Welcome Christmas Eve. And there is no greater sign associated with Christmas than the Star of Bethlehem. What was its importance then? And what in heavens could God be saying to us tonight on this Christmas Eve? Let us hear the Word of God tonight from the Old Testament, Genesis 1:14-16, and the New Testament, Matthew 2:1-2, 9-12.

And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so. And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.[1]

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, 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.”

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. 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. And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way.[2]

Through the years of preaching Christmas Eve sermons, I have touched upon the subject of the Star of Bethlehem several times. I have always noted that science has substantiated the appearance of a luminary body about the time of the birth of Christ in present day Israel. It has been attributed to everything from a comet to a supernova.[3] The wisest statement I have read came from one scientist who sensibly observed, “This reconstruction is by no means the last word on the subject.”[4]

Old Testament scholars have provided some insight about understanding stars from the point-of-view of those in the Ancient Near East:

In modern times, the sun is considered a star, but in the ancient world and in the Bible, the sun, moon, and stars were distinguished (Gen. 1:16). Moreover, though planets are not considered stars today, biblical writers did consider them such. The “Day Star, son of Dawn” (Isa. 14:12), was most likely Venus, and “the star of your god Rephan” (Acts 7:43) was probably Saturn. The Bible often expresses wonder at the stars as part of the magnificence of God’s creation, with particular attention to their quantity: no one can count them (Gen. 15:5; 22:17; 26:4).[5]

I want to move beyond the scientific considerations about the Star of Bethlehem and even a Biblical survey of the study of stars to the deep spiritual meaning of that one Star. Its appearance is a deliberate sign that Matthew connects with reaching out to Gentiles to bring them to the worship of Jesus Christ in fulfillment of prophecy that He will be Lord and Savior of all Peoples.

Today, we must be attentive to the Holy Spirit to what God is saying to us on this wondrous Christmas Eve: for the Lord still speaks, if not through that Star, then, through His Word which teaches us about this Star. And what does He say? The Lord desires to reach the world through His unexpected sign to bring estranged people from afar to worship His Son.

And how does the Star of Bethlehem demonstrate this to us tonight? In my prayers and in my studies this week I have been drawn to at least three truths about how God uses this unexpected sign to lead estranged people from afar to worship Jesus Christ.

God uses His own creation as a messenger.

The Star of Bethlehem was created by God. It was one of the stars that He made either at Genesis or one that He created for this special revelatory purpose. I am in awe of the way Moses wrote it in Genesis 1: “And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.”[6] “He made the stars also.” With such wondrous brevity and quiet majesty, the Holy Bible testifies to the of the inconceivable glory and inexpressible power of Almighty God. This is the wonder that has inspired grand and glorious music about this star![7]

The Magi were Gentiles. They were pagans. They studied the stars. They called this Star, “His Star.” John Calvin taught that all of mankind has a sensus divinitatus within his spirit which is the very image of God.[8] This is the awareness that there is a divine Creator. This is not enough for salvation, but is enough for conscience to convict that there is a need to seek to be restored to this God. God condescends to what He called “eternity in our hearts” by meeting us at this point of inquiry. Though Isaiah says that “none seek God,” other Scriptures demonstrate that there is a struggle of good and evil with this “eternity in their heart” in the middle. Thus, God uses Creation—stars, the expansive heavens, the endless sea, the changing seasons—, everyday graces, to draw us to Himself so that He can reveal Jesus His Son.

Yet, this was a special case. And that is the second truth.

God uses His own creation as a miracle.

In the case of the Star of Christ Jesus, God used this heavenly luminary in a miraculous way. It appeared over Jesus’ birthplace. It guided the Gentiles. When Herod sought the Child, the Gentiles saw the Star again and were led. The Lord interrupted time and space with the star to lead the Wise Men to worship and to return with the news of Christ to their land.

