This sermon was delivered at our annual Christmas candlelight service on December 21, 2025. It served as the conclusion to our sermon series through Advent as well as the books of 1-2 Samuel.
Of all the parts of the Christmas story, perhaps the most mysterious is the part about the magi, or wise men. Who were they, exactly? Where did they come from? How many came, and when? Then there’s the bit about the star. What was it that they saw? Was it a comet, a constellation, or was it an angel? How did it lead them to Jerusalem, and then go “before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was” (Matt. 2:9)?
The fact is, we don’t know exactly what they saw. The Bible doesn’t always answer the questions we ask. But we do know it wasn’t just a star; it was “his star.” When they came to Jerusalem, they were asking: “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” (Matt. 2:2). Whatever this star was, they knew it was something new. It was a sign from the one true God. It meant that Israel’s true King and the world’s true Lord had finally come.
But how did they know this? Again, we’re not sure exactly, but they must have known the Scriptures of Israel: they must have known it was written in Numbers: “A star shall come out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel” (Num. 24:17). And in Genesis: “The scepter shall not depart from Judah . . . until tribute comes to him; and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples” (Gen. 49:10). They must have known the words of the prophet Micah: “One who is to be the ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days” would come from Bethlehem (Micah 5:2). And from Isaiah: A child would be born who would sit on David’s throne forever (Isaiah 9:6-7). This is why the magi travelled all the way to Jerusalem. They knew that a king had been born who would outshine all the rest. They hadn’t even seen him yet; they didn’t even know his name! But they knew who he was, and that this meant he alone was worthy of their worship.
Friends, we know this king’s name. His name is Jesus, and he wants you to know who he is, so that you might seek him and worship him today. So tonight, I want us to behold Jesus, the king who outshines the rest. To do this, I want us to look at a single verse found at the very end of the Bible. In Revelation 22:16 Jesus himself tells us who he is. And he does so with images drawn from the Scriptures I’ve just mentioned. Of all the things he could have said, he chooses to sign off with these words: “I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star” (Rev. 22:16).
As we consider these three titles, I pray we see that Jesus is the only king worthy of our worship. He alone is worthy because of who he is: He is David’s root, David’s descendant, and Jacob’s star. In other words, he is the eternal God, the incarnate Son, and the exalted Lord.
Jesus is David’s Root: the Eternal God
Jesus begins with his connection to David. Why? Because all the promises of God’s salvation for his people came to rest upon the king who be given the throne of his father David and reign forever. This “root” imagery comes from Isaiah, where Israel’s Messiah is described as “a shoot from the stump of Jesse” and “a branch from his roots” that bears fruit (Isa. 11:1). The idea is that from the family tree of Jesse and his son David would come the king to reign in righteousness. However this branch that grows from Jesse’s roots is also called “the root of Jesse” (Isa. 11:10)! Now in both Isaiah and Revelation, this word “root” can simply refer to something that grows out of the earth, a shoot of a plant that “branches out from a prior smaller growth.”1G. K. Beale, The Book of Revelation: A Commentary on the Greek Text, New International Greek Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI; Carlisle, Cumbria: W.B. Eerdmans; Paternoster Press, 1999), 1146. But I think it’s more likely we should understand “root” here as meaning the underground part of a plant, the source of its growth. That is, Jesus doesn’t just come from David (which he says next); in a sense, David comes from him! Truly, before David was, Jesus can say: “I am.”
So, the question is: How can Israel’s Messiah be both a shoot from Jesse and the root of Jesse? How can this person come after David yet also be before David? How can he be both David’s offspring yet also David’s source. It’s only possible if Israel’s Messiah is also Israel’s God! And this is precisely who Jesus is. Look just a few verses above in Revelation 22:13. Jesus says: “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.” These are titles of God both in Revelation and the OT, yet Jesus claims them as his own! This tension is also seen in Psalm 110:1, where David writes: “The Lord Yahweh says to my Lord: ‘Sit at my right hand.’” Jesus used this verse to make the same point to his opponents: “If the Messiah [the Christ] is David’s son, how can he also call him Lord?” Even Paul, in Romans 1, says that the gospel of God concerns his Son, who came to be the descendant of David. This implies that he already existed as Son of God from all eternity! Jesus is the root of David because he is the eternal God. He is David’s divine source, for he is the one through whom not just David but all things were made! He is the Word of God, the only-begotten Son of the Father, who in the beginning was with God and who is himself God.
This is why Jesus is the only king worthy of our worship. He is the God of Israel, who came to his people in the fulness of time, to fulfill the promises of salvation that he himself had made! He is the sovereign, who rules over the beginning and the ending and everything in between.2Beale, The Book of Revelation, 1138. Jesus Christ is the God who calms the storm, stills the raging seas, and subdues waters under his feet. He even saved his people out of Egypt by parting the waters (Jude 5)! He is the Author of life, the Finisher of death, the Swallower of the grave, the Destroyer of the devil. And it was this God who took on flesh and blood to be born for you and me. It was this God, the root of David, who clothed himself in frail humanity, to become the descendant of David.
Jesus is David’s Descendant: the Incarnate Son
Israel’s Scriptures made it clear that the Messiah (God’s anointed king) would be from the royal line of David. A branch from his tree, a son from his house, would receive a kingdom without end. God promised he would raise up for David a king that would establish justice and peace in the land. In his days, God’s people would finally be safe and secure, under his blessing. God promised he would raise up for David a shepherd to feed, to protect, and to lead his precious sheep, the people of his pasture. This good shepherd would love his sheep, do whatever it took to rescue them from danger, and one day rid the land of every wild beast. God also promised that this king would be the one to reign over all nations. He would receive the ends of the earth as his possession. As son to God and creation’s rightful heir, he would extend his kingdom of peace and joy to all, to those who would submit to his loving rule. So, Israel waited for this promised descendant of David. And in the fullness of time, Christ was born. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. The Light from Light eternal pierced the darkness of our world. The glory of God’s grace and truth were seen in the face of Jesus.
