Bring Him Incense, Gold, and Myrrh
by Charles R. Swindoll
What do you give a young king? The magi, after traveling more than five hundred miles away to see the child Jesus, brought gold, frankincense, and myrrh with them. Why those gifts? What did the gifts mean in relation to Jesus? And what did they mean for the men who gave them?
Gold. The magi, even before they arrived at Jesus’s home, knew they were searching for a king. As men who acknowledged Jesus as sovereign ruler, they brought a gift befitting someone of rank and authority. Gold has long been used as a medium of exchange—whether as coins or as the basis of the value of a coin. In gold, the magi brought a gift of great value, a symbol of sacrifice on their part as worshipers. Gold represented their willingness to give everything to God, because He alone is worthy.
Frankincense. Worshipers in the Old Testament inserted the dried gum of frankincense into candles to make offerings in the temple. The frankincense candles released a fragrant scent that filled the room with an exquisite aroma. That the magi brought frankincense to Jesus demonstrates that they acknowledged the Child not simply as King but also as Priest who would intercede for humanity before God. In this way, the frankincense was a symbol of the magi’s humility before the Child, recognizing their dependence on a holy and just God.
Myrrh. The ancients used myrrh when embalming the dead, making the gift especially appropriate for Jesus, whose death would change history. While the magi likely had no concept of the death Jesus would die, the gift signified the importance of Jesus’s death. In fact, when Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus took Jesus from the cross and prepared His body for the tomb, they used a mixture of aloe and myrrh. The gummy consistency of that mixture would help hold together the cloth wrappings that surrounded the body.
The King received the gold. Our Intercessor took the frankincense. And the One who died on the cross had myrrh wrapped about His body by His friends. The magi’s gifts to Jesus pointed to the utterly unique, glorious, and sacrificial ministry of the Lord Jesus.
Matthew 2:11-12
11 And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
12 Then, being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed for their own country another way.
John 19:38-40
Jesus Buried in Joseph’s Tomb
38 After this, Joseph of Arimathea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly, for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus; and Pilate gave him permission. So he came and took the body of Jesus. 39 And Nicodemus, who at first came to Jesus by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds. 40 Then they took the body of Jesus, and bound it in strips of linen with the spices, as the custom of the Jews is to bury.
The magi’s gifts to Jesus pointed to the utterly unique, glorious, and sacrificial ministry of the Lord Jesus.
— Charles R. Swindoll
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