I have a John Grisham book here, called "Runaway Jury." It is a suspenseful mystery, which has just been made into a movie, playing right now in the theatres. Are you planning on seeing it? Anyone planning on reading the book, if you haven't already? Well, how would you like it if I opened it right now and read you the last page? You know, the one that solves the final mystery and wraps everything up? If you were planning on going to the movie or reading the book, I don't think you would want me to do that, would you? Because the climax is revealed at the very end! And that would spoil it for you to hear that first, wouldn't it?

We spoil it for people if we reveal the climax or ending of a mystery book or movie. But on the other hand, we "spoil it" for someone if we don't tell them the climax of God's mystery in Christ! Most of us love mysteries. We love to be held in suspense. We like finding out the conclusion at the end of the story. But it is different with God's story. This is the one story that we want to make sure we know the ending of at the beginning! Or at least as soon as possible!

Today is Epiphany Sunday. The word epiphany means "to reveal" or "to show." Epiphany is the season in the church year when God reveals some things about Himself and shares some of his secrets with us. Epiphany is that time of the year when God solves some mysteries. Today, as we look at the Apostle Paul's words in the book of Ephesians, we see God revealing some important mysteries to us.

Like this mystery: how do you really bring people together? Isn't it true we live in a very divided world? People are divided by cultures, races, economics, and religion. The rich people hang out with the rich. The middle class people hang out with the middle class. The poor people hang out with the poor. Money divides people. So does Religion. I've heard people say all religions are the same - it doesn't matter what you believe. But if that's true, then why is religion such a divider? People of different religions separate into different groups because they believe different things. Maybe what you believe IS important - important enough not to gloss over. It was one of the many things that divided Jews and Gentiles in the 1st Century…

There's a mystery - how do you bring Jews and Gentiles together!?! Back in Paul's day, these two groups of people were VERY different, and NOT very fond of each other! It was a seemingly unanswerable problem that needed an unlikely twist for a solution! Paul said that this mystery… for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things. In order to understand it, you need to know your Old Testament. The OT tells how God would keep his promise of the Savior alive through the Jews - God's chosen people. So the book is a history of how God's people were carried from this country to the next, torn down and raised up - surviving so that Jesus could be born through them. Never in the Old Testament do non-Jewish people like you and me take a major part. We are part of all the nations who were actually referred to as the ENEMIES of God's people. They were usually being wiped out by God's people or wiping out God's people. They were described as people walking in darkness - on the way to hell. There seems to be two sworn enemies - God and the Gentiles. The Jews and the Gentiles. You would expect God - the holy God - to wipe out the opposition.

But instead, all along, God made it clear that He wanted these non-Jews to be saved! When the Jews entered the promised land, the Gibeonites were allowed to be a part of the Jewish community after they tricked Joshua. Rahab, the Gentile ex-prostitute, ended up being a ancestor of Christ. God promised Abraham that all nations on earth will be blessed through his offspring. And Jeremiah boldly predicted that God would make the Savior a light for the Gentiles! God always had in mind to convert the Gentiles.

The mystery was in the "how" He would do this and to what extent it would happen. How could God turn these heathen dogs into followers of his? Paul explained the how when he said "through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus." The murder and romance mystery takes place in the story of Jesus Christ. God took Jesus, His only Son, and nailed HIM to the cross. Mystery of mysteries! Why would God put his own Son to death for a crime that He did not commit? Why would God blame his own Son and send Him to hell when He was innocent? The mystery is called grace - God's undeserved love. Out of love for us God would put to death his own Son - to pay the punishment for our sins! It is indescribable. It remains an unsearchable mystery. That when Christ was on the cross - all the sins of the world were crucified in Christ. Those of the Jews, Gentiles, yours, and mine. All at once, Jesus said, "it is finished, paid in full." That is a mystery to our logic! Even though we should pay for our own sins, Jesus volunteered for the job!

The next "mystery" is almost just as amazing! Paul said, "Although I am less than the least of all God's people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ." Instead of choosing one of his disciples, God chose the absolute enemy of Christ - the murderer of Christians - to go out and tell Gentiles about God's grace and his love for them! I would compare it to trying to convert Osama Bin Laden to Christianity so he can be our missionary - this would be no less of a miracle. Paul, too, was a zealot for his religion - willing to murder for his cause. And God chose HIM, of all people, to be his spokesman! The unsearchable riches of Christ! What a mystery!

