Text: Matthew 2:1-12 &16
The story is very simple, "After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, - Magi (wise men) from the East came to Jerusalem and asked ... read from Matthew 2:1-2.
Who were these Magi (wise men)?
The Bible said nothing of who they were - only Matthew recorded this event - perhaps astronomers - followed the star from the east!
Jesus: Where did He come from? Again the Bible is silent - the east can mean Near East - Babylon or Russia, or Far East; India or even China. The thing to note - they have travelled a long time to reach Bethlehem - up to 2 years + the age of children to be killed as ordered by Herod.
If who they were and where they come from are unimportant, then what is important about these wise men? They were:-
a) spiritual seers, whom the Holy Spirit have endowed with the gift of revelation - concerning the birth of the Messiah. If they understood the meaning of the very first Christmas.
b) the second importance - the significance of the gifts they brought e.g. gold, incense and myrrh.
Gold in Jesus time, gold was a very rare and precious metal. It was a metal of kings and Pharoahs in the Egyptian pyramids, the death marks of the Pharoah are plated with gold (Tutakkamen). It is a very heavy metal, does not rust. Very supple, can be hammered until extremely thin - used on jewellery, gold coins, gold medals. Although some commentators suggest that gold was given to Jesus - for the family's expenditure in the flight to Egypt - the more likely significance is to worship Jesus as the King of Kings.
Incense is a mixture of frankincense and a special mixture of aromatic oils only priests are allowed to conceal this secret recipe, and is used exclusively for worship. Frankincense is a resin, that comes from a tree, which as considered sacred in Arabia and Ethopia , only certain people are allowed to extract this resin.
Paul in Philippians 4:18 refers to the gifts of the Philippians as a "fragrant observing, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God. As a symbol of worship and sacrifice to God - it is never mixed with sin offering.
Myrrh is the third and last gift. Myrrh comes from a shrub, related to frankincense. It is extracted form the plant, the same way as frankincense, the resin from the sap - is redish brown in color. Myrrh is associated with death and embalming.In Revelation 3; Jesus words...
Application
Now that we know, the significance of the Magi's three gifts to Jesus at His birth, what gifts can you and I bring to Jesus this Christmas? Certainly not gold, incense, nor myrrh, they were given to baby Jesus to signify His life and ministry. He is no longer a baby. He is now seated at the Father's right hand, observing what His children bring as gift.
Christmas is a time of giving and receiving. Some of our gifts are very thoughtful and good use - some are not very thoughtful. Brother Joseph Tan remarked that even Christmas, people give Him all the things they no longer want. Broken chairs, broken furnitures, His house became a junk afterall.
Do we do the same with Jesus? Give Him, our unwanted things, left overs? We can use these examples of the Magi but reverse it to spiritual meaning. We begin by offering in faith
a) Our myrrh : Myrrh was offered to Jesus to symbolize His death. We offer to Jesus the 'myrrh' or death of sin in our live. Read Romans 6:1-13. but just like non-believers you may claim that you are without sin. But remember what 1 John 1:8-9 says.
b) Our incense : It is only after we have cleanse ourselves from all impurities can we offer our Lord the incense of our faith. Christ has come to live in us - Emmanuel - God with us, that our bodies can produce good deeds - Romans 12:1.
c) Our gold : Not the physical gold that the world is obsessed with. Today gold has become the symbol of financial security, beauty and affluence predominately use in jewellery. The gold we offer Jesus is the recognition that he is not only one Saviour but our Lord and King. He takes priority in our life.
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