And going into the house they saw the child with Mary
his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their
treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. Matt
2:11 ESV
When the Magi
arrived, the holy family was no longer in the stable, but in a house. The word
Luke uses indicates not a newborn, but an older baby. From this we infer that
the Magi probably arrived several months after Jesus was born, while Mary and Joseph still resided in Bethlehem.
The gifts they
presented to the child seem inappropriate for a child. Toys or clothes would seem to have been more
useful. But the gifts had symbolic
significance as well as great practicality.
When Mary and Joseph had to flee Bethlehem due to Herod's persecution,
these gifts gave them the means to travel and to relocate.
The gifts of the
Magi were traditional gifts to honor a king or deity. In Isaiah 60: 6 the
prophet says that nations of kings will
come to honor the Messiahs and "bring gold and frankincense and shall
praise the Name of the Lord." They
were very expensive gifts, but they were also very symbolic.
Gold is
(of course) a precious metal. Gold was a
traditional tribute to give a king.
Monarchs would adorn themselves with gold. They also used gold to pay
for their troops and castles. The wealth of gold was converted into power that
a king would use to rule his kingdom It was the symbol of a kingly office.
Christ came to be a
ruler. He did not need gold, as earthly
rules used, but He had within Himself the full power of the Godhead. His glory did not depend on gold, but came
directly from God.
Frankincense
was used by the temple priests in the incense burner inside the temple.
This incense was symbolic of the prayers of the people going up to God, as well
as many other uses. What gold is to the
king, frankincense is to the priest. It was a symbol of his position. The
priest stood between God and humanity.
Christ needed no
incense to carry out his priestly office. His position of high priest was given
by the Father. The sacrifice that He offered was not incense, but His own
blood. In His priestly office, He would provide the link between God and
humanity.
Frankincense was
also medicinal. In the Middle East and
north Africa, frankincense was used as a folk remedy for arthritic
inflammation. For a doctor, frankincense
was an important part of his medical bag
Myrrh was a spice that in Jesus' time was more
valuable per ounce than gold. Myrrh was sometimes used as an analgesic and as
an element in perfume. However, it's most common usage was in embalming the
dead. What a strange gift for a baby!
The symbolism of
myrrh is obvious to us today. The Christ child was born to die. His death
and resurrection became a perfume of
life. Myrrh covered His body as He lay
in the tomb. It is probable that those who first met Jesus after His
resurrection would have detected he
smell of myrrh upon Him.
The gifts of the
magi remind us of what Jesus came to do. He is our king, who rules over our life. He is our priest,
who opens the way to God for us. He is
also the sacrifice for our sins, who died so that we might live, opening the
door for our resurrection. In all three
of these roles, Christ fulfilled His
mission on earth.
"Father, we thank you for the gifts of the Magi,
which remind us of the what Christ has done and is doing for us. Help us to accept Him as our King, Priest,
and Atoning sacrifice. In Jesus' name,
amen."
