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.Matthew 2:1-12
Were there three wise men? Probably not. We don't know how many wise men came to Jesus that first Christmas, but we do know how many gifts they brought: three. And take note of these gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. The symbolism of these three gifts is very important for us to understand.
Notice in verse two, the wise men were looking for "he who was born King of the Jews." Gold was a symbol of royalty and thus fitting to be given to a King. Frankincense was used in the making of incense, which was used by the priests. By the wise men giving Jesusfrankincense, they were acknowledging Him as a priest. Myrrh was used to embalm those who had died, and this gift represents the suffering and death of Jesus.
In these three gifts, we see Jesus as the King of Kings (1 Timothy 6:14-16), we see Him as our great High Priest (Hebrews 4:14-15), and we see that even from His birth, He was born to die (Psalm 22, Isaiah 53).
Now, the wise men who came to Jesus were most likely astrologers from Persia; they would have been wealthy, scholarly, scientists. And just because they are mentioned here does not mean the Bible endorses astrology; it is simply a statement of who these men were. But these wise men, full of knowledge, came to bow down and worship Jesus with their gifts.
Have you acknowledged Jesus as your King? Like these wise men, have you bowed down to worship Him? If you have not, I can tell you there is no greater gift that Jesus would rather have this Christmas than your heart surrendered to Him this very day.
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