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| The Three Magi, Byzantine mosaic, c. 565 |
commemorates the journey of the wise men who followed the bright star to Bethlehem.
“Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the reign of King Herod. About that time some wise men from eastern lands arrived in Jerusalem, asking, “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star as it rose, and we have come to worship him.” (Matt 2: 1-2)
I remember, some years ago now, getting off the Qantas jet at Orlando airport in Florida, totally exhausted. It was about 2:30am in the morning. I had got onto a flight in Melbourne and flown seventeen long hours to Los Angeles International Airport.
Then I’d waited another couple of hours and got a connecting flight to Dallas, a three hour trip. Then another long wait, and then another nearly three hour flight to Orlando.
So, I got off the plane totally tired and over-caffeinated. My head was singing with weariness. You know how you can become almost over-alert when you haven’t slept for two days.
I was in Orlando to participate in the Exponential church-planting conference and also catch up with my daughter, who was working at Disney World. So at around 3am, I picked my rental car, packed my stuff in the boot and plugged in my GPS system.
I had NO idea where I was going, all I could do was punch in the address and keep reminding myself over and over again: “They drive on the right hand side of the road here.”
The awesome GPS kicked in, with a comforting Aussie accent. “In two kilometres turn right. At the round-about in 500 metres take the third exit.”
I could even choose whether to read it in miles or kilometres.
And the tiny arrows on the little screen reminded me to keep right not left.
Even 15,000 kilometres away in totally foreign territory, at 3am in the morning in pitch black, it got me right to the front door.
How awesome to hear a voice that guided me so confidently in a strange land, especially when I was too weary to even think it through myself.
At the start of this new year, 2026, we need God’s light; God’s guidance for a new and uncertain year.
We use the word “Epiphany” to mean a revelation – a sudden God-given insight or clear guidance! It’s an “Ah-ha!” moment!
More formally, Epiphany is the Christian feast intended to celebrate the “shining forth” or revelation of God to mankind in human form, in the person of Jesus.
It’s a reminder of that bright shining Christmas Star — God’s GPS system, that guided a group of Persian priests, the Magi (Senior advisors to their king) all the way to Bethlehem where they met with the one who was the “Light of the World.” The date of the feast was fixed on January 6. That helps differentiate it from Christmas day, because they would not have arrived till much later, maybe two years after the birth off Jesus.
One of the things that can slip by in the retelling of the story is the question the Magi asked when they reached Jerusalem: “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.”
The wise men came seeking a great King.
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| Window of St. Deiniol's Church in Hawarden, Flintshire |
From that time the Magi ceased to have any ambitions for power or prestige, and became a tribe of priests. They became in Persia almost exactly what the Levites were in Israel. They became the teachers and instructors of the Persian kings. In Persia no sacrifice could be offered unless one of the Magi was present. They became men of holiness and wisdom.
These Magi were men who were skilled in philosophy, medicine and natural science. They were soothsayers and interpreters of dreams and of the heavens.
In later times the word Magus developed a much lower meaning, and came to mean little more than a fortune-teller, a sorcerer, a magician, and a charlatan. Such was Elymas, the sorcerer mentioned in Acts 13 and Simon who is commonly called Simon Magus in Acts 8. At their best the Magi were seekers after truth.
The Magi believed that they could foretell the future from the stars, and they believed that a person’s destiny was settled by the star under which they were born. It is not difficult to see how that belief arose. The stars pursue their unvarying courses; they represent the order of the universe. If then there suddenly appeared some brilliant star, if the unvarying order of the heavens was broken by some special phenomenon, it did look as if God was breaking into order, and announcing some special thing.
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| Persian observatory near Meraga 1259AD |
We cannot tell what star the Magi saw; but it was their profession to watch the heavens, and some heavenly brilliance spoke to them of the entry of a king into the world.
Interesting that it was Magi – sorcerers; magicians who in the darkness, used what little light, the light of the stars, superstition and tradition, to guide them to the true light the would blaze into the world
It may seem extraordinary that those men should set out from the East to find a king, but the strange thing is that, just about the time Jesus was born, there was in the world a strange feeling of expectation of the coming of a king.
Suetonius the Roman historian wrote: "There had spread over all the Orient an old and established belief, that it was fated at that time for men coming from Judaea to rule the world" (Suetonius: Life of Vespasian, 4: 5).
Tacitus, another historian said:"There was a firm persuasion ... that at this very time the East was to grow powerful, and rulers coming from Judaea were to acquire universal empire" (Tacitus: Histories, 5: 13).
According to Josephus the Jewish historian, the Jews had the belief that "about that time one from their country should become governor of the habitable earth" (Josephus: Wars of the Jews, 6: 5, 4).
Almost at the same time as Jesus was born we find Augustus, the Roman Emperor, being hailed as the Saviour of the World, and Virgil, the Roman poet, writing about the golden days to come.