The Lord does this many times in His Word with other parts of His creation. In fact, in the case of Stars, the luminaries accompany His First Advent, accompany Pentecost, and we are told will become, if not apocalyptic metaphors for His Second Advent, actual disruptions in the heavens to signal His return.[9]

St. Paul tells us that all creation groans with eagerness for the return of the Lord Jesus to be set free from the sin that has infected their own order. The new heaven and the new earth will mean a liberty not only for the children of God, but for all of creation. Creation, then, is a servant of God. Creation serves God in miraculous ways to draw us to God, to point us to the Creator.

God uses His own creation as a witness.

He also used the Star as a witness as it settled over the Christ child. But, notice, also that it was a witness against Herod. He lied that he wanted to see the star and worship this King. He denied the sign.

All of this speaks to the sign that we all have now: the inerrant and infallible Word of the living God. God created this ultimate light through His own Spirit. God caused this light to shine and to be miraculous—supernatural—as it can accomplish what we cannot. And God uses this light as a witness to Jesus Christ, either a witness to see you follow that Word to the manger, to the cross; or as a witness to see you deny the sign, deny the King.

Nothing has changed on this Christmas Eve from that time when the sign was given to the Gentiles and to Herod.

Conclusion

So, the Star of Bethlehem is an unexpected sign to an unexpected people: a single heavenly luminary moving miraculously to guide pagan astrologers to find the King of Kings and to condemn the one who claimed to a true son of God by his lineage. The Covenant was going forth. This Epiphany to the Gentiles would begin a worldwide movement that would fulfill the Scriptures foretelling that Abraham’s descendants would be all over the world. You and I who have trusted in Christ Jesus are His true descendants. For a promise is stronger than blood.

Yet, the greatest unexpected sign in all of history is not the Star nor the Wise Men nor even the manger. It is the Cross. For the shadow of that cross fell upon the manger. This Christ was born to die for the sins of the world. We are celebrating the coming of God in the flesh, the Incarnation. Yet, He came not just to become Man, but to become sin for Man, so that men and women and boys and girls would be led by the light of His love, His life, His sacrifice back to Eden Restored.

If you have never received Him then it is not His Star that He sends to You tonight. He sends Himself, through the power of the Holy Spirit. He welcomes you to come to Him by faith, follow Him by faith, obediently worship Him by faith, and love Him with all your heart and soul and strength. For the One who “made the stars, also” overturned death and hell just as easily. And without any difficulty He defeated the grave. Tonight, we receive the meek yet mysterious elements of His Body and Blood in this Holy Eucharist as another sign to lead us back to the Cross and forward to a New Heaven and a New Earth.

There is not a single star over us tonight. There are innumerable stars. For the Scripture says: “And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above; and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.”[10] Will you be in that number?

In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

—

Endnotes

[1] The Holy Bible: King James Version, Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version. (Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 2009), Ge 1:14–16.

[2] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2016), Mt 2:1-2; 9–12.

[3] See, e.g., Ruth S. Freitag and Library of Congress. Office of Bibliography., The Star of Bethlehem : A List of References (Washington: Library of Congress : for sale by the Supt. of Docs., U.S. Govt. Print. Off., 1979); David W. Hughes, The Star of Bethlehem Mystery : An Astronomer’s Confirmation (London: J. M. Dent, 1979); Mark R. Kidger, The Star of Bethlehem : An Astronomer’s View (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1999).

[4] The origin of this statement to me is forgotten. But, the material dealing with the scientific explanation of the star is not lacking. For example: “The star seen by the wise men ‘in the east’ at the birth of Christ and which ‘went before them till it came and stood over where the young child was’ [i.e. at *Bethlehem] (Mt. 2:1–11). Several attempts have been made to connect the star with unusual astronomical phenomena at the time, e.g. J. *Kepler calculated that there was a conjunction of the planets, Jupiter and Saturn, in 7 B.C.

