| His Childhood: The Magi’s Worship |
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Reflections: The Magi presented gifts to the Christ child of gold, incense, and myrrh. Each of those gifts holds special significance. Gold was a gift for a King. In the Old Testament, King Solomon received 25 tons of gold each year! Gold was the expected offering for a king. It was a gift that signified honor, respect, gratitude, and submission. The Magi approached this child as a King, because that’s exactly what he was. Incense was a gift for a Priest. Incense was used in Jewish temple worship. The priest performed the role of opening the way between God and man. The Latin word for priest is pontiff, which means “bridge-builder.” In Judaism, the high priest would make a sacrifice to God on the Day of Atonement to atone for his sins and the sins of all the people. By giving him incense, the Magi recognized that Jesus was going to make a full and final sacrifice for sins. He would be our great high priest (Hebrews 4:14-16). Myrrh was a gift for a Savior. Myrrh was a burial spice. To one who didn’t know the story of Jesus, this would seem like a very strange, and pretty insensitive gift to give a child. It’s a gift representing death, not life. But Jesus was born to die. He was born with a death sentence on his head. He was born to be the Savior of the world by giving his life on the cross. Gold for a King. Incense for a Priest. Myrrh for a Savior. Three gifts that perfectly capture Jesus’ mission on earth. |
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