Christmas Gift: Myrrh
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I love Christmas
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,
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
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wise men - AKA Magoi
astrologist, study of sacred writings, study of the pursuit of wisdom
single ladies
wise men not a smart alcaic
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.”
what did they mean when they spoke of the star?
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.
Numbers
the Jews understood this to be speaking of the coming Messiah
the wise men traveled with a crew over 800 miles
max travel speed for a 33BC camel
20 miles/day
makes this a 40 day trip
They show up in Jerusalem and King Herod finds out and is troubled
another message for another Christmas
Herod lies to the wise men that he desires to go and worship Jesus too but secretly plans to kill Him
fortunately they were wise and were not fooled by Herod
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.
Matthew 2:
KEY TEXT
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.
Over the next 2 Sundays and then 3rd service being on Christmas Eve
cover 3 gifts
All 3 were given as acts of worship
symbolizing something specific about Jesus
Gold, Frankincense, & Myrrh
Myrrh 19 times in ESV
Of the 19 references Myrrh was offered to Jesus two times
one in this passage as a young child
As Jesus is going to the
And they brought him to the place called Golgotha (which means Place of a Skull). And they offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it. And they crucified him and divided his garments among them, casting lots for them, to decide what each should take.
WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT MYRRH?
WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT MYRRH?
1.The word comes from or is rooted in the Hebrew word Mara
Mara - Bitter
We see it in the Naomi, mother in law of Ruth
Naomi lost her husband and two sons,
returns home and says this:
She said to them, “Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me.
in that time a name was a reflection of who you are
or they may rename a place based on something that happened there
like when the Israelites were wandering in the desert
Then Moses made Israel set out from the Red Sea, and they went into the wilderness of Shur. They went three days in the wilderness and found no water. When they came to Marah, they could not drink the water of Marah because it was bitter; therefore it was named Marah.
Bitterness
Death
Can anyone say Merry Christmas
Myrrh was a vital part of death and burrial thousands of years ago
it was used for embalming and preserving the body
After these things Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus, and Pilate gave him permission. So he came and took away his body. Nicodemus also, who earlier had come to Jesus by night, came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds in weight. So they took the body of Jesus and bound it in linen cloths with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews.
at the end of Jesus’ life His body was encased with myrrh
3. Myrrh also represents eternity
it is special for its ability to last for a long time
I put a car smell good on my mirror and two days later nothing
myrrh in the right conditions can hold its fragrance for several hundred years
scientists have found myrrh in Egyptian tombs 4000 years old
When the wise men gave myrrh to Jesus it was a symbol of His purpose
When the wise men gave myrrh to Jesus it was a symbol of His purpose
Jesus came from heaven to earth
to show the way
from the earth to the cross
Jesus came from heaven to earth to take the bitterness of our sin upon Him who was and is holy
He died the death that we should have died to pay for our sins
Because he paid for our sins we can smell the sweet fragrance of Salvation for all eternity
Purpose
God didn’t just send Jesus to see how things would work out
The Father sent His Son so that the world could be saved
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.
Close with this final thought:
who knows the story of Esther?
Israel conquered by Persia
King Xerxes has a problem with his wife, Queen Vashti and she is kicked off the throne
he looks for a new wife, tries many girls but choses Esther
Esther’s uncle finds out about a plot to kill all the Jews
Uncle tells Ester, she convinces the king not to do and and saves God’s people
(quick version- more to it but that’s the highlights
Interesting fact:
Esther is chosen as one fo the girls who may be the kings wife.
so she has to prepare to meet him
makes sense
What did she have to do to get ready?
Now when the turn came for each young woman to go in to King Ahasuerus, after being twelve months under the regulations for the women, since this was the regular period of their beautifying, six months with oil of myrrh and six months with spices and ointments for women—
1 year beauty treatment
6 months daily being in a room with myrrh burning and being rubbed in myrrh
then 6 months with spices and ointments
the myrrh made her ready to see the king
likewise we needed myrrh before we could see the king
Jesus had to die on the cross so that we could have eternity (forever and ever) in the presence of Jesus
and that is a true Christmas Gift