Three Gifts for the King.
Notes
Transcript
Read Mat 2:1-12
The Xmas season is the time when most people in the Christian world get busy buying and wrapping presents for relatives and friends. The gift-giving custom for Xmas does not come from Santa Claus, but from those three characters described in the Bible as the Magi (μάγοi), transliterated as “μάγος” in several Spanish versions.
It is important that we do not confuse them with those who practice magic. These men were “wise men”, dedicated to study medicine, natural sciences, astrology, and obviously the Scriptures, for how would they know about the prophesied King?
They represented the scientists of that time. We know them as the Three Wise Kings.
About 400 years had passed from the time Cyrus let the Jews go back to the time Jesus was born.
We should not forget that after the Babylonian captivity, not all the Jews returned to Canaan; many stay there and grew families. It highly probable that it was thru the Scriptures that belonged to those who stay, that the μάγος found out about the Messiah.
For many years (aprox. 800), the Jews had been waiting for the fulfillment of the prophecy given by Micah about the birth of the promised King, the descendant of David, who would also shepherd the people.
“But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Too little to be among the clans of Judah, From you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, From the days of eternity.”
These men from the East, after investigating about the time when “the King of the Jews” would be born, packed their treasures and rode their camels, for many days, toward the place where the star was pointing at.
They were clear on the purpose of their trip:
“we saw the star in the east and have come to worship Him.” v. 2
Did you come to worship Him today?
As it was the custom. kings or visitors would bring gifts to the king they were visiting.
After coming into the house they saw the Child with Mary His mother; and they fell to the ground and worshiped Him. Then, opening their treasures, they presented to Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
Have you presented your treasures to Jesus?
This morning, I want to talk about three gifts we should present to the King as an act of wroship...
Our possessions to His feet.
Our possessions to His feet.
“they presented to Him gifts of gold...”
Since ancient times, gold has been a highly sought and appreciated metal. It is synonymous of status and financial security.
Gold has been the most used metal for jewelry and adornment, but, most of all, it’s been a synonymous of money and wealth.
Representative of money and wealth.
Representative of money and wealth.
The wealth of Abraham and Solomon was measured in gold:
Now Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver and in gold.
Now the weight of gold which came in to Solomon in one year was 666 talents of gold,
Nations keep gold reserves to back up their currency. The purchasing value of money depends on how well is back up in gold.
Any possession you might have (money, house, car, land, etc) maybe counted as your gold.
By presenting gifts of gold, the μάγοi were symbolically surrendering their possession to Jesus.
Have you done that? We either worship God or worship “gold”:
“No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.
The μάγοi did not have any problem or hesitation in surrendering their wealth to Jesus, for two reasons:
They recognized Him as the owner of the Universe.
They recognized Him as the owner of the Universe.
All that exist was created by Him and for Him:
For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him.
And that includes all the riches of this world:
‘The silver is Mine and the gold is Mine,’ declares the Lord of hosts.
Wealth is something God has trusted us with so we can administer it for His glory.
This is something we should never forget: if we have something is because God has given it to us.
Moses instructed the people before they entered the Promised Land:
“Beware that you do not forget the Lord your God by not keeping His commandments and His ordinances and His statutes which I am commanding you today; otherwise, when you have eaten and are satisfied, and have built good houses and lived in them, and when your herds and your flocks multiply, and your silver and gold multiply, and all that you have multiplies, then your heart will become proud and you will forget the Lord your God who brought you out from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
“Otherwise, you may say in your heart, ‘My power and the strength of my hand made me this wealth.’ “But you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who is giving you power to make wealth, that He may confirm His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day.
The second gift we should present to Jesus is...
The worship from our heart.
The worship from our heart.
“they presented to Him gifts of frankincense...”
The use and meaning of frankincense.
The use and meaning of frankincense.
Incense is a resin imported from Arabia and was used to prepare the perfume of the sanctuary and to accompany some of the offerings to God.
Symbolic of our worship to God.
Symbolic of our worship to God.
“in every place incense is going to be offered to my name...” Mal 1:11
The incense presented to God had to be made according to the recipe God had given them.
“You shall not offer any strange incense on this altar, or burnt offering or meal offering; and you shall not pour out a drink offering on it.
We must worship God with our life, like incense that pleases God:
Phil 4:18 We are a fragrant aroma, pleasant to God.
2 Cor 2:15 We are fragrance of Christ to God.
Psa 141:2 Our prayers are like incense.
He is the only one worthy of praise and worship.
He is the only one worthy of praise and worship.
and he said with a loud voice, “Fear God, and give Him glory, because the hour of His judgment has come; worship Him who made the heaven and the earth and sea and springs of waters.”
The third gift we should present to Jesus is...
A life that pleases Him.
A life that pleases Him.
“they presented to Him gifts of myrrh.”
The use and meaning of myrrh.
The use and meaning of myrrh.
Myrrh was one of the ingredients of the anointing oil. It was also use as a perfume
- Used as a cosmetic Esther 2:12 (to obtain favor)
- Used to anoint (Mary to Jesus, John 11:2)
Perfumes are the modern myrrh. Men and women use them to distill a pleasant aroma to others.
It represents a life with a good testimony.
It represents a life with a good testimony.
(attractive)
“Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.
God has called us to be holy as He is holy, to be people with good testimony. We should live in such way that, with our good deeds, we may shut the mouths of those that malign us.
Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may because of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation.
God instructed the wise men “not to return to Herod”. They obeyed and left for their country by another way. Immediate obedience! (v. 12)
A life of obedience to His revelation is the best way to keep a good testimony and the best way to please God.
Let’s give Jesus our possessions, the worship from our heart, and our life in such way that pleases Him.