But the ultimate mystery takes place in the result! Through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus. It is in the fact that the Gentiles - the long time enemies of the Jews and of God - would be considered as EQUAL to the Jews, co-heirs of eternal salvation. Why? Because they all enter with the same price. When you go to a stadium, everyone gets different seats according to different prices paid for tickets. But in heaven, there's only one price for every ticket. Whether you're Jewish, Canadian, American, Hispanic, Caribbean, or Chinese - the price is the same. The blood of Christ. Therefore, whoever enters gets the same seat - eternity in heaven!

The purpose of Epiphany is to show how God reveals who He is - through Jesus! Lots of questions have been asked about who the wise men and the star. These are mysteries - but it doesn't matter who the wise men were, where they came from, or what kind of star they followed. What matters is that they found the Christ child! And it was revealed who the Child was - Christ the Lord! God had come in human flesh to make the payment for sins! These Gentiles could return back to Babylon with the good news that Christ the Savior was born! The mystery has been revealed!

Isn't that exciting? One problem I had when preparing this text - was trying to figure out how to recreate the excitement that Paul felt! He was honored and awed by the fact that he had the opportunity to reveal this mystery to the Gentiles! For ages nobody knew how much the Gentiles would be involved in God's mission plan - and here he was to reveal it! It was like he knew the punch line - like when you know the answer to a puzzle - he was able to solve the puzzle of how a holy God could love sinful people - and he couldn't wait to explain it! But when we read this text, it's easy for us to miss the whole point. It's like when a movie is remade - and you already know the actors and the plot - and the ending - it just isn't as intriguing! Here we are, Gentiles who have grown up with the Gospel - we hear that God loves Gentiles too and we think, "No big deal." So are you sitting in your seats wondering when the preacher will finish preaching? Are you sneaking a peak at your watches and wondering how much time is left? Will I go over the 20 minute mark?

Kurt Warner - a Super Bowl MVP and Pro Bowl quarterback in the NFL, was once cut from the Green Bay Packers! For a year afterwards, he sacked groceries at a local grocery store. Now, in his fame, he usually makes mention of his past - he doesn't want to forget it! Notice how Paul also made mention of his past. He called himself, less than the least of all God's people. He actually made up a Dr. Seuss-like word: Leaster or Smallester! He saw himself as a "leaster" or "smallester!" He is ripping on himself! Why? Because he never forgot that he took part in the murder and persecution of Christians. He remembered his past. And because of that, it kept him APPRECIATIVE of his present.

My friends, remember where you came from! You were born dead in your sins. Satan owned your soul. You, like many in this world, were on the way to hell. If the Holy Spirit withdrew his presence from you for one second you could very easily be abusing drugs, having illicit sex, or be greedily chasing after possessions. Remember your past, and you will better appreciate what God did for you in Christ. He washed you clean through your baptism. He took your sins and nailed them to the cross. He brought you to faith in Christ. He gave you the ability to approach God with FREEDOM and CONFIDENCE, no matter how sinful you've been, knowing that your sins have been wiped away by the blood of Christ.

That's one reason why I enjoyed doing prison Bible studies. When I did my first prison Bible study, I explained who Christ was and what he did for us. I had the privilege to reveal the mystery of God's grace for all people. This young man came to me and said, "That's more than I ever learned from going to church." It was as if his eyes were open to a Savior that he'd never known before. That was wonderful. It's also wonderful to be able to preach to a group of people here who keep on coming to listen - even though they know the answer to the mystery. Even after you hear about Christ twenty, thirty, a hundred times - you still enjoy the story. God became man to live and die for you. That is a mystery, isn't it? Why doesn't it get old? It's a mystery - a mystery of God's grace - of the Holy Spirit working in you. But as sinners, don't ever tire of hearing how God loves you and forgives you!

The story of the Gospel and the Gentiles was a mystery. How would God save the world? How could He love the Gentiles? How would He involve them in his ministry? It is all revealed in Christ. Jesus would come and die not just for the Jews, but for the Gentiles as well. God would reveal this Gospel to a Christian hater - and designate him to tell the Gentiles about Christ. Who would have guessed? What a mystery! Now we are living in the greatest mystery of all - that many Gentiles are living and breathing as the Church of Christ! What a mystery! The mystery is made known - it doesn't leave us hanging. But even though we know the ending - we keep listening to it again and again. Why? Because it has a happy ending. It involves us and Jews - all Christians - living with Christ in heaven. By faith, this will be no mystery to us.

And now, just like the Apostle Paul intended to bring this mystery to light for everyone possible, what should we do? Shouldn't we throw the big floodlights on it for everyone to see? Tell everyone the mystery! Don't leave them in the dark! You won't be spoiling any movie or story for them! You will spoil it for them if you don't tell them! Give them the whole story, the whole saga, with the prequels and the sequels. Don't leave anything out! And thank your loving God every day that He left nothing out for you! Amen.

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