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Matthew 2:11 And when they were come into the house,
they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped
him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts;
gold, and frankincense, and myrrh. 12 And being warned of God in a dream
that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country
another way. 13 And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the
Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child
and his mother, and flee into Egypt,
and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child
to destroy him. 14 When he arose, he took the young child and his mother
by night, and departed into Egypt:
Have you ever got a gift you couldn’t use? It may have been
an ok gift, but you just couldn’t use it.
Of all people, the angel went to
shepherds to give the news of the birth of Jesus. Why?
Of all people, why the wise men? They
were Gentiles. Why gold, frankincense and myrrh? What was the purpose? Christmas
is simple. We doll it all up but it’s a simple, straight forward thing. Yet it was the greatest and most important event of all time. Every part has deep and personal meaning. to everyone of us. The palaces which the Herod’s of this world have pulled us into can
work on us, but the wise men followed the Star, and we can too.
Bethlehem is
five miles south of Jerusalem.
Somewhere between the two towns shepherds found the baby in a manger. Sometime
later the wise men found him too. They knew what danger this child was in; they
knew what danger they could be in, but God wanted them to find Jesus. Herod
used the wise men, but by a star, they knew that God was using them too. The purpose of the wise men
was real and much needed. God was intent on taking care of his Son, Mary and
Joseph, their nation, AND all mankind. Poor shepherds were given the first
news, and then quite the opposite visited– very wealthy men came. These were
rich, wise philosophers called magi. They would have arrived with elegant
caravans loaded with treasure. When they saw the place where this King lived, they saw the simplicity of it all. They knew from ancient
prophecies that a King would be born. They were from the east and one of them
may have been from Ur
of the Chaldees and left his home to find the King. Abraham was also from Ur; he too left his home
in search of a city. And he became the father of the nation of Israel. Do you see the wonderful Plan of God here? Jesus came for all of us. God gave us someone we can use.
Being practical we know the wise men talked with Joseph. They were invited in. After they saw the house and heard the story, these wealthy men humbled
themselves and knelt at the feet of a baby and worshiped him. The Lord wants us
to know our place. See his simplicity. Worship him and him alone.
Looking
around at the whole situation and knowing what was happening, why the gold,
frankincense, and myrrh? Gold is valuable in any country. Currency may not
last, but gold always will. Frankincense is a valuable gum grown in the
limestone rocks of southern Arabia. It is rare and used to make incense still today. Myrrh is an
aromatic gum that is used for perfume. Only the rich could afford any of these
gifts. The wise men could tell that Mary and Joseph didn’t have much. Joseph
had probably told them he was a carpenter. The wise men were warned to go home
another way. Joseph was warned to run to Egypt to escape danger. As a
business man, Joseph would have used the gifts of the wise men to make his
living while he was in Egypt
in order to provide for his family. The frankincense and myrrh would have been
sought and a high price paid for them. The gifts were to be very valuable to Joseph,
Mary and Jesus. God was taking care of them through the gifts of these Magi.
What gifts have we given the Lord? Are they only words or intentions? All our words don’t
amount the anything; they are like that gift we can't use. The Lord needs something he can use. What is it he wants from
us? We all know. How about giving it?
Adwolfe Freewill Baptist Church 