What To Give To Jesus For His Birthday

By Phil Scovell



Matthew 2:1-12 King James Version.
Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of
Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to
Jerusalem, Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for
we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.
When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and
all Jerusalem with him.  And when he had gathered all the chief
priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of then
where Christ should be born.  And they said unto him, In Bethlehem
of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet, And thou
Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the
princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall
rule my people Israel.  Then Herod, when he had privily called
the wise men, enquired of them diligently what time the star
appeared.  And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search
diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring
me word again, that I may come and worship him also.  When they
had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they
saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over
where the young child was.  When they saw the star, they rejoiced
with exceeding great joy.  And when they were come into the
house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell
down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their
treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense,
and myrrh.  And being warned of God in a dream that they should
not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another
way.


     Years ago, I prepared a sermon to preach on Christmas
concerning the gifts the wise men gave to Jesus.  I won't detail
everything in that sermon right now but this morning, after
awaking quite early, I sat in my office listening to Christmas
music on the radio and any Bible preaching I could find.  As I sat
and listened, I remember the sermon I had preached.  Out loud, I
said, "Lord Jesus, what can I give you for your birthday?"  I was
thinking, of course, I have nothing expensive, as did the wise
men, to give.  Yes, of course, I have heard sermons on the only
thing you can give the Lord, that is of any value, is yourself.  I
believe that is true but as I sat and thought in prayer, I
suddenly realized what it was I could give to Jesus on His
birthday.

     In my sermon, I focused on the gold, frankincense, and myrrh
because those things were mentioned.  They wise men gave much more
than these three things because it said, "and when they had opened
their treasures."  It is clear, therefore, they gave a lot more.
Why where only three things mentioned?  It is likely because those
three things were of the most value.

     gold, in the Bible depicts sovereignty, authority, power, and
royalty.  Scripturally, it represents holiness, purity,
completeness, and eternality.

     Frankincense was primarily made from East African trees bark.
It was dried and ground into powder and burned as an incense.  It
was burned for sacrificial purposes which you can discover through
the Old Testament.  It symbolically represents righteousness,
prayer of holiness, and since it is burned, it rises to Heaven.

     Myrrh was also made from African and Arabian tree bark.
Although it, too, was ground into powder once dried, and then
burned, it more often than not was mixed with oil so it could be
applied as a perfume or an anointing oil.  It was even used on the
body of Jesus when He died before placed in the tomb.  It, too, as
did the frankincense, create a sweet smelling perfume.  Myrrh is
also used in the healing of the body in various ways.  It was
representative of that which was anointed with purpose, purity,
wholeness and holiness, and meant health and healing.

     There is little doubt, therefore, the three gifts represented
what the wise men, or Magi, believed about Jesus.  they believed
Jesus was the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; that was, in fact, God
come in the flesh.  thus, I believe those three gifts, although
the treasures they gave were much more, represented their belief
in the Trinity and Jesus as the Savior.

     If you go back and read the Matthew passage again, you will
discover the first thing the wise men did when they saw Jesus was
they fell down and worshipped Him.  The physical gifts they gave,
although they made Jesus and His poor family rich beyond their
wildest dreams, had no eternal value.  Their worship, on the other
hand, did.  As I thought about this earlier this morning, I
realized, that was what I could give Jesus on His birthday that
was of the most value.  In fact, I can give Him worship every day
of my life.

And God Divided The Light From The Darkness
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