Seeking Wisdom from a Child Matthew 2:1-12 and Luke 2:40-52

Grace, mercy and peace to you, from God, our Father, and from His wise and knowing Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord.

Today on this combo Sunday, this combination of the 2nd Sunday after Christmas and Epiphany Sunday, we’re going to look to a child for, seeking wisdom from a child. And it’s from our Gospel which we just read, where Jesus is teaching the scribes in the temple, and from the Gospel for Epiphany, Matthew 2:1-12.

Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, 2 saying, “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.” 3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; 4 and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. 5 They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet:

6 “‘And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’”

7 Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared. 8 And he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word, that I too may come and worship him.”

 9 After listening to the king, they went on their way. And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. 11 And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. 12 And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way.

One of the marks of true wisdom, is in the choice you make of who you allow to teach you, and what you allow yourself to learn. That’s called discernment. 

There are a lot of voices out there, trying to persuade everyone that their way is the superior way. 

With all the competing voices in our world, sometimes it’s hard to know what to believe and what not to believe. Should we believe the ones who shout the loudest? Or raise the most ruckus? Or tell the best stories, or inspire and motivate the best, or incite one’s emotions the most?

These things can be good, but they can also be misleading. 

About 100 years ago now, 1921, a voice begin to rise in post World War 1 Germany. It rose to a crescendo in the 1930s and 40s as a man named Adolf Hitler became chancellor. His speeches were so dynamic and His voice so energizing, that some of the people would scream and shout and weep and raise their arms in salute to him; they followed him blindly, and trusted him unconditionally.

Although his voice was mesmerizing, and the cult of his personality was magnetic, in truth, it was void of wisdom. In the end, it just led to death and hatred. This proves that not every voice should be listened to, no matter how popular and entertaining. 

There was another evil and misleading voice many years before in Palestine, a king called Herod. At first he was a very good ruler in many ways. He made many improvements in Jerusalem and throughout Judea. He even refurbished the temple for the people, and they loved him for it; they called him Herod the Great!

But with time Herod began to change; he became paranoid and violent, and he killed many innocent people, including the baby boys of Bethlehem. Herod the Great worked great evil, and the people came to hate him for that. 

In contrast, was the benevolent, saving wisdom of the child Herod was trying to kill. A wisdom so profound, so divine, that when he was still young, the teachers in the great temple had gathered around him to learn. 

And they were amazed at the things he was teaching him. Never before had they seen such a deep and profound understanding of God’s Word.

We have His wisdom to learn from today in the Gospels, where Jesus’ teachings are recorded. This is the wisdom our minds are opened up to and enlightened by. This the voice for us to hear above all others.

The wisest of people seek that child born in Bethlehem. The most foolish spurn or ignore him. 

Far away from Bethlehem, far to the East, a star rose in the sky when the child was born, a star that outshone all the others and led those wise men to where true wisdom is found. 

They had been worshippers of stars. But a star, sent to them by God, led them to the Son, S-O-N, the Son of God. From the time on they would worship Him.

A young child in little Bethlehem, would be One to lead those wise men to the wisdom and worship of God. 

After seeing and worshiping him in Bethlehem, and presenting Him with gifts fit for a king, they headed back home, to serve and worship Him there. 

But warned and enlightened by the Holy Spirit in a dream, they avoided Herod on the way back home. They outsmarted Herod by following a different route home, so that he couldn’t track them down, and force them to reveal where the baby Messiah was.

The magi were wise to see the right star and listen to the right voice, not the evil, malevolent voice of Herod, but wise and benevolent voice of God.

Concerning the child in Bethlehem, it’s been said that wise men still seek Him. The truly wise seek true wisdom. 

God is all-wise; to seek Him is to find the wisdom that will never fail.

The apostle Paul says in Romans 16:27, to the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! 

How amazing that all the wisdom of God from Heaven, was contained in that little package, that infant laid in a manger; that little toddler the wisemen worshipped.

Let us not look to the proud and worldly for wisdom; let us not believe everything we hear or read; let us not be mesmerized and misled by the smooth and persuading voice of worldliness, which appeals to all the worst things in us.

Let us not give in the loud clamor of secularism in our culture; let us not misinterpret the voice of science to mean that there is nothing beyond the physical world -- the incarnation and resurrection of Christ proves that there is.

Let us not us not believe that human life is anything less than a gift from God and therefore sacred; let us not yield to the moral relativity which says there is no right or wrong for sure; God’s commandments are trustworthy and sure.

Let us not bend to the skepticism that seeks to discredit God’s Word, and would elevate doubt in God to the status of modern wisdom; it’s the opposite; doubting where love and life and grace and hope and joy are found, in Christ, is the foolishness that would destroy us. 

Let us be wise and enlightened by the Holy Spirit to hear the voice of truth, found in God’s inspired Word; and to continue to seek true wisdom in the one and only Gospel. 

Let us be wise, as Jesus teaches us, to follow the example of the little children, who just love and trust in Him with an open heart.

Let us be wise to know the limits and inadequacies of this transient world, and to know that, as Jesus says in Mark 1:15, “The kingdom of God has come near, Repent and believe the good news!”.

People can go to mullahs and gurus and philosophers and professors and advisors, to universities and seminars and websites, to all kinds of places to seek wisdom, but true wisdom is found in the least of these, in the manger, where God’s infant Son was laid.

May the wisdom He brought from Heaven to earth always be the wisdom you seek and live by. 

And as you seek God’s wisdom, His peace, which passes understanding, will guard your heart and mind, in Christ Jesus, God’s only and all-wise Son. Amen.