A wise man asks questions
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3 Gifts
3 Gifts
Words composed by an Englishman named William Chatterton Dix in 1865 continue to help people
around the world consider the annual question posed during the Christmas season: What child is
this? Within the lyrics of this famous Christmas carol about the baby Jesus who was born in the
manger in Bethlehem, people encounter characters and their actions which help answer the inquiry
posed in the title of the song. Although wise men or magi specifically are not mentioned as
characters in the carol, their notifiable actions of worship and generosity lead the lyrics of the third
stanza.
"So bring him incense, gold, and myrrh…"
"So bring him incense, gold, and myrrh…"
After Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of King Herod, wise men from the east arrived unexpectedly in Jerusalem, saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.”
When King Herod heard this, he was deeply disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. So he assembled all the chief priests and scribes of the people and asked them where the Messiah would be born.
“In Bethlehem of Judea,” they told him, “because this is what was written by the prophet:
And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the leaders of Judah:
because out of you will come a leader
who will shepherd My people Israel.”
Then Herod secretly summoned the wise men and asked them the exact time the star appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. When you find Him, report back to me so that I too can go and worship Him.”
After hearing the king, they went on their way. And there it was—the star they had seen in the east! It led them until it came and stopped above the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed beyond measure. Entering the house, they saw the child with Mary His mother, and falling to their knees, they worshiped Him. Then they opened their treasures and presented Him with gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And being warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their own country by another route.
Not the Oregon Trail
Not the Oregon Trail
According to the text, the wise men came "from the east." Depending on where Matthew was
composing this text, "from the east" could mean a variety of places. Most likely these wise men were
Gentiles from Arabia. For a Jewish Christian living in the Holy Land, "from the east" would be a term
that referred to places on the east side of the Jordan River. It meant that in the first century to
Jewish Christians just as it does today. Those who lived in the Holy Land in the first century would
have referred to the Jordanian desert areas that connect with the deserts of Arabia as "from the east."
The Arabian deserts and Arabian Peninsula include areas such as modern day Saudi Arabia, Yemen,
Oman, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Iraq, and Jordan.One of the strong indicators that these wise men came from that general region of the world is linked
to the types of gifts they came to lay before Jesus at his birth as part of their intentions to worship
this newborn king.
Entering the house, they saw the child with Mary His mother, and falling to their knees, they worshiped Him. Then they opened their treasures and presented Him with gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
These wise men likely were carrying this gold from the place it was mined: most likely Arabia.
Biblical writers give astute readers clues to the origin of much of the mined gold in biblical times
such as Ophir and Sheba which were located in the Arabian Peninsula. (cf. ; ;
Chronicles 29:3-4; ). More than the gold, the remaining gifts of frankincense and myrrh are
the real evidence that these wise men likely were from Arabia. Both of these gifts are harvested from
trees that primarily grow in southern Arabia. The Arabian Peninsula dwellers who were wealthy
would have been in the possession of these localized treasures. Those in the early church likely
would have been aware of these realities.
That Deja vu Moment
That Deja vu Moment
It is also important regarding prophecy fulfillment to trace the origins of the wealthy wise men back
to Arabia. The words of speak of a prophetic future glory of Israel that ultimately gets
fulfilled in the person of Jesus.
Arise, shine, for your light has come,
and the glory of the Lord shines over you.
For look, darkness covers the earth,
and total darkness the peoples;
but the Lord will shine over you,
and His glory will appear over you.
Nations will come to your light,
and kings to the brightness of your radiance.
Raise your eyes and look around:
they all gather and come to you;
your sons will come from far away,
and your daughters will be carried on the hip.
Then you will see and be radiant,
and your heart will tremble and rejoice,
because the riches of the sea will become yours
and the wealth of the nations will come to you.
Caravans of camels will cover your land —
young camels of Midian and Ephah—
all of them will come from Sheba.
They will carry gold and frankincense
and proclaim the praises of the Lord.
