The Star, the Voice, and the Dove Matthew 2:1-2 and Luke 3:21-22
Grace, mercy, and peace be with you, from God our Father, and our baptized Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Today we celebrate the Epiphany and the Baptism of our Lord. We’ll look at the God-given signs around them: the Star, the Voice and the Dove, all bearing witness to Jesus as God’s Son.
To continue with and conclude our Christmas story, after traveling to Bethlehem for the census, during which Jesus was born, Joseph seems to have set up shop there, rather than going back to live in Nazareth.
In our Gospel two Sundays ago, we heard the story of Joseph and Mary taking their first born to the temple in Jerusalem to be dedicated to the Lord, according to Mosaic law.
Luke says that then they returned to Nazareth. This can mean one of two things: either Luke is talking in the big picture and long-term, that they would eventually return to Nazareth, which they did after their time in Bethlehem and then in Egypt.
Or it might be because they went back to Nazareth to gather their things and take care of business and then make the move to Bethlehem.
Mary and Joseph knew the prophecy from Micah, that the Messiah would come from Bethlehem, “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel.”
So, it made sense they would choose to live in Bethlehem with their child.
Some months later, when King Herod was trying to kill the baby Messiah, they escaped to Egypt.
After Herod died, they intended to move back to Bethlehem, but an angel told Joseph in a dream to go back to Nazareth, which Matthew tells us fulfilled yet another prophecy: He shall be called a Nazarene.
So to fulfill Scripture, Jesus as a child lived in both Bethlehem and Nazareth.
In between Jesus’ birth and His escape to Egypt, was another amazing event in the life of the young Messiah.
Matthew 2:1-2 tells us, After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east (probably Persia) came to Jerusalem 2 and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”
Herod consulted his scholars who directed the Magi to Bethlehem.
Matthew says, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11 On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.
This is the event in the life of Jesus that we celebrate on Epiphany.
Jesus was worshipped by the Magi from far away Persia, showing that He is the Messiah who was sent to save the world, a Savior not for some, but for all, for Jew and Persian and Gentile and people of every nation, rich and poor, highly educated, like the Magi, or less educated like Joseph and Mary, every man and woman and child, every race and ethnicity, a Savior for all who repent and believe.
The star was a sign, an announcement that God’s Son, the King of salvation, had finally come into the world.
About 30 years later, there would be another sign, this time that the Messiah was ready to begin His ministry to save the world.
Luke says in our Gospel: 21 When all the people were being baptized, (by John the Baptist in the Jordan River) Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened 22 and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”
God combined touch, sound and sight in affirming His Son as the chosen Savior.
Touch was the water; sound was the voice from heaven; and sight was the dove, as earlier was the star, all bearing witness to God’s Son.
Jesus felt the water as it was poured over him by John, as he was baptized, not for forgiveness, but for identification and blessing – to anoint Him and make it known that He was the One chosen to save the world, who would now begin His ministry.
We feel the water pouring over us at Baptism, and we see it poured over our children or others whose baptisms we witness. The water bears witness to God’s promise in Mark 16:16, that the one who believes and is baptized shall be saved. And in 1 Peter 3:21, that baptism now saves you.
In Jesus’ baptism, God shows us the One who would win our salvation, and in our baptism, God brings that salvation into our lives.
Next involving Jesus’ baptism was sight. Luke says, Heaven was opened 22 and the Holy Spirit descended on Him in bodily form like a dove.
This showed that the Holy Spirit was with Jesus completely. Jesus had no sin in Him competing with the Holy Spirit, and so His faith and love were perfect.
As for us, we struggle with sin, which works to weaken our faith in God, and our love for others. So we need a Baptism for forgiveness, the washing away of our sin.
As by faith we daily repent and live in our baptism, we have our Savior’s forgiveness to cleanse us, and the Holy Spirit’s power to strengthen us.
So at the Baptism of our Lord there was touch – the feel of the water, and sight –the dove descending, and sound – the voice of the Father.
Luke says, And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”
This confirmed the identity of Jesus, that He is who He says He is, God’s dear and only Son, sent from Heaven, and so we can trust Him completely to be our Savior. We can listen to Him, and follow Him, knowing He won’t mislead or let us down.
We still have God’s voice for us today in His Word. Each time we hear it read, and proclaimed, and taught; as we hear His Word shared and witnessed; as we read and study and learn His Word, and memorize verses from it, it’s the voice of God speaking to us -- comforting us, correcting us, uplifting us, guiding us, warning us, enlightening us, forgiving us, saving us.
God’s Word is His personal voice to you. So hold it dearly, regard it highly, and learn it diligently.
God has, not just something for us to see and hear, His Word, but also something for us to see and touch, His Sacraments. God touches us in Baptism and we touch Him in Holy Communion.
As we feel the water pouring over us and hear His Triune name, it’s God touching us with His Spirit; His spirit entering ours, washing away our sins, bringing us faith, making us His dear children. We feel this happening in the touch of the water.
And we the touch our Lord in His holy Supper, as we see and take and touch and taste the bread and wine, in which is hidden our Lord’s body and blood, which we can’t see, but we know and believe.
As we touch and take the bread and taste the wine, we’re touching and tasting all the blessings they contain, all that we receive for our soul’s well-being: forgiveness and peace and comfort and joy and hope and love and so much more, we touch and taste it in the bread and the wine.
Through sight and sound and taste and touch, God is connecting us to Himself, to His Son, and to His Spirit. We’re humans, and this is how we experience and connect, through our senses, and so this is how God comes to us and blesses us, in His Word and His Sacraments.
On Epiphany, the star and the Magi point us to Christ. At His Baptism, the water and the voice and the dove point us to Jesus.
Today, His Sacraments and everything in His Word, point us to and connect us with God’s dear Son, through whom we are loved and saved, and blessed in so many ways.
May we never lose sight nor sound of Him; may we never separate ourselves from His loving embrace, and never let go of His healing touch.
And may we always follow and serve Him with joy, knowing that His peace, which passes understanding, will guard our hearts minds, in Christ Jesus, our Lord, to whom the Star, the Voice, and the Dove, all bear witness. Amen.