Three Breathtaking Gifts

Introduction

One of the things that consistently amazes me about Christmas is how heavy and weighty that morning was as a fulfillment of prophecy. It's a heavy thing to consider that what happened on Christmas morning was predicted and foretold hundreds of years earlier. It's a weighty thing to hold in our mind that everything that happened was a divine appointment. 700 years before Christmas, the prophet Isaiah spoke of a son being born, being given, who would be wonderful counselor and prince of peace, and the government would be upon his shoulders, and his kingdom would be without end. A few decades before those words, the prophet Micah spoke of how in Bethlehem a ruler would come and be the Shepherd of God's people.

Let's go back even further: over 1000 years before Christmas, Moses spoke to the people of God before the promised land that Yahweh would raise up for them a prophet that was like them and from among them, from among their brothers. He would raise up a prophet like them, and he would put his words in his mouth, and this prophet would speak to them all that God commands them. Let's go back even further, to the beginning of the story: in the garden, after the fall of our first parents, God curses the serpent, but then makes this promise. That, by a descendent of Eve, a man would come, that would crush the serpents head. Though the serpent would indeed bruise his heel, its head would be crushed beneath his feet.

Isaiah, Micah, Moses, Abraham, and Adam, all rejoiced to see the day that was Christmas. What happened in their lives in the past pointed to the coming of Jesus Christ.

But the Christmas story goes back, even further, beyond what happened in the garden. Before the foundation of the world, when anything was made, only God existed. God is uncreated, without beginning or end, and is the fountain of all life. Our minds can't even begin to comprehend this reality. However, the Lord describes to us in his word an agreement that took place in eternity past. Our triune God, father, son, and spirit, before the foundation of the world, entered into an agreement to not only create and sustain the cosmos, but to redeem it. This precious truth means that the promise of the gospel is rooted in eternity, it was not an improvised plan done in response to glitches or malfunctions in God's providence.

The coming of Jesus Christ on Christmas morning happened exactly as this plan intended it to. The eternal son, who enjoys perfect communion, love and closeness with the father and the spirit, took on flesh and dwelt among us.

John 1:9 ESV

The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.

John 1:14 ESV

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

These words of John, about the coming of Christ, complete this song that all those old testament individuals started. If history were a symphony, then these men—Isaiah, Micah, Moses, and others—played a melody that foreshadowed a later movement.

Reality is a kind of symphony, except God not only writes the notes, but fashions the instruments.

He writes the notes on paper he made, and he breathes life into the musicians playing them.

He fashions the venue and illuminates it, and the heavenly realm attending watches in amazement or fear.

Few things demonstrate the wisdom and power of God as well as the masterpiece song that was Christmas morning.

No one could have made up the intricate symbolism of the event, or falsified the prophecies that were fulfilled in Bethlehem.

It was too perfect, too flawless, and beyond human power to control. Christmas needs to be this big in our minds.

The story is well known in general, but this morning we will be zooming in on one specific part. Like a symphony, we will be listening to one phrase in one movement, and marvelling at what God has done and is still doing.

Text

Matthew 2:1–12 ESV

Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet: “ ‘And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’ ” Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word, that I too may come and worship him.” After listening to the king, they went on their way. And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way.

Prayer

The Prophetic Nature of Christmas

Over the last few years I've come to realize that much of the church, and certainly the world, has not grasped the absolutely magnificent work of the hand of God in the birth of Jesus. It’s a song that’s gotten stuck in their heads but they’ve never dwelt on the words or soaked in the music. Christmas is a season for gift giving, remembering the birth of Jesus, and enjoying time with family. It’s all three of those things, but it is so much more than that.

Words that promised certain events would happen in the future were coming true. This is prophecy fulfilled.

Hope that the world would be saved from its eventual destruction had come. This is the beginning of the final age.

Fear that God would, indeed, appoint a man to judge the world in righteousness was being justified. Christmas morning was the beginning of the end for Satan and his hordes.

“The hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight.”

Christ’s birth is the fearsome fountain of hope for all who believe.

Now, inside and around the events of Christmas is a higher truth.

It is the truth that God must be totally sovereign.

If Christ was born in Bethlehem, then God must be totally in control.

I want to demonstrate this by looking through our text and then, in conclusion, we’ll think about the gifts of the wisemen.

The Visit

Matthew 2:1–2 ESV

Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”

Have you ever wondered what the background to this event was? Who were these wise men, where did they come from, and how did they know to even look for a certain star? We know the story didn’t just begin out of nowhere, God had been working well before the appearance of the star. God has been working all things since the beginning of all things.

