Epiphany

Epiphany

January 6, 2013 Morning Service

Immanuel Baptist Church, Wagoner, OK

Rick Boyne

Message Point: God’s message of salvation was intended for all people.

Focus Passage: Matthew 2:1-12

Supplemental Passage: He says, "It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant To raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the preserved ones of Israel; I will also make You a light of the nations So that My salvation may reach to the end of the earth." (Isaiah 49:6 NASB)

Introduction: Epiphany: (ἐπιφάνεια, epiphaneia, "manifestation", "striking appearance") : a sudden, intuitive perception of or insight into the reality or essential meaning of something, usually initiated by some simple, homely, or commonplace occurrence or experience.

I. The Magi

a. The original word here is μάγοι magoi, from which comes our word magician, now used in a bad sense, but not so in the original. The persons here denoted were philosophers, priests, or astronomers. They lived chiefly in Persia and Arabia. They were the learned men of the Eastern nations. devoted to astronomy, to religion, and to medicine. They were held in high esteem by the Persian court, were admitted as counsellors, and followed the camps in war to give advice. – Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible

b. These men were not Jews, but they knew about the Jewish Messiah to be born

c. They did not come to worship Him as God, or a god, but as a prince

II. The Message

a. When the Magi arrived, they were undoubtedly told of the angelic messengers

b. The Message of salvation was revealed, albeit miniscule-ly, to gentiles

c. A LIGHT OF REVELATION TO THE GENTILES, And the glory of Your people Israel." (Luke 2:32 NASB)

III. The Mission

a. The mission we have is to take the message of salvation to the ends of the earth

b. That is not the job of missionaries or evangelists or preachers; it is every Christian’s task

c. "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." (Matthew 28:19-20 NASB)

Invitation: