They fell down and worshiped him.
Then, opening their treasures,
they offered him gifts,
gold and frankincense and myrrh.
Matthew 2:11

When you give a family member or a friend a Christmas gift this year, you will be engaging in a practice that goes back to the birth of Jesus.

In the ancient world, if a ruler from one nation was coming to visit a ruler of another nation, it was customary for the visiting king to bring gifts of value to honor his host, and to show that he was coming not as an aggressor, but in peace.

In 1 Kings 10, when the Queen of Sheba came to visit Solomon, she brought gifts of gold and spices.

And in Psalm 72, the Psalmist writes:

May the kings of Tarshish and of the coastlands
render him tribute;
may the kings of Sheba and Seba bring gifts!
May all kings fall down before him,
all nations serve him!

When the magi brought their gifts to Jesus, they were honoring him as a king. And they were fulfilling the prophecy in Psalm 72.

The gifts they brought were significant as well.

They brought gold, which was and is a precious metal. People had begun using gold as currency more than 600 years before Jesus was born. Because it was considered a beautiful metal, and because it was rare, it was considered valuable.

Frankincense is a high-quality incense that produces a pleasant fragrance. Why would sweet smelling incense be so valuable in Jesus’ day? Two reasons. First, because bathing was rare. Incense was used to cover body odors. It was also an anti-inflammatory. So, a gift of frankincense was a gift that offered both a pleasing aroma and good health.

Myrrh is also an aromatic spice, made from the resin of a number of small, thorny trees found in the Arabian Peninsula. It was considered so valuable in ancient times that an ounce of myrrh was as costly as an ounce of gold. The ancient Egyptians used myrrh as an embalming spice when they buried their dead. It was also mixed with wine as an anesthetic.

In the Old Testament, gold is most often connected with kings or rulers. Incense is associated with the ministry of the priests. And myrrh is tied to funerals.

These were the gifts given to Jesus: a valuable metal and two kinds of costly, high-quality incense. Why give these gifts to a baby? Because the magi seemed to know they were honoring a king and a priest whose death would be significant.

Prayer: Lord, as we reflect on the significance of your birth during this season of the year, may we acknowledge you as our king and our high priest, and may we never lose sight of the significance of your death as our sin substitute.