I can’t take too much time on this point, but we have to talk about the star. In the Old Testament, in the book of Numbers, we have the record of a man named Balaam. He was a pagan man who was paid to practice divination. As the Israelites are on their way to the promised land, they camp in the plains of Moab. The king of Moab sees their army, and becomes afraid. Balaam had a reputation of being powerful, and so the king hires him to curse to Israelites. To briefly summarize what happens, every time Balaam attempts to curse Israel by magic, the Lord speaks to him and actually fills him with the Spirit, so that only blessings flow from his mouth. This happened three times, and each time the king grows more frustrated that the magical hitman he hired keeps blessing his target!

It happened a fourth time, and listen to what Balaam said:

Numbers 24:15–17 ESV

And he took up his discourse and said, “The oracle of Balaam the son of Beor, the oracle of the man whose eye is opened, the oracle of him who hears the words of God, and knows the knowledge of the Most High, who sees the vision of the Almighty, falling down with his eyes uncovered: I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near: a star shall come out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel; it shall crush the forehead of Moab and break down all the sons of Sheth.

Not only is this a glorious twist of events, where the King of Moab ends up paying for a prophecy that says he will ultimately be defeated, but it is also the prophecy that was fulfilled at Christ’s birth.

Here’s where it gets even more interesting: in 1967, an archaeological dig to the east of Israel in Jordan uncovered a plaster inscription. The language dated it to 8th century BC, and guess who this writing is about? Balaam son of Beor, “seer of the gods, who received visions from Elohim.” The inscription doesn’t match the biblical record; it paints Balaam in a far more favorable light. But why wouldn’t it? Why would the pagans tell the truth about their utter failure?

I bring this up because it seems to me that, if Balaam’s life was recorded at least 2 centuries after he lived, then it makes sense that what he said would’ve been recorded as well. So, we have the biblical record of Balaam’s life that was preserved in the church through the book of Numbers. But how would the wise men from the east have known? They were pagan Gentiles; they weren’t reading the book of Moses. So, how did they know 1) to look for a star, 2) what that star might mean, and 3) where to go? I think they knew about Balaam’s prophecy. They read the fourth and final oracle, and knew it meant that a man had been born in Israel who would take the scepter and crush the nations.

So, if you never the Old Testament, and knew that something big just happened in Israel, where would you go first? Jerusalem. Not only this, they went straight to the king.

Matthew 2:3–6 ESV

When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet: “ ‘And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’ ”

These men knew their Bibles. They quoted Micah 5:2 to the king and wise men.

Do we see the prophetic nature of Christmas? Do we recognize that prophecy can only exist if God is in control of what happens? Otherwise, God can only make guesses. He could only hope that a prophecy would come true. This could not be farther from the truth. It is the exact opposite, and this story is a shining example of that.

Matthew 2:7–10 ESV

Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word, that I too may come and worship him.” After listening to the king, they went on their way. And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.

We know Herod’s agenda here is a murderous one. He wants to find this baby to kill it, not worship it. He is afraid of this baby growing up and taking his throne away. The wise men were from a different land, so they had no reason to suspect this. They went on their way, and to their astonishment, the star moved. They followed the star to its final destination with, as the text says “exceedingly great joy.”

Matthew 2:11–12 ESV

And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way.

After this, an angel would warn Joseph in a dream that the king was looking for this child to kill him.

Matthew 2:14–15 ESV

And he rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, “Out of Egypt I called my son.”

It makes sense that these gifts were then sold and used to fund their escape to Egypt. Here, again, is another Old Testament prophecy that was fulfilled near Christ’s birth. Matthew quotes Hosea 11:1 saying, “Out of Egypt I called my son.” More on that near the end.

The Gifts

At every level, we’ve seen the hand of God directing events. And he’s not directing these events in response to anything. He’s directing them according to the plan that he set before the foundation of the world. How do we know this? Because God is picking up every prophetic ball he tossed into the air. Micah 5, Isaiah 60, Gen 3, and many more; all these prophetic passages are like juggling balls that God has thrown up in the air. They have to come down somewhere, right? Are they going to arc at random and land somewhere on the floor? Absolutely not. God invented both gravity and air pressure and so knows precisely where it will fall. It falls right into his hand, exactly where he intended it. Here’s what I want us to take away from this. There is no such thing as coincidence. God does not outsource some things in the world to a random chance generator. He doesn’t automate anything. Remember two weeks ago, “God works all things.” Not a hair falls from our head apart from his will.

So if God moves the molecules in our hair, is he moving in our lives, too? Can we trust and believe that he is working all things for good? The only answer is, “yes.”

And if God is involved in his creation from the top to the bottom, is there any importance to the gifts the wise men brought? That answer, also, is “yes.”

We need to talk about the gifts, but pause with me for a moment.

Two months ago, during October, we had 5 catechism questions. Oct 1st was question #26:

“What offices (or roles) does Christ perform as Redeemer?”

The answer lists three things, and they are called in theology the “threefold office of Christ”: 1) Prophet, 2) Priest, and 3) King.