A modern suggestion, with refs. to other recent lit., was made by C. J. Humphreys, ‘The Star of Bethlehem—a Comet in 5 B.C.—and the Date of the Birth of Christ’, Quarterly Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society, 32 (1991), pp. 389–407. M. R. Molnar, The Star of Bethlehem (New Brunswick and London [1999]). F. L. Cross and Elizabeth A. Livingstone, eds., The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (Oxford;  New York: Oxford University Press, 2005), 1548.

[5]  Arland J. Hultgren and Mark Allan Powell, “Stars,” ed. Mark Allan Powell, The HarperCollins Bible Dictionary (Revised and Updated) (New York: HarperCollins, 2011), 991.

[6] The Holy Bible: King James Version, Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version. (Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 2009), Ge 1:16.

[7] Rheinberger, Josef, F. von Hoffnaass, Rita Streich, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Robert Heger, Bayerischer Rundfunk. Chor., and Symphonie-Orchester Graunke. “The Star of Bethlehem.” sound recording. Hollywood, California: Angel, 1969. See, also, Adams, Stephen and F. E. Weatherly. The Star of Bethlehem: Song. No. 3 in G. ed. New York: Boosey & Hawkes.

[8] See, e.g., Plantinga, Alvin and Nicholas Wolterstorff. “Faith and Rationality.” Noûs 20, no. 3 (1986): 401-13.

[9] “Stars in apocalyptic contexts largely are seen either as signs foretelling judgment (Isa 13:10, Ezek 32:7, Dan 8:10; Joel 2:10; 3:15; Mark 13:25 and parallels; Rev 6:13; 8:10–12; 9:1) or as entities symbolizing Christ’s glory (Rev 2:28; 22:16). Stars are also used to denote the angels of the seven churches in Revelation corresponding to the lampstands (Rev 1:16, 20; 2:1; 3:1), as well as to certain false teachers who are described as “wandering stars” (Jude 13). Edward W. Watson, “Star,” ed. John D. Barry et al., The Lexham Bible Dictionary (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2016).

[10] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2016), Da 12:3.

When Christ Was Born

©2012 Words and Music by Michael Anthony Milton (BMI)

 

When Christ was born

There was no halo o’er his head

There were no edicts to be read

It was just another day

When Christ was born

There were no harps to play him song

There were no cheering, crowds to throng

Only cattle in the stall

But there were angels in the sky

And there were choirs that sung on high

Of God come down to Man

And a Kingdom that would stand

And there were prophecies come true

A covenant anew

And everything changed

When Christ was born

When Christ was born

There was no bed to cradle Him

There was no palace and no inn

He didn’t have a home

When Christ was born

There were no soldiers guarding by

As a madman sought the Child

His family fled like refugees

But there were angels in the sky

And a star that gave His light

To guide the seers and shepherds near

To see the glorious sight

And countless souls would live

Eternity to give

Worship wrapped in humble rags for Him

When Christ was born

When Christ was born

When Christ our Lord was born

References

Holy Bible: 1611 Edition: King James Version. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 2003.

Crossway Books. ESV Study Bible: English Standard Version. ESV text ed. Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway, 2007.

Cross, F. L. and Elizabeth A. Livingstone. The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. 3rd ed. Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press, 2005.

Freitag, Ruth S. and Library of Congress. Office of Bibliography. The Star of Bethlehem : A List of References. Washington: Library of Congress: U.S. Govt. Print. Office, 1979.

Hughes, David W. The Star of Bethlehem Mystery: An Astronomer’s Confirmation. London: J. M. Dent, 1979.

Kidger, Mark R. The Star of Bethlehem: An Astronomer’s View. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1999.

Plantinga, Alvin and Nicholas Wolterstorff. “Faith and Rationality.” Noûs 20, no. 3 (1986): 401-13.

Rheinberger, Josef, F. von Hoffnaass, Rita Streich, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Robert Heger, Bayerischer Rundfunk. Chor., and Symphonie-Orchester Graunke. “The Star of Bethlehem.” sound recording. Hollywood, CA: Angel, 1969.