A great origin story
A great origin story
The ancient lands of Midian, Ephah, and Sheba all are located in the Arabian Peninsula. The first two
are tribal lands in the north with Sheba found in the south. The gifts mentioned in the Isaiah
prophecy are consistent with the gifts the wise men brought to Jesus mentioned in the Matthew
account. These gifts were carried from their origins in Arabia.
Commentary on the birth narrative also affirms that the wise men were from Arabia. As early as 160
A.D., a Palestinian Christian named Justin Martyr recorded a conversation with a Jew named Trypho.
The conversation in book form called Dialogue with Trypho, the Jew, which still survives today,
includes these words inscribed by Justin: "The wise men from Arabia came to Bethlehem and
worshiped the child and offered to him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh." The location ofArabia is mentioned as fact in Justin Martyr's writings in five different places. Such information
regarding an Arabian origin of the wise men also is asserted by Tertullian and Clement of Rome.
What do the origin and gifts of the wise men have to do with answering the question: What child is
this? First, consider the comparison of origins of the wise men and Jesus that led to a pair of arrivals.
The wise men traveled a great distance before their arrival at the manger. Likewise, Jesus came a
great distance to draw near to humanity and embody Immanuel: God with us. While Jesus did not
come "from the east" as did the wise men, He did come to dwell among us from His previous position
of being "with God…from the Father." Thus, the child in the manger is the one who, like the wise
men, made an arrival in Bethlehem from some distance. Notice how John records such origins of
Jesus regarding location of His whereabouts in the opening verses of his gospel.
John 1:1
In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
He was with God in the beginning.
John
The true light, who gives light to everyone,
was coming into the world.
He was in the world,
and the world was created through Him,
yet the world did not recognize Him.
He came to His own,
and His own people did not receive Him.
But to all who did receive Him,
He gave them the right to be children of God,
to those who believe in His name,
The Word became flesh
and took up residence among us.
We observed His glory,
the glory as the One and Only Son from the Father,
full of grace and truth.
When considering the Christmas story, it is important to remember that Jesus came not only to seek
and save Jewish working class shepherds who did not always have much money but also came for
Gentile Arabs who were wealthy and came bearing gifts to the Messiah. This mention of wealth and
gifts brings us to the second comparison between the wise men and Jesus. Just as it is inferred that
the wise men were from a position of wealth, likewise, Jesus came from a place of means. He is the
God who stepped out from the riches of heaven and into the poverty of a lowly manger in a
Bethlehem stable. The scenes from , and 21 each speak to the wealth, glory, and power
that surrounded Jesus in heaven. Equally, this is the same God of whom the Psalmist writes and
speaks of His wealth.
The earth and everything in it,
the world and its inhabitants,
belong to the Lord;
Psalm
for every animal of the forest is Mine,
the cattle on a thousand hills.
Only he could afford us
Only he could afford us
Whether in His throne room of heaven or among the earth He created as we previously read in John's
gospel passage, this child in the manger is the Lord. He is the One who created and owns all wealth.
Thus, this child is like the wise men in that they both come from a place of means and have access to
wealth. These characteristics we see mirrored in Jesus and the wise men help us understand glimpse
by glimpse who this child in the manger truly is. Does the generosity of the wise men reflect an
attribute of who this child in the manger is? He, too, is one full of generosity and a good giver of
gifts.What child is this? He is the one who would give the ultimate gift. He was born to give His life as a
ransom for many. Notice these scriptures that speak to this attribute of Jesus as a generous giver
that exceeds even the generosity and gifts of the wise men.
Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for our sins to rescue us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father. To whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.
“Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Your heart must not be troubled or fearful.
I am able to do all things through Him who strengthens me.
and of course the verse that so many of us have set to memory
“For God loved the world in this way: He gave His One and Only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.
