Abstract
Manifest Unto All
The ability to learn from difficulties and allow those experiences to produce maturity within us is an essential life discipline that begins early in life. For instance, birth itself results in suffering because life within the womb is lost. Imagine talking with a baby just a few days prior to birth and asking the infant to leave the safety and warmth of the prenatal home, where food is received without effort and both child and mother are in the closest possible union. Envision describing the painful journey through a narrow channel while the baby’s mother cries in pain, and the infant would certainly want to remain in the womb. Nevertheless, if the child receives a proper upbringing, the baby will soon learn the pleasure of breastfeeding, the delight in body awareness, and the joyfulness in being held and receiving smiles, in addition to giggling and laughing. The world quickly becomes fascinating, and a return to the womb is inconceivable. What originally seemed loss resulted in gain. Weaning becomes another remarkable experience, which (although necessary) is not desired by the infant, as the baby is no longer dependant upon breastfeeding and learns to appreciate a more extensive variety of nourishment.
All loss is ultimately some preparation for new possibilities and realizations. For instance, Isaiah 60 reveals God’s restoration of his people (v. 1), who were in ‘deep darkness’ as a consequence of sin (v. 2). To accomplish the renewal, God first sought to help Israel recognize the benefit that would arise from their distressing loss of Jerusalem and the ensuing years in exile. Isaiah prophesied regarding the time when God would begin anew with Jerusalem’s destiny, and glorify his people by sending them as priests, who gather at the Lord’s house of worship, and also by leading all nations to worship God and behold his majesty (vv. 1–3). The question before the people of God is whether they would discern God’s sovereign purpose in calamity, and heed his commission in the time of restoration. God’s people are exhorted to lift their ‘eyes round about and see’ (v. 4) because she will be sought by an approaching multitude as a result of her radiance (v. 5; cf. Ps 34:6). All nations will bring abundant tribute for they will come to worship at God’s house (v. 6).
Jerusalem was to reflect the light that comes from the Lord (cf. Mal 4:2). Similar to the ‘sun of righteousness’, the Lord will arise upon his people as a rising sun, and will then dispel the ‘deep darkness’ of sin. The light of the Lord’s glory that falls upon his people will attract the Gentiles. The present season is the time to celebrate the Epiphany (Manifestation of Christ), which remembers the visit of the wise men from the east who arrived to present gifts to the Lord Jesus (Matt 2:1–12)
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because they desired to bring their best resources to God. Sacrifice is always an expression of heartfelt devotion, which is manifested in the ‘praises of the
Please note the various responses to the birth of the Lord. First, creation itself responded with a supernatural manifestation: a star (Num 24:17; Matt 2:9–10). While typically called the ‘star of Bethlehem’, the manifestation could also be described as the ‘star over Bedlam’ because the world into which the Lord appeared is a scene of confusion and pandemonium. Once begun as Bethlem Hospital (by a priory for the New Order of St Mary of Bethlehem), the notorious asylum in England was named ‘Bedlam’ to depict the madness and squalor of its patients, and the nickname has become a universal synonym for lunacy. Truly, the Lord’s star glistened over Bedlam to reveal God’s remedy for humanity’s need.
Second, bedlam was especially apparent in the reign of Herod the Great, who responded with deception and trepidation. Herod was infamous for his cunning and cruelty, and he wanted no king threatening his reign (2:1–8). Third, ‘the chief priests and scribes of the people’ conveyed the correct information regarding the Messiah’s birth; however, their response was entirely mistaken for they were indifferent (vv. 4–6). The distance between Jerusalem and Bethlehem is approximately five miles, yet those who knew the Old Testament prophecies did not bother to witness the fulfillment. How deplorable to understand the Bible and it not make an impact upon one’s life!
Fourth, the Gentiles responded by worshiping the Lord and bringing Him gifts (Matt 2:9–12). The wise men were scientists (magi), yet they did not perceive any conflict between religion and science. Devout believers worship the Lord God with heart, soul, and mind (22:37). The star led the wise men to Scripture, and the Bible led them to the Savior. Matthew’s Gospel quickly proves that Jesus came into the world as the Savior of both Jews and Gentiles. Epiphany, therefore, principally commemorates Jesus’ manifestation to the Gentiles, which is realized in fact by the proclamation of Christ’s name to all nations, which began in the kingdom message being declared historically to Samaritans (Acts 8:12) and Gentiles (14:22; 20:25; 28:31), kings (9:15), as well as to Jews (19:8; 28:23), and remains the commission of the present age, which will be consummated in the glorious era when ‘the earth will be full of the knowledge of the
Psalm 72 portrays the consummation of the ages when Messiah shall reign literally and personally over all the earth. The first kingdom depicted is the reign of Solomon who ruled temporally over Israel. His reign extended Israel’s domain, and witnessed burgeoning peace and security (vv. 1–7). The other kingdom depicted is eternal and universal for it is the reign of a promised descendant of Solomon, a greater son of David, the Lord Jesus Christ. Intercessory prayer characterizes the person who yearns for the extending of the Lord’s dominion to all nations (vv. 10–14). Solomon did receive homage in his day (1 Kgs 4:21; 10:1, 23–24), yet Psalm 72 ultimately anticipates the worship of kings in the eternal state (Rev 21:24). The magi’s gifts were simply a foretaste of the day in which kings (and nations over which they rule) will approach the glorified Christ and will bow in his presence. God’s purpose is to fill the entire earth with his glory as he unites ‘all things in Christ’ (Eph 1:10). Are you laboring—by God’s grace—to extend his glory?
Join with the Apostle Paul in praying for divine enablement (3:1) to be faithful stewards of God’s grace (cf. vv. 2, 7). God has made Christ manifest, and believers in the Lord are commissioned to proclaim ‘the manifold wisdom of God’ (vv. 2–10). God’s people are to bring glory to the Lord, and to demonstrate the gift of his grace and the working of his power ‘to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places’ (v. 10). Epiphany celebrates the grace of God being manifest unto all people, and that message is to be proclaimed resolutely until the glorious epiphany of the Lord Jesus Christ in glory and power (cf. Tit 2:11, 13).
Footnotes
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The wise men did not arrive the night of the Lord’s birth; rather, it was probably two years later. The Greek word paidion translated ‘Child’ (Matt 2:9) indicates a ‘young child, a little boy’. If the Lord were no longer an infant when the wise men arrived, it would indicate why Herod eventually ordered the slaughter of ‘all the male children who were in Bethlehem and all its vicinity, from two years old and under’ (v. 16). While the Bible does not indicate the number of wise men, it has been assumed that their number was three due to the quantity of gifts. Moreover, there is no indication that the wise men were kings because Isaiah 60:3 is not applicable to the Lord’s first coming; rather, it refers to the salvation of the nations in the last days associated with Messiah’s second coming.