When the King Is Revealed

There are moments in life when something is revealed, and what follows tells us more about ourselves than about the event itself. A piece of news breaks. A truth comes into the open. A long-awaited reality finally stands before us. And almost immediately, responses begin to surface. Some people are grateful. Some are threatened. Some lean in. Others pull away. The same revelation produces very different reactions.

That dynamic is not new. In fact, it sits at the very heart of the Christian season of Epiphany.

Epiphany is not primarily about sentiment or nostalgia. It is not merely about stargazers, exotic gifts, or a peaceful scene around a manger. Epiphany is about unveiling. It is about revelation. It is the public disclosure that Jesus of Nazareth is not merely a child born into history, but the rightful King over it. As N. T. Wright puts it, Epiphany is “the public announcement that Jesus is Lord of the world.” That announcement, once made, does not leave anyone untouched.

When Jesus is revealed, everyone responds—but not everyone responds the same way.

This truth is woven deeply into the Gospel reading, particularly in Gospel of Matthew 2:1–12. Matthew places side by side two radically different responses to the same revelation. On the one hand, we see the Magi—outsiders, Gentiles, seekers—responding with joy, surrender, and worship. On the other hand, we encounter King Herod—a powerful insider—responding with fear, resistance, and ultimately violence. The difference is not in what is revealed. The difference is in how it is received.

That question still confronts us today: How do we respond when Jesus, the true King, is revealed?

Epiphany as Revelation, Not Reaction

It is important to understand what Epiphany actually claims before we examine the responses it provokes. Epiphany is not about creating a response. It is about revealing reality. The star does not force worship. The Scriptures quoted in Jerusalem do not compel obedience. The presence of Jesus does not coerce allegiance. What Epiphany does is unveil what has been true all along: God has acted decisively in Jesus Christ, and the world must now reckon with that truth.

Matthew frames this revelation in political as well as spiritual terms. The Magi arrive in Jerusalem asking a dangerous question: “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews?” This is not a theological abstraction. It is a claim about authority. Kingship. Allegiance. Rule.

That is why the reaction is immediate and intense. Matthew tells us that when Herod heard this, “he was deeply disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him.” Revelation disrupts settled systems. It exposes fragile power structures. It unsettles those who have grown comfortable with control.

We are reminded that revelation is never neutral. Light reveals what is already there. It does not create fear or joy; it exposes it.

I. Joyful Surrender: The Response of the Magi

Matthew’s story opens with a surprising group of worshipers. The Magi are not religious insiders. They are Gentiles, likely astrologers or scholars from the East. They do not belong to Israel’s covenant story in any formal sense. They do not have deep training in the Law or the Prophets. And yet, when God reveals His Son to them, they respond with extraordinary faithfulness.

This is one of the great ironies of this story. Those who possess the Scriptures do not move, while those who possess only a sign in the sky set out on a costly journey. The Magi move toward the light they have been given.

Matthew tells us that when they finally arrive at the place where Jesus is, “they were overwhelmed with joy.” The language is unrestrained. This is not polite happiness or quiet satisfaction. It is joy that spills over into action. They fall down. They worship. They open their treasures. Their joy reshapes their priorities and reorders their lives.

This detail matters because it challenges a common misconception about faith. The Magi do not wait until everything makes sense. They do not demand certainty before obedience. They respond to what God has already revealed. Step by step, they follow the light they have, trusting that obedience will bring greater clarity.

Epiphany reminds us that God often reveals Himself progressively. Faith is not about having all the answers; it is about responding faithfully to the revelation already given.

That truth is deeply freeing. It means you do not need to pretend to be further along than you are. You do not need to compare your journey to someone else’s. You do not need to fake spiritual certainty in order to belong. The Magi had what they had. They saw what they saw. And they moved.

When they arrive, their response is joy—not shallow joy, but joy that costs them something. The journey itself required time, resources, and risk. The gifts they bring are costly. Their worship carries political implications. To kneel before this child is to acknowledge a King greater than the rulers of their own lands.

Joy, in the biblical sense, is never passive. It is life-altering. It reshapes priorities. It redirects allegiance. It opens hands that once clutched tightly.

