Pastor’s Podium

Martin Luther once warned the city councilmen of Germany with these words: "You should know that God's word and grace is like a passing shower of rain which does not return where it has once been. It has been with the Jews, but when it's gone it's gone, and now they have nothing. Paul brought it to the Greeks; but again when it's gone it's gone, and now they have the Turk. Rome and the Latins also had it; but when it's gone it's gone, and now they have the pope. And you Germans need not think that you will have it forever, for ingratitude and contempt will not make it stay. Therefore, seize it and hold it fast, whoever can; for lazy hands are bound to have a lean year."

Luther's words were sadly prophetic. His words are also a warning to us. If we don't hunger for God's gifts, He may take them from us and give them to others who appreciate them.

The account of the Magi is an example of Luther's principal in action.

The account of the magi is full of ironic contrasts. Herod, the man who occupied the throne was not even Jewish much less a descendant of David. At the same time, the one who was a descendant of David and rightfully deserved the throne lived the life of a peasant. The chief priests and scribes have all the prophecies of the Christ at their fingertips. They should know about the birth of the king, but it is foreign magi who come looking for the new born king.

Now, these foreigners come in asking about the King of the Jews. When Herod asked for knowledge from the prophets, the chief priests and scribes find the exact prophecy that applies to this situation. What harm would it do to send a servant or a small delegation to investigate the findings of these foreigners? If these foreigners turned out to be a group of crazy people? All that would be lost is a few days. But, if these foreigners turned out to be correct, a person could have the opportunity to be in the presence of the Messiah while He was still a child.

The chief priests and the scribes illustrate a point that C.F.W. Walther made in a lecture that he gave on Sept. 19, 1884. He said, "A person may pretend to be a Christian though in reality he is not. As long as he is in this condition, he is quite content with his knowledge of the mere outlines of Christian doctrine. Everything beyond that, he says, is for pastors and theologians." By their lack of curiosity, the chief priests and scribes demonstrate that they are just as ungodly as Herod himself is.

C.F.W. Walther also described the attitude of the magi. He said, "The moment someone becomes a Christian, there arises in him a keen desire for the doctrine of Christ. At the moment of their conversion even the most uncultured peasants are suddenly awakened and begin to reflect on God and heaven, salvation and damnation, and so forth. They start to wonder about the deepest problems of human life." The high priests and scribes wouldn’t travel a few miles down the road. The magi were willing to follow a star to a foreign land. The magi show us that even the most ordinary Christian will hunger for more of the divine truth and assurance that can only be found in the Word of God.

The temple authorities know the family, the tribe, the place, the city, and they point it out to Herod. But, they don't believe it themselves. Even though they have this information, they disagreed with it. If they would have believed it, their response would have been to go with the magi to worship the child.

The devil still likes to get into the act and fabricate a false Christ, a Christ that is more to our liking than the one in the Bible. The culture outside wants us to believe that all religions lead to the same god, that they all provide salvation in some way. Then when Jesus tells us that He is the only way, instead of getting angry at the world for lying to us, we get angry at Jesus for being too narrow minded.

God watched over the magi, the star went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was. Even though they did not understand, the Holy Spirit led them and they looked into the face of God.