The best GPS
The best GPS
The heavens declared Jesus' advent with a star in the sky. The wise men followed it from their
homelands. These wise men were from a culture and place that valued the night sky and had
developed a study of the stars and the planets to a fine art. It had specific meanings to those who
took time to notice. The wise men believed all in the heavens were connected and had special
meanings with events that took place on earth. As New Testament scholar N. T. Wright has said,
"When something important was happening on earth you could expect to see it reflected in the
heavens. Alternatively, a remarkable event among the stars and planets must mean, they thought, a
remarkable event on earth."
When these wise men "from the east" saw the star rising in the sky, they took it as a sign that
something significant had happened on earth. All along their journey toward Jerusalem, they had
been inquiring where the King of the Jews had been born. As we read their story in Matthew's gospel,we learn they now were within a few miles of their destination. These Gentile men of power, means,
and intellect had come from afar to worship and pay homage to this newborn king they likely had
heard about due to the centuries-old retelling of the story of a coming Messiah. The story had been
conveyed through the ages by faithful Jews who had been exiled in Babylon and remained scattered
abroad after their exile ended. Such stories of Jewish exile go back to the days of Daniel and
Jeremiah.
How interesting it is to consider how the Jews who were sent into exile in Babylon under the
sovereign leadership of God nearly six centuries before the birth of Christ would be the mouthpiece
of the story of the coming Messiah that would be told throughout much of the world over the coming
generations. After the exile was lifted, many of the Jews decided to continue living in that area
because they had gotten married, had families, and made a life for themselves in that land. (cf.
) Yet, throughout the centuries that followed the end of exile, the stories of the coming
Messiah were still passed on to all who were within earshot, including the generations of the wise
men in that region and beyond.
Centuries after the Jewish exile had ended, the wise men mentioned in Matthew's gospel likely had
heard all the stories with all the prophecies that stemmed from the stories of these ancient Jews
concerning a coming Messiah. The telling of stories from diverse cultures was part of the
educational process that wise men from that day engaged with and absorbed. The wise men were
students of philosophies, cultures, and religions as well as the sky. Now a star was shining brightly
in the sky. It was a sign in the heavens they must follow that led to the One who had been foretold
throughout the generations. Yes, Gentile wise men would follow the star and seek out this one born
King of the Jews just as the prophecies had foretold.
Of all the people in , these Gentiles "from the east" were the only ones coming to worship
the new born king. As they followed the star, the wise men were fulfilling the promise that Jeremiah
29:13 records during the Jewish exile in Babylon centuries earlier.
You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.
The reason for the journey
The reason for the journey
After hearing the king, they went on their way. And there it was—the star they had seen in the east! It led them until it came and stopped above the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed beyond measure. Entering the house, they saw the child with Mary His mother, and falling to their knees, they worshiped Him. Then they opened their treasures and presented Him with gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
These Gentile wise men worshiped this Jewish king of kings who came as the promised Savior of the
whole world. This child in the manger was the Messiah and king of Jews and Gentiles alike. Luke's
gospel account records this truth within the words of Simeon who also saw the baby Jesus shortly
after he was born. Simeon's words concerning what child this was gave credence to the worship the
Gentile wise men were offering to the newborn king they, too, had just seen with their own eyes.
For my eyes have seen Your salvation.
You have prepared it
in the presence of all peoples—
a light for revelation to the Gentiles
and glory to Your people Israel.
The wise men were the first Gentiles to worship Jesus. They would not be the last. Jesus was the
child who was born to be worshiped by all people in all nations for all times. It was what Simeon
said. It is what the wise men experienced. It is part of the answer to the question the Carol asks:
What child is this? He is the One who is worthy of worship by all people, of all places and races and
people. He is the One True Savior of the entire world that is worthy to seek and to worship. He is the
One not impeded by distance to be born as the One to give His life that we may receive forgiveness ofsin and the gift of life everlasting. May we do as the wise men did. May we seek Him, bow before
Him, worship Him, and give Him the gifts of our lives