The Gifts of the Wise Men to the Baby Jesus
Every bit we all know from our nativity sets, some very special guests attended the birth of the Jesus: wise men from the east, bearing gifts for the newborn rex - gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Matthew 2:xi states: "On coming to the house, they saw the kid with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. So they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gilded, frankincense and myrrh. "
Compared to the Bible's account of the royal visit, the story we tell is often padded with a chip of extra information. History and tradition have done their part to fill in the details regarding these visitors, including their number, names, and the timing of their arrival. One aspect of the visit that has largely escaped alteration is the listing of gifts presented to Jesus: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. If you're wondering what use an infant would have for these gifts, y'all're not alone.
The main significance of the gifts lay in their great value—they were indeed gifts fit for a rex. Beyond making it clear that these were great treasures given in an human action of worship, Scripture does not directly attach any other symbolic pregnant to the gifts. However, without venturing too far off into extra-biblical speculation, information technology'due south reasonable to depict a few possible inferences from the gifts brought past the wise men. These valuable gifts were clearly intended to award Jesus, only it's possible they carried deeper theological significance also.
The Gift of Gold
As was customary for royal visits, the wise men came bearing treasured gifts intended to honor the newborn king. And as information technology is today, gold was a valued commodity in the ancient world. Amid the types of assets listed in the Bible (e.thousand., precious metals, livestock, servants, gemstones, etc.), aggregating of gilded was i of the principal measures of wealth (cf. Genesis thirteen:two, Ecclesiastes 2:8). Because of its scarcity and immense value, golden was particularly associated with royalty and nobility, every bit is seen in 1 Kings ten when the Queen of Sheba visits King Solomon bearing great quantities of gold as a gift. By bringing a gift of aureate, the wise men showed that they did indeed consider Jesus a king.
In addition to underscoring the royalty of Jesus, some have noted that the wise men's gift of gold may accept foreshadowed another aspect of Jesus' ministry. Nether the One-time Covenant, the Most Holy Identify (besides known equally the Holy of Holies) was an inner sanctuary within the Temple where the priest would encounter the presence of God and offer a sacrifice of atonement for the sins of the people. Too, the incarnation of Jesus heralded the presence of God—Immanuel—and the sacrifice of atonement he would brand on behalf of his people when he went to the cross. The wise men may have had this connection in listen considering, as described in 1 Kings vi:xx-22, the walls of the Most Holy Place and the chantry inside it were completely overlaid with—you guessed it—gold.
The Gift of Frankincense
Frankincense is an aromatic gum resin that is withal widely used in parts of the Middle East and Africa today. It is produced by scraping the bark of certain native species of copse and then harvesting the chaplet of resin afterwards they accept dried. When burned as incense, it creates a strong and cute smell. In the ancient about east, the cost of frankincense precluded it from being used as a common household air freshener. Rather, the burning of frankincense was closely associated with formalism worship of a deity. In this mode, the inclusion of frankincense as a gift for Jesus may have indicated that the wise men understood that the prophecy of the newborn rex carried with it a claim of deity.
Equally with gold, frankincense may also have an implied connection with the Temple worship of the Old Covenant. Burning incense at the altar was a primal part of the sacrificial organization prescribed by God for use in the Tabernacle and, after, in the Temple itself. According to Exodus 30, however, non just any incense would do. A specific recipe of spices mixed with "pure frankincense" (five. 34) was to be consecrated as "pure and holy" (v.35) and was the only incense permitted at the altar. A speculative parallel can be drawn between this and Jesus' life as a pure and holy offering to the Lord.
The Gift of Myrrh
Myrrh is a fragrant spice derived from the sap of a tree native to the Nigh East. Like frankincense, it can be used every bit incense, merely in the ancient world it too had wider usage as a perfume, anointing oil, and was fifty-fifty imbibed as a medicinal tonic. Nigh notable with regard to Jesus' life, myrrh was a fundamental ingredient in the mixture of spices that were used to gear up bodies for burial (eastward.g., John 19:39-40). Perhaps the wise men intended this souvenir every bit an indication of Jesus' humanity and the manner in which he would salve his people—namely, that he would die for them (cf. Isaiah 53:v).
