At Christmastime we see scenes and plays about the birth of Jesus. They usually include Mary (the
mother of Jesus), Baby Jesus, Joseph, maybe a shepherd boy and an angel or two. Many times they
include three wise men with gifts. Were there really three wise men? According to God’s Word, in
Matt. 2:1 it says: “Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king,
behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem.” So we see there could have been 2 wise
men or 22 wise men, we don’t really know how many there were. But we do know they gave the Baby
Jesus three gifts.
In Matt. 2:11 it reads: “And when they (the wise men) 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, frankincense, and myrrh.
The first gift mentioned was gold. I have read that in the time of Christ only royalty could possess
gold. No matter if you could afford it or not, you were not allowed to own gold if you were not royalty.
I believe the wise men gave Christ gold because they were acknowledging Christ as the King of the
world.
The second gift was frankincense. Frankincense was mixed with oil to anoint the priests and for the
most holy place. I believe the wise men were saying to Christ,
“You are the High Priest”. If there is a high priest then there must be a temple. I Cor. 6:19 says,
“Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost?” We are God’s temple.
Christ came to be our High Priest and live in us.
The third gift was myrrh. Myrrh was used to embalm dead bodies. That seemed to be a strange gift
to give a baby. It would be like going to a baby shower and giving the baby a cemetery plot!
I believe that myrrh was to symbolize that Christ came for one purpose and one purpose only, to die.
The next time we would read about Christ and myrrh would be at His death.
Christmas celebrates Christ’s first coming into our world. But what about His second coming?
Isaiah chapter 60 talks about His second coming. But I want us to look at verse
6: “The multitude of camels shall cover thee, the dromedaries of Midian and Ephah;
all they from Sheba shall come: they shall bring gold and incense (frankincense); and they shall show
forth the praises of the lord.” Did you see that? What is brought to Christ at His second coming?
Gold and incense (which is frankincense). Why only those two? What happened to the myrrh?
At His second coming, Christ comes as King of Kings or King over the world (gold) and as our perfect
High Priest (frankincense). But He died the first time He came, remember, that was the purpose of His
first coming. So myrrh is no longer needed at His second coming.
Does Christ’s first coming overwhelm us as much as His second coming will?
It should. Christ came the first time in a lowly way but He’ll return the next time in a glorified way.
Christ had a human birth so we could have a spiritual birth. Christ laid aside His glory so we would
receive eternal glory. Christ joined the human family so we can join His divine family. Christ was
welcomed by shepherds, we’ll be welcomed by angels.
God gave us His very best for the very worst of us. Amazing!
Christ became like us so we could become like Him.
The wise men gave Christ three gifts, so what can we give to Him? How about giving Him our gold by
allowing Him to be King over our lives. Let Him sit on the throne of your heart in every area of your
life. Give Him frankincense by trusting Him as your High Priest. Go to Him with every problem, every
need, have a relationship with Him. He didn’t leave heaven to give us religion, He left heaven to give
us a relationship. Walk with Him, talk with Him, that’s what He wants. And don’t forget to give Him
myrrh. Paul said, “I die daily”. Do we die to the flesh daily? We should.
Gold, frankincense, and myrrh, the three gifts the wise men brought to Jesus at His first coming. Gold,
frankincense, and myrrh, the three gifts we should give to our Lord not just at Christmas, but everyday
until He comes for us be it at our death or at His second coming. Three gifts for Jesus because all He
really wants is you!
mother of Jesus), Baby Jesus, Joseph, maybe a shepherd boy and an angel or two. Many times they
include three wise men with gifts. Were there really three wise men? According to God’s Word, in
Matt. 2:1 it says: “Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king,
behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem.” So we see there could have been 2 wise
men or 22 wise men, we don’t really know how many there were. But we do know they gave the Baby
Jesus three gifts.
In Matt. 2:11 it reads: “And when they (the wise men) 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, frankincense, and myrrh.
The first gift mentioned was gold. I have read that in the time of Christ only royalty could possess
gold. No matter if you could afford it or not, you were not allowed to own gold if you were not royalty.
I believe the wise men gave Christ gold because they were acknowledging Christ as the King of the
world.
The second gift was frankincense. Frankincense was mixed with oil to anoint the priests and for the
most holy place. I believe the wise men were saying to Christ,
“You are the High Priest”. If there is a high priest then there must be a temple. I Cor. 6:19 says,
“Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost?” We are God’s temple.
Christ came to be our High Priest and live in us.
The third gift was myrrh. Myrrh was used to embalm dead bodies. That seemed to be a strange gift
to give a baby. It would be like going to a baby shower and giving the baby a cemetery plot!
I believe that myrrh was to symbolize that Christ came for one purpose and one purpose only, to die.
The next time we would read about Christ and myrrh would be at His death.
Christmas celebrates Christ’s first coming into our world. But what about His second coming?
Isaiah chapter 60 talks about His second coming. But I want us to look at verse
6: “The multitude of camels shall cover thee, the dromedaries of Midian and Ephah;
all they from Sheba shall come: they shall bring gold and incense (frankincense); and they shall show
forth the praises of the lord.” Did you see that? What is brought to Christ at His second coming?
Gold and incense (which is frankincense). Why only those two? What happened to the myrrh?
At His second coming, Christ comes as King of Kings or King over the world (gold) and as our perfect
High Priest (frankincense). But He died the first time He came, remember, that was the purpose of His
first coming. So myrrh is no longer needed at His second coming.
Does Christ’s first coming overwhelm us as much as His second coming will?
It should. Christ came the first time in a lowly way but He’ll return the next time in a glorified way.
Christ had a human birth so we could have a spiritual birth. Christ laid aside His glory so we would
receive eternal glory. Christ joined the human family so we can join His divine family. Christ was
welcomed by shepherds, we’ll be welcomed by angels.
God gave us His very best for the very worst of us. Amazing!
Christ became like us so we could become like Him.
The wise men gave Christ three gifts, so what can we give to Him? How about giving Him our gold by
allowing Him to be King over our lives. Let Him sit on the throne of your heart in every area of your
life. Give Him frankincense by trusting Him as your High Priest. Go to Him with every problem, every
need, have a relationship with Him. He didn’t leave heaven to give us religion, He left heaven to give
us a relationship. Walk with Him, talk with Him, that’s what He wants. And don’t forget to give Him
myrrh. Paul said, “I die daily”. Do we die to the flesh daily? We should.
Gold, frankincense, and myrrh, the three gifts the wise men brought to Jesus at His first coming. Gold,
frankincense, and myrrh, the three gifts we should give to our Lord not just at Christmas, but everyday
until He comes for us be it at our death or at His second coming. Three gifts for Jesus because all He
really wants is you!
| THE THREE GIFTS By Julie Anne Hood |
 | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  |