“It’s A Boy!” - The Wisemen Speak

January 4, 2025 – Epiphany Sunday

Matthew 2: 1-12:

Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the reign of King Herod.  About that time some wise men from eastern lands arrived in Jerusalem, asking, “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star as it rose, and we have come to worship him.”  King Herod was deeply disturbed when he heard this, as was everyone in Jerusalem.   He called a meeting of the leading priests and teachers of religious law and asked, “Where is the Messiah supposed to be born?”  “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they said, “for this is what the prophet wrote:

‘And you, O Bethlehem in the land of Judah,

are not least among the ruling cities of Judah,

for a ruler will come from you

who will be the shepherd for my people Israel.’”

Then Herod called for a private meeting with the wise men, and he learned from them the time when the star first appeared.   Then he told them, “Go to Bethlehem and search carefully for the child.  And when you find him, come back and tell me so that I can go and worship him, too!”  After this interview the wise men went their way.  And the star they had seen in the east guided them to Bethlehem.  It went ahead of them and stopped over the place where the child was.   When they saw the star, they were filled with joy!  They entered the house and saw the child with his mother, Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him.  Then they opened their treasure chests and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.   When it was time to leave, they returned to their own country by another route, for God had warned them in a dream not to return to Herod. 

Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh.   Three gifts of great significance.   Three gifts that point us toward the rest of the story.

Gold.   A gift for a King.  

This was a gift representing Christ’s royalty.   Isaiah had cried out hundreds of years before the birth of Christ, “Look!  A righteous king is coming.” 

The prophet Jeremiah told the people, Jeremiah 23: 5-6, ““For the time is coming,” says the LORD, “when I will raise up a righteous descendant from King David’s line.   He will be a King who rules with wisdom.    He will do what is just and right throughout the land.    And this will be his name: ‘The LORD Is Our Righteousness.’  In that day Judah will be saved, and Israel will live in safety.” 

A gift of gold to point to the fact that the king the prophets spoke of had arrived...a gift that reminds us, that it will be revealed to all that Christ is King in the last days, when Christ returns, Revelation 19:16, “On his robe at his thigh was written this title: King of all kings and Lord of all lords.”  And He will rule the nations.

The gift of gold also pointed to the next segment of the story...Mary & Joseph’s flight into Egypt to escape the evil, King Herod.   Gold that would help them survive for the years they were in exile.  

Mary, did you know...that your baby boy has walked where angels trod...And when you kiss your little baby...You’ve kissed the face of God...

Frankincense.   A gift for a Priest.  

This was a gift representing Christ’s priesthood.  

Frankincense is an aromatic resin obtained from Boswellia trees and was used throughout the Old Testament, being burned as incense in religious rituals and worship.   Throughout the history of Israel, a high priest would offer sacrifices for the people.   Hebrews 9:7 tells us, “But only the high priest ever entered the Most Holy Place, and only once a year.  And he always offered blood for his own sins and for the sins the people had committed in ignorance.”  

Only the high priest was allowed to enter the Holies of Holies, the inner room of the Temple where the Ark of the Covenant was kept...The day of Atonement was the only day of the year that the priest entered the holy of holies to make sin offerings for himself, his family, and the “assembly of Israel.”  As the smoke of the burning offering ascended from the altar (its chief ingredient was frankincense), the people believed their prayers would go up to God with it, and it would be a sweet savor to Him. 

After making these offerings, the nation’s sins were symbolically laid on a goat, the scapegoat, which was released into the wilderness to die.

At Christ’s death the curtain that the High Priest had to enter through to the Holies of Holies was ripped in two.  

Hebrews 10: 19-22 tells us, “And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus.   By his death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place.   And since we have a great High Priest who rules over God’s house, let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him.  For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water.” 

No longer must sacrifices be made on our behalf for Christ has made the ultimate sacrifice.  

Romans 3: 23-26 tells us, “For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.  Yet God, with undeserved kindness, declares that we are righteous.  He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins.  For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin.  People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood.  This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when he held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past, for he was looking ahead and including them in what he would do in this present time.  God did this to demonstrate his righteousness, for he himself is fair and just, and he declares sinners to be right in his sight when they believe in Jesus.”

The gift of frankincense pointed to the next segment of the story...Jesus would become our priest...the child would grow to become a man...teaching us, allowing God’s power to work through Him to perform miracles, leading us to God, and becoming the ultimate sacrifice so that our friendship with God could be restored and forever secure.  

Mary, did you know...that your baby boy...would save our sons and daughters...that this child you delivered...would soon deliver you...

Myrrh.  A gift which would point to the sacrifice Christ would make...a gift that would point toward Christ’s humanity...fully God, but also fully human...a gift that would point to Good Friday and the death Jesus would face...

The gum resin from the Commifera Myrrha tree is powdered down and used to create ointments and perfumes...In Biblical times, Myrrh was used to anoint the body for burial...

Following Jesus’ death, John 19: 38-42 tell us:

“Afterward Joseph of Arimathea, who had been a secret disciple of Jesus (because he feared the Jewish leaders), asked Pilate for permission to take down Jesus’ body.  When Pilate gave permission, Joseph came and took the body away.  With him came Nicodemus, the man who had come to Jesus at night.  He brought seventy-five pounds of perfumed ointment made from myrrh and aloes.  Following Jewish burial custom, they wrapped Jesus’ body with the spices in long sheets of linen cloth.   The place of crucifixion was near a garden, where there was a new tomb, never used before.   And so, because it was the day of preparation for the Jewish Passover and since the tomb was close at hand, they laid Jesus there.”

Mary, did you know...that your baby boy...is heaven’s perfect lamb...This sleeping child you’re holding is the great I AM...

Three very special gifts...that share with us the rest of the story...that the child, born in a manger, would grow up and become our King, our Priest, and through His sacrifice, our Savior.

Why did the Wisemen bring gifts?  We know the significance of each of the gifts now, but what was their motivation.  

The Bible tells us, in Matthew 2:1-2, “Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the reign of King Herod.  About that time some wise men from eastern lands arrived in Jerusalem, asking, “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star as it rose, and we have come to worship him.” 

The Wisemen have come to worship the Christ...To do him homage; the Greek word translated “worship” here actually means to crouch and fawn like a dog at his master’s feet, to prostrate oneself to another.  

That is why we come each Sunday morning...to worship Him...to come before Him and worship Jesus, who gave His life that we might be in eternal fellowship with God...to worship the God who sent His one and only Son...

Therefore, in our act of worship...what gift do we bring...Like the Wisemen of old, what gift do we bring the Christ-child, the Christ-man, our Savior...How do we crouch and fall at His feet...how do we offer ourselves to the one who gave us everything?

The Wisemen brought gifts to the Christ child that first Christmas night...the night the greatest story ever told began...

Ever since that night, those who believe, those who understand who that baby in the manger is...who understand that he grew up and was nailed to a cross...that understand Jesus died for them...Those who believe still bring gifts...gifts of worship...gifts of testimony and offering...gifts of prayer…the gift of one’s very life...

The One who gave us everything is worthy of so much more than we can possibly give!

Let us continue what the Wisemen started…like them, let us react to the news “It’s A Boy” by traveling to the manger, bowing before the Christ, and giving Him all we can...

…and let us give it with all our hearts.