Only like the first ii gifts, in that location is a Temple connectedness with myrrh likewise. Exodus 30 tells us that liquid myrrh was a main ingredient in the anointing oil used to ceremonially prepare the priests, the instruments, the altar, and the Temple itself before sacrifices could exist fabricated. Over again, parallels to Jesus' consecrated life and sacrificial death are immediately noticeable.
All iii gifts reveal thought-provoking implications that related to Jesus' life and ministry.
What Did Mary and Joseph Do with the Gifts?
Isaiah threescore:six describes the wealth of the nations coming to God's people through Christ. Mary and Joseph saw a glimpse of this when they received the gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And in this instance, that wealth was likely used to assist the family escape to another nation. Matthew tells united states of america that as soon every bit the wise men departed, an affections of the Lord came to warn Joseph of Herod's rage (Matthew 2:13). Joseph was instructed to have refuge in Egypt, a journey of over 100 miles. For a family of apprehensive means, a trip of this magnitude would be difficult to pull off. Though nosotros don't have a record of such, it is reasonable to retrieve that the valuable gifts Mary and Joseph received from the wise men may accept financed the family's flight to Egypt.
At present that we know the significance of the gifts brought to baby Jesus, let's dive into the importance of the gift givers.
Who Were the Wise Men?
Permit'southward look at the Bible'southward account of these travelers and their quest to run into the prophesied rex:
Now later Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, "Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when information technology rose and have come up to worship him." When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to exist born. They told him, "In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written past the prophet:
"'And you lot, O Bethlehem, in the state of Judah,
are past no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for from y'all shall come a ruler
who will shepherd my people Israel.'"Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem, maxim, "Get and search diligently for the child, and when you accept plant him, bring me word, that I besides may come and worship him."After listening to the king, they went on their way. And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with keen joy. And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they vicious downwardly and worshiped him. So, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way.
(Matthew 2:1-12 [ESV])
With no hint of a backstory, Matthew just introduces the states to the travelers with, "behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem...." But who were these men? The term wise men (also translated equally magi) refers to astronomers or astrologers who served in regal courts throughout the ancient nearly eastern world. Within the Medo-Western farsi Empire, for case, magi were regarded every bit valuable advisors due to their knowledge of science, agriculture, and sorcery. Subsequently, during the Babylonian Empire, Daniel encountered—and rescued—a group of prominent wise men that had been called upon to interpret the male monarch's dream (Daniel two:2,24).
By the 1st Century Advertizement, magi were more than broadly known as men who studied sacred writings and dabbled with occult practices. As evidenced by the account of Simon Magus in Acts eight, such men who "practiced magic" were contemporaries of Jesus and his disciples in and around Palestine. Though present throughout the region, magi were more normally associated with the Parthian Empire located to the east of Palestine (present-day Islamic republic of iran). Information technology's possible that the wise men who visited Jesus hailed from this area, which would explain their familiarity with the Sometime Testament prophesy of the "rex of the Jews" (Matthew ii:ii). Afterwards the Babylonian captivity, remnants of Jewish culture lingered in that region and information technology's likely that Hebrew Scriptures were among the sacred writings these wise men studied in their pursuit of wisdom.
The Nations Shall Come to You
The wise men and their gifts may also be seen through the lens of global missions. Israel was never intended to be the stopping bespeak of grace; God called them to be a light for all nations. One of the clearest examples of this movie is constitute in Isaiah sixty, a scene describing an age to come when the nations would be drawn to the celebrity of Israel—"nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your ascension" (Isaiah lx:3). The nations would come, but they wouldn't be empty-handed: "they shall bring gilt and frankincense, and shall bring good news, the praises of the Lord" (5. 6). In the wise men, we encounter a microcosm of the greater reality that is to come: i day, people from every tribe, tongue, and nation will come earlier the throne of Jesus in praise and adoration (Revelation 7:9-ten).
Though the Bible's account of the wise men's visit is relatively straightforward, information technology can be viewed from many different angles. Information technology's possible that their gifts were specifically intended to pay homage to Jesus' royalty, deity, and humanity. Beyond that, they may have too carried Temple connotations and even a reference to Jesus' global mission. Whether or non you desire to read deeper theological significant into them, one thing that is sure is that these were significant gifts intended to bear witness groovy honor to Male monarch Jesus.
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