What Do You Give?

What do you give to the person who has everything? What do you give to the Creator of all things? The Magi, wise men from the east, brought gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. They were expressions of untold wealth. But these gifts were also prophetically significant. Beyond the great worth of these Christmas presents was the foretelling of our redemption.

Matthew shared this picture which prefigures a day greater than the time of his birth. “And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh” (Matthew 2:11).

Frankincense – This was an incense which was familiar to the High Priest of Israel. The ministry of the priest was to be a mediator between God and the people – to intercede on their behalf with animal sacrifices for their sin. Frankincense was burned as a sweet fragrance to cover the stench of death and rotting or burning flesh. This newborn child of Mary’s was sent from heaven to be our Great High Priest. He came to live an exemplary sinless life, to be qualified before God to offer Himself as the perfect, ultimate and final sacrifice for the sins of the world. Jesus came to die. The sacrifice was bitter sweet.

The fragrant gum resin from the Boswellia tree also had another benefit. Frankincense also holds medicinal healing properties. Herbalists for centuries have used frankincense as a natural remedy to reduce inflammation. Only by familiarity with the Old Testament prophecies concerning the Messiah, could the wise men have known who Jesus was and what He would accomplish for mankind. Hear the words of the prophet, hundreds of years before Jesus was born. “But he [was] wounded for our transgressions, [he was] bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace [was] upon him; and with his stripes we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5).

Myrrh – Worth five times more than frankincense was this royal perfume. Mixed with precious oils, the aromatic spice derived from a tree resin fragranced the bedrooms of kings. But it was also used in the practice of embalming, even in embalming Jesus. As we can see in John 19:39, “And there came also Nicodemus, which at the first came to Jesus by night, and brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about an hundred pound [weight].” They removed His body from the cross and wrapped it in grave cloth and these spices. The myrrh at His birth foretold His burial. Three days in the grave was proof of His death.

The double use of this perfume is meant to remind us that although Jesus was dead and buried, this was not the end, for He was destined to be restored to His royal heavenly throne.

Gold – “Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of [things] in heaven, and [things] in earth, and [things] under the earth; And [that] every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ [is] Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:9-11). The gold the wise men brought were treasures foretelling a ruler both human and divine. Without the Son’s obedience to the Father, even unto death, there could be no resurrection. But because Jesus Christ faithfully fulfilled God’s directions to redeem lost humanity, the Spirit raised our glorious Lord from the dead, and the Father laid all of the kingdom of God upon His shoulders. Jesus Christ is truly the King of kings and the Lord of lords, who rules and reigns forever more. He came from Heaven to return to heaven. From incarnation to resurrection, Jesus is our priceless gift of salvation from sin for eternal life with Him.

The wise men brought gold, some variety of myrrh, as well as frankincense as gifts to the infant Jesus. So what do we know of the possible significance of these gifts? Because He suffered, we will suffer. Because He died, we must die. Because He lives, we too will be resurrected to eternal life with Him. Give the gift of your life to the Lord Jesus Christ today!