Matthew shows us that God’s grace breaks down boundaries and barriers. Outsiders are welcomed in. Access to God’s presence is no longer restricted by ethnicity, status, or religious pedigree. Joy becomes the natural response when this grace is truly understood.

II. Fearful Resistance: The Response of Herod

Not everyone responds to the revelation of Jesus with joy. Matthew places Herod’s reaction in stark contrast to that of the Magi. Where they rejoice, Herod is disturbed. Where they worship, Herod schemes.

Herod’s fear is not irrational. His power is fragile. He is not a legitimate king in the eyes of his own people. He is a ruler installed by Rome, a client king whose authority depends on imperial favor. A new king represents a threat he cannot control.

History paints Herod as deeply insecure and increasingly paranoid. He tried to secure legitimacy through massive building projects, including the expansion of the Temple itself. Yet the religious leaders never fully trusted him, and he never trusted them. Over time, suspicion hardened into obsession. He guarded secrets. Tested loyalties. Eliminated rivals.

Augustus Caesar famously remarked that it was safer to be Herod’s pig than his son—a chilling summary of a reign marked by fear-driven violence.

When Herod hears the phrase “king of the Jews,” he does not ask how he should worship. He asks how he can eliminate the threat. Fear grows when control is challenged. And fear, when left unchecked, almost always leads to manipulation and deception.

Herod gathers information. He consults religious experts. He quotes Scripture. He pretends interest. All the while, he plots violence. This is one of the most sobering moments in the story: the chief priests and scribes know exactly where the Messiah is to be born. They possess accurate information. Yet knowledge alone does not produce obedience. Information does not automatically lead to transformation.

As N. T. Wright observes, Herod represents the way of power that secures itself through violence, while Jesus reveals a kingdom that advances through self-giving love. Herod believes peace comes when threats are eliminated, rivals silenced, and control secured. Scripture shows us that this kind of peace is always bent toward death.

Matthew does not soften the outcome of Herod’s fear. Resistance escalates. Fear gives way to violence. Innocent lives are destroyed. Retribution multiplies harm rather than healing what is broken.

Epiphany reveals a hard truth: rejecting Jesus is never neutral. Resistance does not remain private. It ripples outward, affecting the vulnerable and reshaping communities. The same revelation that leads to worship for some becomes a catalyst for destruction in others.

Two Kingdoms, Two Ways of Power

At the heart of Matthew’s Epiphany story is a collision between two visions of power. Herod embodies the kingdoms of this world—systems built on fear, control, and self-preservation. Jesus embodies a radically different kind of kingship—one rooted in humility, self-giving love, and trust in God’s purposes.

The King revealed in the manger will not rule by the sword, but by the cross. This is why Epiphany ultimately points beyond Bethlehem toward Calvary. The child worshiped by the Magi will grow into a man who refuses violence, rejects domination, and absorbs the cost of love into Himself.

This is why Dietrich Bonhoeffer could say, “When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.” To follow this King is to relinquish the illusion of control. It is to trust that life is found not in securing ourselves, but in surrendering to God.

Why Epiphany Still Matters

Epiphany is not just about ancient figures or distant kings. Jesus continues to reveal Himself—through Scripture, through conviction, through calling, through community. And every revelation invites a response.

Sometimes we respond with joy. Sometimes with hesitation. Sometimes with resistance. Sometimes we try to hold on to Jesus while still clinging to control. But the pattern remains: revelation always leads to response.

And those responses shape not only our own lives, but the lives of those around us. The way we respond to Jesus influences our families, our workplaces, our communities. It reveals which kingdom we are aligning ourselves with.

Reflection Questions

1. When Jesus challenges your sense of control or comfort, what is your instinctive response?
2. Where might you know the right things about Jesus but resist fully surrendering to Him?
3. How might your response to Jesus shape the lives of those closest to you?

The Difference Is the Response

Epiphany reminds us that God has revealed His Son not to threaten us, but to invite us into life, joy, and redemption. The same Jesus who unsettled Herod filled the Magi with overwhelming joy. The difference was not the revelation. It was the response.

When Jesus is revealed, everyone responds—but not everyone responds the same way.

As Christ is revealed again today through Scripture, worship, and the work of the Spirit, may we be a people who respond with joy rather than fear, humility rather than control, and surrendered lives rather than guarded hearts. The King has been revealed. The question remains: how will we respond?