The Revelation-Response Gap: Epiphany's Warning to Modern Christians

Many believers have heard of the 12 days of Christmas. They last from December 25th (Christmas) until January 6th (Epiphany). While these dates are subject to debate (something I have written on before), the events they commemorate are worth celebrating. Nearly every believer understands that Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus, the day when God the Son set aside His glorious splendor and came as a Baby in a manger, when the Word became flesh, when heaven touched earth, and when everything changed.

However, Epiphany is far less understood, particularly among evangelical Protestants and Spirit-filled believers. It is overlooked for a few reasons. The adults are back to work, the kids have returned to school, and life is back to "business as usual." In fact, January 6th has recently become more associated with the 2021 events at the US Capitol than Epiphany.

Epiphany is the traditional date of the wise men visiting Jesus, but also marks His baptism and when He turned water into wine at Cana. These events share a common thread: Jesus is God. The wise men worshipped Jesus (Matthew 2:11), the Spirit descended upon Him (Matthew 3:16), the Father publicly announced His Son (Matthew 3:17), and Jesus' first miracle "manifested His glory" (John 2:11). Epiphany is all about recognizing Jesus' divinity.

Jesus' divinity is not and has never been popular. Ask a Jehovah's Witness or Muslim if Jesus is the son of God, and they will likely agree that He is. However, if you ask whether Jesus is God, that is an entirely different question for them. Jesus' divinity has been rejected by men from the very beginning, and that has not changed in the past two millennia.

There is also the revelation-response gap: that time that lapses between when someone reveals something to us and when we respond by allowing that revelation to take root in our understanding. It could be a period of obliviousness or willing disobedience. The revelation-response gap is when we either cannot or will not respond to something that someone has revealed to us. This is temporary for some people, but others tragically refuse revelation throughout their lives. They have hardened their hearts against the things of the Lord.

We can see the revelation-response gap in how people responded to Jesus' first coming. Scripture records two main responses, and I believe they contain an urgent warning for the modern church.

The first responses were from people who recognized Jesus' divinity. They knew that He was the promised Messiah and made great efforts to enter His presence and worship Him. They included:

• Mary (Luke 1:38, 46-55), Elizabeth (Luke 1:43), and Zacharias (Luke 1:68-79), who recognized that Jesus was the Messiah and glorified God for His promised Redeemer.

• The angels, who glorified and praised God for the miracle of Jesus' birth (Luke 2:13-14)

• The shepherds, who quickly went to find Jesus and shared the good news with many others (Luke 2:16-18), and then glorified and praised God for what had happened (Luke 2:20).

• Mary, who meditated on everything in her heart (Luke 2:19)

• Simeon, who blessed God, Joseph, Mary, and Jesus, and prophesied about Jesus (Luke 2:28-35).

• Anna, who thanked God and spoke of His redemptive plan (Luke 2:38).

• The wise men, who traveled around 1,000 miles to worship Jesus as King with extravagant gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh (Matthew 2:1-2, 9-11).

  
  

The second responses were those who did not recognize Jesus' divinity. They were either apathetic or hostile to His coming. They included:

• King Herod, who was angry and slaughtered all the baby boys in and around Bethlehem (Matthew 2:16).

• His fellow Nazarenes, who were offended and filled with unbelief (Matthew 13:54-58).

• The religious leaders who "did not know the time of [their] visitation" (Luke 19:44), and ultimately decided to crucify Him (Luke 23:21).

Why did these two groups of people respond differently to the same revelation? We cannot attribute this difference in response to wealth or power, as the wise men were wealthier and more powerful than King Herod. Jesus was both worshipped and rejected by different groups of wealthy and powerful people. Nor can we attribute it to proximity, as He was both worshipped and rejected by those near to and far from Him.

Who should have been the first to recognize Jesus as the Messiah? Stop and think about that for a moment before reading anything else. Should it have been the shepherds, wise men, or someone else? Who should have been first?

I believe it was Jerusalem's political and religious leaders. They were actively seeking the Messiah. They had access to more information than the shepherds or wise men. They were not atheists or heathens, but devout Jews who understood that God's promised Redeemer was coming for them. However, when the Messiah came, they despised and rejected Him, not knowing the hour of their visitation. How were they so blind that they could not see what they were so desperately seeking?

I believe they lost their sense of awe and wonder. The fire in their lamps burned out, their zeal grew cold, and they became too familiar with the things of God. This led them to become callous, which defiled them and impaired their ability to recognize holiness. By the time Jesus came, they could no longer distinguish the sacred from the ordinary, and they perceived Him as common. They repeated the error of Uzzah, who grabbed the ark when the oxen stumbled, treating something holy as common (2 Samuel 6:6-7).

What can we learn from those who missed Jesus' arrival? It was not the addicts, criminals, and prostitutes who missed Jesus' coming, it was the "church people," who had become so accustomed to God that they no longer recognized Him. This is why it is so urgent that we stay ready for His coming. We must keep our lamps burning. Jesus is coming "in an hour you think not" (Matthew 24:44). You will not have time to get ready; you must be ready and stay ready.

This is Epiphany's warning to modern Christians: Stay ready to recognize God.

Will you be ready when Jesus returns? The shepherds were ready when Jesus came, and they ran to worship the Lamb. The wise men were ready when Jesus came, and they traveled 1,000 miles with expensive gifts to worship the King. What about you? Are you ready, or have the things of God become common to you? Have you heard "Jesus is coming soon" that you ask as the scoffers, "Where is the promise of His coming" (2 Peter 3:4)? Are you on fire, ready, and scanning the skies for His return? If not, now is the best time to come back to the One who is coming back for you. Get ready, be ready, stay ready. Maranatha!