The Unwanted Gift

Don't you just love Christmas? Only God would have thought of sending Jesus!

I have been doing some research and there are several 'must have' gifts this year: Various pictures of weird gifts to give this year.


• 
Clothing - Sandal socks - answers the question of whether to wear socks with your sandals men! 
• Craft Kit - struggling with facial hair growth, knit your own moustache. 
• Cooking  - fed up with stirring your Pot Noodle (students), you can get your own branded automatic Po 
• Noodle stirring fork.
• Clothing - cold hands? Why not get some Handerpants - underpants for hands!
• Celebrity/Politics - for the person who has everything, the Nigel Farage 2024 Calendar. 
• Book - How To Tell If Your Cat is Plotting to Kill You. 
• Gadget - Snot Separator (egg white separator shaped like a man’s nose).

I’m not sure if you’ve ever had a weird gift but there are three gifts that have proven timeless. We still talk about them today.



Matthew 2:1-11: After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem 2 and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his  star when it rose and have come to worship him.”
3 When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born.
5 “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written:
6 “‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’”
7 Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. 8 He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”
9 After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11 On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. 12 And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route. 

We need to remember that these wise men did not arrive at the same time as the shepherds. They arrived later. The Bible’s use two words to indicate this: house and child (v11). 

The use of the word house, not Inn or guest room, implies Jospeh and the family had settled in Bethlehem. This may have been easier for them than raising a baby in Nazareth where people would gossip about the family history. 

The word child is not the same in the Greek as a baby but is paidion, meaning a child between one and six years old. Jesus is probably a toddler at this point given the journey that the wise men took may have lasted serval years. This also helps us understand why Herod killed all the male babies who were two years old and under (v16). 

Have you ever had an “odd” gift? I have. Someone thought I could use this in my current car, (put on goggles, aviator cap and scarf).

The gifts that Jesus received were the “must have” gifts!


Gift of Gold


The gift of gold was considered worthy of a king. The buildings and treasures of kings and pharaohs from the ancient past have left reminders that gold was the prize of rulers and kings. Both secular and biblical kings valued gold. Men such as King Solomon and King Nebuchadnezzar treasured gold. 

Gold is mined. It’s hard to come by and expensive to dig for and refine, even today. 

When recessions hit where did countries put their money? Into gold. Many countries have a gold reserve. Why? Because gold, in the longer term, holds its value because it’s still reasonably rare. 

When Jesus was given gold, it was even rarer. It would have cost many lives to mine for the gold of the day (no health and safety). Only the rich had gold. 

While gold can be a gift for anyone today, pure gold was a gift especially for kings. 

The wise men gave the Saviour financial means to escape to Egypt the night before the journey (v13). 

God’s timing is always in line with His provision. 

Gift of Frankincense 

Frankincense comes from tree resins. 

Frankincense was once greatly valued throughout the Middle East, from Rome to India. It was very expensive and a gift having a wonderful fragrance. 

It was used for a variety of purposes such as incense (Ex. 30:34), medical treatment, and perfume (Song of Solomon 3:6; 4:14). 

We discover from the Bible that frankincense was used in worship (Exodus 30:34-38).

When burned, pure frankincense burns a beautiful white flame and emits an earthy aroma of citrus. This made the wise men believe it was a pleasing gift for God. 

Note that frankincense was not used in sacrificial rituals, but in praise and worship only. It was a substance used to praise and thank God for his holiness.

Frankincense speaks of the worship of God.

When the wise men gave this it signified two things: firstly, they were worshipping God in Christ, secondly, that worship is a gift that all can give. 

Mary and Joseph, being good Jews, would not have made themselves incense to worship God because of the instructions in Exodus (i.e. combining it with other ingredients used in worship). They would have used it to fragrance the home though. 

This was a lavish gift, one that was way beyond the means of the young family. It was extravagant.  

Gift of Myrrh 

Myrrh was less expensive than frankincense, but was still highly valued. It is first mentioned in the Bible in Genesis 37:25. 

Myrrh was used for a variety of purposes, such as: a perfume (Song of Solomon 3:6; 4:14), an anaesthetic, burial embalming (John 19:39), as an ingredient in anointing oil, and to deodorise clothes. According to Esther 2:12, it was also a cosmetic used by women. 

Anointing oil: Myrrh was used as anointing oil. It was used to anoint, Kings. Both Saul and David were anointed with as they were placed to be king over Israel. High Priests and even altars for sacrifice were anointed with myrrh. You can find in Exodus 30: 22-29, a recipe God gave to Moses to anoint Aaron and his sons, along with the tabernacle and everything within it.

This is important to know because here we find the distinction between the uses of Frankincense and Myrrh. Frankincense was only used for worship and meal offerings. It was not used for blood or sin sacrifices. Myrrh is what was reserved for the sin sacrifices. It is what prepared and purified the altars beforehand.

We know myrrh is associated with burial too.

John 19:38-39 records that myrrh was used in Jesus' burial: Later, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jewish leaders. With Pilate’s permission, he came and took the body away. He was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night. Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy- five pounds 

In the New Testament, myrrh is primarily associated with death. The wise men may well have anointed Jesus with it as King of Kings. 

This is the oddest gift of all. We can understand why they gave gold and even frankincense, but myrrh? 

Myrrh reminds us that Jesus was anointed King, born to die for us, as the final sin offering.

Gift Wrapping This Up 

Since gold, frankincense and myrrh were highly prized by kings and emperors, these magi gave Jesus three very expensive gifts. 

Quote: “Gold speaks of His birth. He is born a King. Frankincense speaks of the fragrance of His life. Myrrh speaks of His death. All of this is indicated in the gifts that were brought to Him at His first coming.” - Dr. J. Vernon McGee. 

The most important gift is not any of the one’s given by the Magi. The most important gift is the one that God gave us: Jesus! 

1 Corinthians 9:15 Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!