“When Jesus Christ was born into this world, there was an eagerness of expectation. Men [sic] were waiting for God. The desire for God was in the hearts of men. They had discovered that they could not build the golden age without God. It was to a waiting world that Jesus came; and when he came, the ends of the earth were gathered around his cradle. It was the first sign and symbol of the world conquest of Christ.” (William Barclay)
So what does Epiphany say to me about God’s leading; about God’s light shed on my path? How might navigate 2026? What epiphany will God give to you or me as we watch and listen.
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1. God’s guidance is unbounded.
God’s Light reaches into the darkest and furthest corner. It reaches all the way to a bunch of pagans, occultists, who you would think could never have discerned God’s leading!
I remember hearing the testimony of a man for whom life had been just so difficult and hopeless. In despair he checks into a cheap motel room with a shotgun and big bottle off whiskey. “God, if you are there, listen up. When I finish this bottle I’m going to end it all tonight” he says as he sits son the bed and turns the TV on for some background noise. And there at 4am in the morning, one of the more disreputable TV evangelists is on air, and he hears this: “God loved the world so much he sent his son to die for you on a cross, you don’t have to go it alone!” — And the words become an Epiphany. And sobbing on the frayed carpet, the man’’s life is changed.
Francis Thompson, about a hundred years ago wrote a poem about the God who hunts us down like a blood-hound, who never stops tracking us until we are found.
I fled Him, down the nights and down the days;
I fled Him, down the arches of the years;
I fled Him, down the labyrinthine ways
Of my own mind; and in the mist of tears
I hid from Him, and under running laughter.
Up vistaed hopes I sped;
And shot, precipitated,
A-down Titanic glooms
of chasmed fears,
From those strong Feet that followed,
followed after.
But with unhurrying chase,
And unperturbèd pace,
Deliberate speed, majestic instancy,
They beat — and a Voice beat
More instant than the Feet —
"All things betray thee, who betrayest Me.”
(The Hound of Heaven by Francis Thompson (1859-1907)
No matter who you are or what sort of disaster 2025 has been, God's light and voice will find you — if you have the ears to hear and the eyes to see.
2. God’s Guidance is often unconventional and unexpected
A star shining in the East to astrologers;
A peasant baby in a Bethlehem stable.
I remember my mum talking about a stranger woman who met her and her friend many decades ago when as young adults they were seeking to escape a totalitarian regime, and guided them across a guarded border to freedom. An angel she believed it was who led the way.
I remember going as an 18 year old cynic to a young adults camp. The speaker didn’t want to be there because he had just gone through a family tragedy. I didn’t want to be there either, but came to humour a friend. And there listening unwillingly, I heard a verse I had heard before but never truly taken in: “You shall seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart — and I shall be found of you, says the Lord.” (Jer 29: 12-13). Something clicked! An epiphany that turned my life around.
Be alert for the surprises of God in how and when and through whom you will see the light.
3. God’s Guidance leads us closer to Jesus Christ
The Magi thought they were heading to a great palace! I believe when they traced the route west on a map, maybe they thought they were heading to Rome itself. Maybe Augustus had had a son. Maybe Herod’s wife had just had a baby.
But no, they are taken away from the great city; from the philosophers, the Pharisees, from the Sadducees and lawyers and soldiers and aristocrats to a little village and met a peasant toddler, Jesus.
Following the Star - seeing light having an epiphany is not an end in itself. Its not a magic trick for personal success or glory, God’s guiding star will lead you to the one who brings the reign of God
The Samaritan woman sweating in the heat of the day as she pulls water out of the well wishes that she could have a supply of ‘living’ water, running fresh cool water. How much better and easier would that make her life. But instead she meets the one who IS Living Water - One who quenches a deeper thirst, weltschmerz — and she runs to her village and all of her community meet Jesus. They say to the woman: “We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Saviour of the world.” (John 4:42)
Isaiah in prayer in the temple (Isaiah 6) has an epiphany, he sees God on a throne high and lifted up, but the result isn’t just an exhilarating experience.
His sin is atoned for and his guilt is taken away as the live coal from the altar is touched to his lips and the voice of the Lord calls him into service, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And Isaiah responds: “Here am I. Send me!”
This is not some shallow well-being scheme - its about the one who made you and sets you free and calls you into a new way of living.
4. God’s guidance takes faith
God’s epiphany moves us out of our comfort zone. Can you see the Magi discussing and planning for the trip. Modern Tehran to Jerusalem is a seven hour plane flight. It’s 2,000 kilometres. It’s pretty close to hiking from Melbourne to Cairns with no motels or freeways or supermarkets or highway patrols on the way! That’s many, many weeks of arduous dangerous travel on foot across the desert. Can you see the weeks of work organising camels, servants, water, food, gifts, tents and weapons. Tearful farewells with their loved ones. A long journey with no guarantee of a safe return.
