SUNDAY 27TH DECEMBER 2020. CHRISTMAS AND NEW YEAR’S MESSAGE DELIVERED BY Rev. Dr Francis Obed Fornah – Senior Overseer, GRACE Ministries international, Perth Western Australia. Graceministries2017@gmail.com or info@graceministriesinternational.church THEME: THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE GIFTS OF THE THREE WISE MEN (THE GOLD, FRANKINCENCE AND MYRRH) SCRIPTURES: Mathew2: 1-12 (NIV) “After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi[a] from the east came to Jerusalem 2 and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” 3 When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. 5 “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written: 6 “‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’[b]” 7 Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. 8 He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.” 9 After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11 On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. 12 And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route. INTRODUCTION: The Magi presented to the young Jesus three types of gifts: Gold, frankincense, and myrrh. These were not random gifts that they had lying around, they were each significant at the time, and they have important meanings for us today. The three gifts had a spiritual meaning: gold as a symbol of kingship on earth, frankincense (an incense) as a symbol of deity, and myrrh (an embalming oil) as a symbol of death. This dates back to Origen in Contra Celsum: "gold, as to a king; myrrh, as to one who was mortal; and incense, as to a God." The Word Contra Celsum is a Latin word meaning: Against Celsus (in Greek: Κατὰ Κέλσου Kata Kelsou;), preserved entirely in Greek, is a major apologetics work by the Church Father Origen of Alexandria, written in around 248 AD, countering the writings of Celsus, a pagan philosopher and controversialist who had written a scathing attack on Christianity in his treatise The True Word. Among a variety of other charges, Celsus had denounced many Christian doctrines as irrational and criticized Christians themselves as uneducated, deluded, unpatriotic, close-minded towards reason, and too accepting of sinners. He had accused Jesus of performing his miracles using black magic rather than actual divine powers and of plagiarizing his teachings from Plato. Celsus had warned that Christianity itself was drawing people away from traditional religion and claimed that its growth would lead to a collapse of traditional, conservative values. Origen wrote Contra Celsum at the request of his patron, a wealthy Christian named Ambrose, who insisted that a Christian needed to write a response to Celsus. In the treatise itself, which was aimed at an audience of people who were interested in Christianity but had not yet made the decision to convert, THE MESSAGE So, during the Christmas season, the story of the Magi bringing their gifts to the Christ Child in Matthew 2 can be a helpful reminder of the kinds of “gifts” that God wants from us as well. At some point, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem, several Magi traveled to see him by following a unique star or light in the sky. These Magi (otherwise known as “Wise Men”) were a special class of priests in the Persian Empire that had been around for a long time, at least since Daniel was appointed to be their leader by King Nebuchadnezzar (Daniel 5). They were religious professors, philosophers, and scholars who were highly educated in many fields, including religion, astronomy, and even astrology (which is why they were paying attention to the stars in the first place). It is very possible that while Daniel was overseeing these Magi, he taught them the prophecies about the coming Messiah (such as in Numbers 24:17 and Micah 5:2). Quite possibly, they had been waiting on Jesus’ birth for a long time. Because of their knowledge and influence, they also served as political advisors and even “king-makers” — which is a very interesting connection considering that the Book of Matthew (that presents Jesus as the rightful king in the line of Judah) is the only gospel account that mentions this story. But these men did not risk their lives to make this journey (especially considering their interaction with the evil King Herod) in order to make a political move, teach a seminar, or advise a king — they were traveling from the Far East to worship “he who has been born king of the Jews” (Matthew 2:2). When the Magi finally found the house where the Christ Child was staying, they “rejoiced exceedingly with great joy,” fell down on their faces before Jesus and Mary and worshiped him (an appropriate reaction to being in the presence of the King of Kings). Then they opened their treasures and presented to the young Jesus three types of gifts: Gold, frankincense, and myrrh. These were not random gifts that they had lying around, they were each significant at the time, and they have important meanings for us today. What Was the Significance of Each of the Magi’s Gifts?
- Gold is a precious metal that has been used for jewelry, ornaments, currency, and idols throughout human history because of its color and shine.
- Frankincense is an expensive fragrance or perfume made from trees in India and Arabia.
- Myrrh is a specific kind of costly perfume made from rare thorn bushes in Arabia and Ethiopia that is used as an antiseptic anointing oil and embalming fluid.