Pastor Chuck’s 2014 Christmas Countdown Blog #8 – I love that the wisemen gave gifts to Jesus – and so can we! It's that time of year again...time for gift buying, gift-wrapping, and gift exchanging. What are the gifts we could bring Jesus this Christmas? One way we can discover that is to look at the gifts the wise men brought Him on the night when God became flesh and dwelt among us. Early theologians suggested that gold is a gift for royalty, frankincense a gift for deity, and myrrh a gift for death. They taught that these were gifts for a King, a King who was God, and a God who would die. The reality is that they were probably the most costly things that they could get from their country. They brought that which cost them something. So they offered the most costly things they could. But the greatest gift they gave was not the gold, frankincense or myrrh. Jesus was born in the town of 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 have seen his star as it arose, and we have come to worship him." Herod was deeply disturbed by their question, as was all of Jerusalem. He called a meeting of the leading priests and teachers of religious law. "Where did the prophets say the Messiah would be born?" he asked them. "In Bethlehem," they said, "for this is what the prophet wrote: 'O Bethlehem of Judah, you are not just a lowly village in Judah, for a ruler will come from you who will be the shepherd for my people Israel.' " Then Herod sent a private message to the wise men, asking them to come see him. At this meeting he learned the exact time when they first saw the star. Then he told them, "Go to Bethlehem and search carefully for the child. And when you find him, come back and tell me so that I can go and worship him, too!" After this interview the wise men went their way. Once again the star appeared to them, guiding them to Bethlehem. It went ahead of them and stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were filled with joy! They entered the house where the child and his mother, Mary, were, and they fell down before him and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasure chests and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. (Matthew 2:1-12 – New Living Translation) Gold — His Sovereign Dominion
Gold is a gift that would be presented to a king because it was the most precious metal of that day and it symbolized royalty. The wise men recognized that this baby born in a manger was no ordinary baby — this was King Jesus! The wise men did not cuddle Him. They did not play games with Him. Instead they bowed the knee in reverence to Him. Frankincense — His Sinless Deity If gold was a gift of wealth for a king, then frankincense was used to worship the King. These wise men recognized the sinless deity of Jesus that was deserving of their worship. You see, Jesus was not only born a king, He was God in human flesh. Now, whether the wise men fully understood all of this or not, I don't know. But when they saw Him, they fell down in worship. When the magi came face to face with the Christ child, the only thing that became urgent was ‘to worship him.’ They did not look to themselves. They did not lift themselves up, but lowered themselves, bowing down in worship. If we take time to see the baby at all this Christmas, worship will not only be appropriate, it will be a necessity. Worship is a natural and appropriate response to the goodness and greatness of God. To worship means to pay tribute to, to honor, to revere God. When one comprehends God, truly sees him, it is the only appropriate response. Myrrh — His Sacrificial Death The third gift the wise men brought was a valuable gum-like substance called myrrh that was used to embalm the dead. Can you imagine bringing a little baby something that would be used to embalm the dead? They did this because they recognized that this little baby was born to die. Myrrh was also used as a narcotic to dull pain. Mark 15 tells us, "And they bought Him unto the place Golgotha, which is, being interpreted, The place of a skull. And they gave Him to drink wine mingled with myrrh: but He wouldn’t drink it.” There upon that cross, instead of tasting myrrh to numb His pain, Jesus tasted death for every man. As I have said before, I don't know whether the wise men fully understood all of this, but I know the Holy Spirit did. And this is not by accident. Of everything that could be listed as gifts to the King, we read they brought gold, frankincense and myrrh to recognize His sovereign dominion, sacred deity, and sacrificial death. The greatest gift that they gave the Christ child was the gift of true worship. That’s the greatest gift anyone can give Him. It was there in that house that they yielded their lives to one who was greater than they were. They adored the child and gave the gifts that they had carried all the way from their homes in the east. When they returned home they were empty-handed but were full hearted because of the worship from the heart. The treasures they gave the child were worth little compared to the value and fulfillment they had in their hearts in worship. They had worshipped the King of the Jews. What will you give Jesus this Christmas? Your wealth? All that we have belongs to Him. Your worship? Fall on your face before Him. Your witness? I want the world to know that He died for me. Do you? My wealth, my worship, and my witness belongs to my Lord. And so does yours. And I like that!