Three gifts for three offices. I don’t think the Magi did this; I think God did this. The Magi brought with them what they thought would be suitable gifts for the king of the Jews. Above that, God sent with them what would be suitable for his beloved Son, who is the King of kings.

Like a symphony, God writes the music of history using types and themes, familiar phrases that are interconnected across the whole work.

The Father weaves the fabric of time, and on Christmas day he simply couldn’t help himself. He bathed the occasion in significance. He exploded the heavens with a light show and turned the angelic choir all the way. He fulfilled prophecies that had waited centuries for relief. He drew men from distant lands to bring their gifts to his son. When the fullness of time had come, God sent his son, and he did not send him quietly. The town may have been quiet, but the cosmos was booming.

In the gold, we see the kingship of Jesus. My friends, Jesus is not just the Savior of the world but also King of the universe. He is both the lover of your soul and the lord of your life. He poured his blood out for us and demands that we spend every second for him. The Christian life is not to be spent in obedience to Christ when we feel like it. We are to obey our Lord at all times. If we love him, we will obey him. And we must obey him, for he is the king. Every knee will bow, one way or another, but for those who love him, there is no other place them to be than on their knees before him.

In the frankincense, we see the priesthood of Jesus. He is seated before the Father this very moment, interceding before us. The Father already loves us; Christ’s intercession isn’t trying to appease a grumbling God. No, the Son who loves us brings our needs before the Father… who loves us, too. Every priest in the Old Testament was a preview and forward-pointing image of Christ. Priests died and had to be replaced; sin would be atoned for but it could never keep up with or solve the problem for good.

Hebrews 10:11–12 ESV

And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God,

Hebrews 10:19–22 ESV

Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.

Christ is now our high priest, now and forevermore representing us before God. As the priest purified Israel in the Old Covenant, Christ has purified us once and for all in the New Covenant. If we’ve trusted in him, then we can enter those holy places. In fact, the holy place has entered us, for the Spirit of God dwells in each of us if we are in Christ.

None of this is possible without the priesthood of Christ on behalf of his bride, the church. So it’s no coincidence that incense was among the gifts the wise men gave to Jesus.

Conclusion: Myrrh, the Cross, and Hosea 11:1

And now, the final and most sobering gift: myrrh.

Myrrh is a yellow, fragrant, sap-like resin that comes out of cuts in the bark of certain trees. Myrrh contains chemicals that reduce pain and kill bacteria. It was widely traded in the ancient world, and used for a number of different purposes. At the top of this list, more widely-known than any other use, was an embalming agent for dead bodies.

Whatever may or may not have went through the minds of those who were there, it’s pretty clear what Matthew is saying here, isn’t it?

Gold for the king, frankincense for priest, and myrrh for the prophet, who, like so many of his predecessors, would be slain by the people he came to save.

The son was born to die. From the very first day of his time on earth, the shadow of Calvary loomed. This is not the only time Jesus encounters myrrh.

When the life of the Savior was pouring out of him on the cross, Roman soldiers mixed wine with myrrh and offered it to Jesus as a joke.

Once Jesus breathed his last, his body was taken down and given to Joseph of Aramathea, who offered his private tomb to his followers. That night, Nicodemus, a Pharisee who was secretly a believer, came with 75 pounds of aloes and myrrh, to anoint Christ’s body.

Here, in the beginning and at the end, was myrrh.

But this wasn’t the end. For Hosea said that “out of Egypt” he will “call his Son.” Christmas was a night of fulfilled prophecy, but it was also the beginning of the glorious end. When Hosea wrote those words, he addressed it to a sinful and idolatrous Israel who kept betraying God. Kept falling.

But Christ, the new Israel, had been born.

Christ, the final king of Israel, had been born, and as Israel entered the promised land to drive out the pagans, so the Gospel of Christ has gone out to the ends of the earth to drive away darkness.

Christ, the final priest of Israel, had been born; he was born to die, to give his life as a ransom for many, and as he was raised by he would draw all people to himself.

Christ, the final prophet of Israel, had been born, and in Him, the prophet Isaiah’s words would be ultimately fulfilled:

Isaiah 40:1–2 (ESV)

Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.

Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,

and cry to her

that her warfare is ended,

that her iniquity is pardoned…

Christmas shows the beautifully wise and powerful hand of God. All the events that came before and everything that comes after happens by his direction.

And if we spend any serious amount of time thinking about the sovereignty of God, we should running into this reality.

That, though we were absolutely helpless and deserved the total opposite, God was pleased to send his only son into the world to save sinners.

It’s the message of the Bible, and it’s packed to the brim with proof of that.

This Christmas, I pray your breath is taken away by this when you think of those three gifts given to Jesus, and realize it was to make your salvation and mine a reality.

Let’s pray.