Jesus is the descendant of David because he is the incarnate Son. He is David’s human son, of whom the angel said: “The Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end” (Luke 1:32-33). But why did the eternal Son become the incarnate Son? Why did the Creator come as creature, the Infinite come as an infant? Why did God send forth his only-begotten Son? It was because the king we needed most was one who could save mankind from our sin by bearing it as man. Jesus was born in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, so that our sin might be condemned in his flesh, and so that our flesh and blood might be redeemed by his. He was born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law by becoming a curse for us.
This is why Jesus is the only king worthy of our worship. He is the one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. He is the only One who can represent God truly and fully to us, and represent us truly and fully to God. He alone is the substitute, the sacrifice for sin. And because he was made like us in every respect, he is perfectly suited to be our savior. He truly knows our sorrows and our pain, for he suffered like us. But he also obeyed for us! It was as our representative that Jesus kept his Father’s commands and fulfilled the law’s demands. It was this man, the God-man, who was born to taste death for you and me. It was this man, the descendant of David, who laid down his life that he might be raised as the bright morning star.
Jesus is Jacob’s Star: the Exalted Lord
The imagery of Jesus as “the star” comes from Numbers 24:17, where the Gentile prophet Balaam said: “I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near: a star shall come out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel; it shall crush the forehead of Moab.” He is Jacob’s star, Israel’s ruler. God created the stars to rule over the night. Throughout the Bible, stars come to be associated with the hosts of the heaven, with the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. This is why, when the magi saw the star when it rose, they came to Israel to find the one born king.
But Jesus adds to this image and describes himself as the bright morning star. The morning “star” was actually the planet Venus, which was the brightest light in the night sky. It appeared in the early morning before the sunrise, serving to announce the dawn of a new day. Do you see what Jesus is saying? He’s the star more brilliant than any other star that boasts in its light. He’s the star that heralds the good news that the night is far spent and the Day is now at hand. What day? The day of salvation that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it! Notice the progression in the titles of the great “I am.”3 Peter J. Leithart, Revelation, ed. Michael Allen and Scott R. Swain, vol. 2, The International Theological Commentary on the Holy Scripture of the Old and New Testaments (London; Oxford; New York; New Delhi; Sydney: Bloomsbury; Bloomsbury T&T Clark: An Imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, 2018), 427–428. He is first the root of David, the origin, the source. Then, he is the descendant of David, the branch that grows from the earth. Yet it was this “king of the Jews” that was delivered by his own people and nailed to a Roman cross!
But the story of Jesus doesn’t end with the defeat of sin and death but with the victory of grace and life! On the third day, Jesus rose from the dead. God the Father highly exalted him above every other name that is named, above every rule and authority and power in every age. So, Jesus is the star of Jacob because he is the exalted Lord. He is Israel’s risen king who outshines the rest. He has been seated at the Father’s right hand, a witness in the skies that the life of the age to come has already dawned on this world. His resurrection life is now our light.
This is why Jesus is the only king worthy of our worship. He is the eternal Son, who became the incarnate Son, that he might reign as the exalted Son. And because this king is on the throne, we can be victorious in him. We too can be where he is. His righteousness, his joy, his life can be ours. In fact, in Revelation 2:28 Jesus promises to give the “morning star” to his faithful people who overcome. In other words, has promised to give himself to us! He is the light of the world, but his church now shines with his glorious light. In Christ, we are his light in the world! Christ has granted us a share in “his own glory and a share in his own royal dominion.”4M. G. Easton, Illustrated Bible Dictionary and Treasury of Biblical History, Biography, Geography, Doctrine, and Literature (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1893), 643. Those who come to Jesus are redeemed and renewed in his image. He makes us shine like stars. He restores our humanity and recreates us that we might be who we were meant to be all along.
With the first advent of Christ, he rose to announce the dawn of a new day. But at his second advent, the night of death itself will be no more. One day, the light of life that is already shining will shine out in full strength. On that day, we will see him shining brighter than the sun.
Conclusion
Friends, we may not know exactly what it was the wise men saw in the night sky. You can try and figure it out all you want. But there is a star that continues to shine bright today for all to see, and his name is Jesus. He is the root and descendant of David. He is the bright morning star.And because he is the eternal God, the incarnate Son, and the exalted Lord, he is the only king worthy of our worship. He is the king who outshines the rest. He is the Savior, Christ the Lord. Whether you know it or not, he’s the reason our Christmas trees are “crowned” with a star.
Tonight, I pray that you would come to bow down and submit your life to the King of kings. You may try to find another Savior to meet the deepest longings of your heart, another answer to your search for true joy and lasting peace, but there is no one like Jesus. He is all you need.
One day, every knee will bow and every tongue confess that he is Lord. You can either acknowledge his sovereign rule today in joy, or admit it in defeat on the day when his enemies are put under his feet. But today is the day of salvation. So, come and worship Christ the king!
Matt Bedzyk is the lead pastor of Emmanuel Community Church where he has faithfully served in many capacities for most of his life. He received his Master of Divinity from Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, and currently oversees preaching and liturgy. Matt and his wife Brianna have four children: Lorien, Owen, Vivian, and Simon. In his spare time, you can find him brewing coffee, enjoying music, quoting Frasier with his wife, and dancing with his kids.