Can you see eighty-year old Moses, surrounded by the safety of his flock of sheep in the quiet of the desert staring at the burning bush? After forty safe years, was he really going to leave all this and head back into Egypt to tackle the most powerful king and army in the world?
Can you see Peter leaving the fishing business to follow? Or Ruth leaving her family and home to follow Naomi into a new land with a new god? Or Gideon hiding out in his corn press watching the ruthless Midianites dominate his land and with fear and dread realising the angel epiphany he had just had, meant walking out into open battle with an invincible foe.
5. God’s guidance is risky
The Magi left their home and security and sphere of power and they travelled dangerous paths where no one would recognise their authority. They risked the wrath of the disturbed and dangerous King Herod by not going back and telling him about the child they found.
I remember talking with an overseas uni student, a follower of Jesus, saying his prayer was to find the courage to stand strong when he returned home to an environment that would ostracise him for his beliefs: “I want to be found worthy to suffer for Christ.”
I recall reading about William Milne, who in the late 1800s left home to live and serve a far flung local community in a distant land. Many others like him at that time, instead of suitcases, packed their few earthly belongings into coffins. As they sailed out of port, they waved good-bye to everyone they loved, everything they knew. They knew they'd never return home.
For thirty-five years, he lived among those people and loved them. When he died, tribe members buried him in the middle of their village and inscribed this epitaph on his tombstone: “When he came there was no light. When he left there was no darkness.” Are you up for the cost of God’s epiphany to you? Sometimes we are to become the epiphany to others who can see Jesus in our actions.
6. God’s guidance is costly
The Magi had to budget for a long journey. They were forfeiting income for that time. And they took gifts, very costly gifts: Gold, myrrh and frankincense. It is costly to bow before and to honour and to worship a King
Mark’s gospel tells the story of a man who had an epiphany, he recognised Jesus as one who could give eternal life:
“….a man came running up, greeted [Jesus] him with great reverence, and asked, ‘Good Teacher, what must I do to get eternal life?’
Jesus said, ‘Why are you calling me good? No one is good, only God. You know the commandments: Don’t murder, don’t commit adultery, don’t steal, don’t lie, don’t cheat, honour your father and mother.’
He said, ‘Teacher, I have—from my youth—kept them all!’
Jesus looked him hard in the eye—and loved him! He said, ‘There’s one thing left: Go sell whatever you own and give it to the poor. All your wealth will then be heavenly wealth. And come follow me.’
The man’s face clouded over. This was the last thing he expected to hear, and he walked off with a heavy heart. He was holding on tight to a lot of things, and not about to let go.
Looking at his disciples, Jesus said, “Do you have any idea how difficult it is for people who ‘have it all’ to enter God’s kingdom? The disciples couldn’t believe what they were hearing, but Jesus kept on: ‘You can’t imagine how difficult. I’d say it’s easier for a camel to go through a needle’s eye than for the rich to get into God’s kingdom.’” [Mark 10:17-31MSG]
God’s guidance, God’s epiphany, is unbounded, and unconventional, and leads us towards Christ, and takes faith and is risky and is costly
In 1932, Anderson Overton, was a pastor of a church in Mississippi with a wife and three small children. His wife was pregnant with their fourth child but when it came time for delivery, there were complications and both she and the baby died. During the funeral service, the preacher officiating the service noticed Overton writing something on a piece of paper. After the service the minister asked him about it, and he handed him the paper with a poem he had just written which he titled, “He Maketh No Mistake”. This became one of there great lament hymns of the faith.
My Father’s way may twist and turn,
my heart may throb and ache.
But in my soul I’m glad I know,
He makes no mistake.
My cherished plans may go astray,
my hopes may fade away,
but still I’ll trust my Lord to lead,
for He doth know the way.
Tho’ night be dark and it may seem
that day will never break;
I’ll pin my faith, my all in Him,
He makes no mistake.
There’s so much now I cannot see,
my eyesight’s far too dim;
but come what may,
I’ll simply trust
and leave it all to Him.
For by and by the mist will lift
and plain it all He’ll make.
Through all the way, tho’ dark to me,
He made not one mistake.
Lyrics: A.M. Overton (1932),
The Proverb writer, no doubt remembering having to travel across wild lands with no street lights or GPS apps or maps looks to the faint but sure light of the stars guiding the way: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.” Proverbs 3:5-6 (NLT)
As we celebrate epiphany, remember the same God who’s star-light the Magi follows still guides us.
May you in peace, love and care for one another in the name of Jesus, and as this new year commences and continues, may the light of God surround you, the love of Jesus draw you closer to Himself, and the power of the Spirit strengthen you and grant you joy, both now and for evermore. Amen.