifest” in the KJV) and his second coming for the final judgment (1 Timothy 6:14, translated “appearance” in the KJV).
The account of the Wise Men—the Magi—comes to us in Matthew 2:1-12. Matthew records how these Eastern Sages appeared in Jerusalem in the days of Rome’s puppet-king Herod asking for the one born king of the Jews. They had seen his star and had come to worship him. Their belief that a new star indicated the birth of the greatest of all Jewish kings likely stems from an extremely material/literal reading of Numbers 24:17 where the prophet Balaam had foretold the rise of King David’s dynasty in poetic terms saying “there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel.” God accommodated himself to their interpretation and did actually send a physical light in the sky to inform them of his Son’s birth.
While the Magi intentionally sought the fulfillment of one prophecy, they also, perhaps unconsciously, began the fulfillment of at least two others. One of those is Psalm 72:10-11 “The kings of Tarshish and of the isles Will bring presents; The kings of Sheba and Seba Will offer gifts. Yes, all kings shall fall down before Him; All nations shall serve Him.” Another is Isaiah 60:1-3 and verse 6; “Arise, shine; For your light has come! And the glory of the LORD is risen upon you. For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, And deep darkness the people; But the LORD will arise over you, And His glory will be seen upon you. The Gentiles shall come to your light, And kings to the brightness of your rising. (6) The multitude of camels shall cover your land, The dromedaries of Midian and Ephah; All those from Sheba shall come; They shall bring gold and incense, And they shall proclaim the praises of the LORD.”
These passages foretell that the Messiah will be worshiped and served by all nations; that all the nations will bring him gifts. The complete fulfillment of these passages will not happen until Jesus returns, but they began to be fulfilled when the Magi, those representatives of Gentile royalty, brought gifts to Jesus so long ago.
These passages continue to be fulfilled as we ourselves come to the spiritual light which is to be found in Christ and bring him our tribute of praise and adoration.
