The Gifts of Christmas

Introduction

Tonight we gather to break bread together, to reflect upon our Savior and the great sacrifice He made when He gave His life for us on the Cross of Calvary. We reflect upon the night in the Upper Room when He was with His disciples, instructing them about the things that were to come and the payment He was about to make.

Tonight we want to reflect upon the “gift of God which is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Tonight we want to reflect upon the “Gifts of Christmas.”

When we think about the “Gifts of Christmas” our minds may wander back to the night, long after Jesus’ birth, some think it was as many as 18-24 months after Jesus’ birth that the Magi arrived. When they arrived they did not come empty handed. Notice the Scripture with me:

Matthew 2:1–12 NKJV

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 have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.” When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. So they said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet: ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, Are not the least among the rulers of Judah; For out of you shall come a Ruler Who will shepherd My people Israel.’ ” Then Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men, determined from them what time the star appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the young Child, and when you have found Him, bring back word to me, that I may come and worship Him also.” When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen 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 exceedingly great joy. 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. Then, being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed for their own country another way.

They came bearing gifts...those gifts consisted of three things: gold, frankincense, and myrhh...

Gold

Gold is not only seen as a precious commodity in our day and time, but it was also seen as a precious commodity in Scripture. Scripture talks about Solomon’s wealth in 1 Kings 10, and describes the vast amounts of gold that came into his kingdom during these days. As a matter of fact one commentator notes that gold is mentioned SEVEN times in just ten verses in this chapter.

Gold often was associated with royalty in Scripture and Jesus is the most royal King of all...after all He is the King of kings and Lord of lords!

When the gold was brought and presented to Christ, Joseph and Mary had no idea how handy this gold may become, because in a few short hours they would have to flee Bethlehem because of Herod’s rampage and travel into Egypt. How would they make the trip, how would they survive, how would they provide for themselves and get the necessities that were needed for such an arduous journey? It is logical to assume that they used a portion of the gold to secure the necessary things along the way.

We are all familiar with gold, but I’d dare say that not all of us are familiar with the next two gifts...

Frankincense

Frankincense was a type of incense that was often used in worship and royal processions. Nehemiah 13:5 tells us that it was stored in the chamber of the sanctuary...

Nehemiah 13:5 NKJV

And he had prepared for him a large room, where previously they had stored the grain offerings, the frankincense, the articles, the tithes of grain, the new wine and oil, which were commanded to be given to the Levites and singers and gatekeepers, and the offerings for the priests.

Exodus 30 reveals that it was combined with other things to create an incense that was used in worship in the Tabernacle.

Leviticus 2 also lets us know that frankincense was used when grain offerings were made to the Lord.

Some believe that the gift of Frankincense, given by the Wise Men, were symbolic of their recognition of Christ as the Messiah and in giving this gift, they too were offering worship to God.

The last gift was that of...

Myrrh

Myrhh was a perfume. Ironically it wasn’t only at Christ’s birth that He received Myrhh but also at His death. Some see this gift as a foreshadowing of the cross. Notice

Mark 15:23 NKJV

Then they gave Him wine mingled with myrrh to drink, but He did not take it.

As He was dying on the cross they offered Him something to dull the pain, wine mixed with myrrh, but He refused. Then also notice...

John 19:39 NKJV

And Nicodemus, who at first came to Jesus by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds.

Myrrh was used as a perfume in the ancient process of preparing the body for burial. The would tightly wrap the body and load it down with spices and a variety of other things before placing the body in a tomb. How ironic it is that we think of myrrh, not only near the birth of Christ, but also at His death.

Each of these items would have been considered “treasures” that were brought by these Wise Men as they offered to the Lord their “best.” These gifts would have been costly...they were not bringing to Jesus something cheap or meaningless. They used their wealth as a tool in worship to the Lord.

While the Wise Men gave to Jesus their worship, and sacrificed their treasures to the Son of God, what they offered was nothing in comparison to...

The Gift that Jesus Gave

Jesus was born of a virgin, literally God robed in human flesh, and lived the sinless life we could not live and on the night before His crucifixion, while He was observing the Passover meal with His disciples instituted what we have come to know as the Lord’s Supper.

Notice Mark 14:12-16

Mark 14:12–16 NKJV

Now on the first day of Unleavened Bread, when they killed the Passover lamb, His disciples said to Him, “Where do You want us to go and prepare, that You may eat the Passover?” And He sent out two of His disciples and said to them, “Go into the city, and a man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water; follow him. Wherever he goes in, say to the master of the house, ‘The Teacher says, “Where is the guest room in which I may eat the Passover with My disciples?” ’ Then he will show you a large upper room, furnished and prepared; there make ready for us.” So His disciples went out, and came into the city, and found it just as He had said to them; and they prepared the Passover.

Just as the disciples prepared for the Passover meal, we too must prepare our hearts and minds to partake of the Lord’s Supper.

The Apostle Paul challenged the Church at Corinth to examine themselves before they partook of it...

1 Corinthians 11:27–32 NKJV

Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep. For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world.

So right now here’s what we are going to do...

First you should EXAMINE yourself to see whether or not you are in the faith? In other words ARE YOU A CHRISTIAN—HAVE YOU EVER BEEN BORN AGAIN. If you can’t answer that with a resounding “YES” then I would encourage you NOT to participate, unless right now YOU want to repent of your sins and call on the name of Jesus as YOUR Lord and Savior.

If you are a believer, I’d encourage you to sincerely ask God to reveal any known or unknown, unconfessed sin that may be in your life. As He reveals those things to YOU confess those things to Him and ask for an receive His forgiveness. Do a THOROUGH inventory your heart, mind, thoughts...

We are going to take a few minutes...feel free to use the altar or pray at your seat...

For those of you who want to participate with us, here’s what I’d like you to do.

The cup that you have in your hand has two seals. Carefully remove the top seal which will expose the bread...

At this time I would like to ask .....to pray and thank God for the blood that was shed and the body that was broken for us and for our sins...

As you take out the bread hold it in your hand and contemplate the sacrifice that was made for you...

Mark 14:22 NKJV

And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.”

Now carefully remove the next seal which will expose the “fruit of the vine.”

As you look into the cup reflect upon the blood that Jesus shed for your sin...

Mark 14:24–25 NKJV

And He said to them, “This is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many. Assuredly, I say to you, I will no longer drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”