As far as I’m concerned, it’s the Christmas season. I know we haven’t even gotten to Halloween, yet, and (in Dallas) it’s still 80 degrees outside, but. . .what’s your point?

Christmas, for me, is a wonderful time to really contemplate on the birth and death of Jesus. I know, I know. That’s Easter. Except, it isn’t just Easter. Without His death, His birth was unnecessary. If I start now, then I have almost two full months to unpack the Christmas story.

I’ve been thinking quite a bit about the wise men who came to visit the not newborn infant Jesus (He was at least 12 months old, but I digress). Matthew 2:11 tells us the wise men who visited Jesus brought him gifts of “gold, frankincense, and myrrh”. Matthew is the only Gospel to record which gifts these men offered. Actually, Matthew is the only Gospel to even mention the wise men at all, so there is not much scriptural evidence to go on to learn about why they brought gifts to an infant in the first place.

R. C. Sproul suggests that these men were not aware of the full symbolic value of their gifts, but rather that Matthew recorded their gifting as fulfillment of Psalm 72:10 and Isaiah 60:6.

“May the kings of Tarshish and the coastlands render him tribute:
may the kings of Sheba and Seba bring him gifts!”
Psalm 72:10

“A multitude of camels shall cover you, the young camels of Midian and Ephah;
all those from Sheba shall come.
They shall bring gold and frankincense, and shall bring good news, the praises of the LORD”
Isaiah 60:6

Gentile kings offering gifts to the King of Israel.

Above that, they were incredibly specific.
Gold
Frankincense
Myrrh

I’m going out on a limb here and saying that I don’t think those were traditional baby gifts in ancient times. Why such an interesting choice of gifts? Did they just have them on hand? Were those the only traders they passed on the way to Bethlehem so they did the best with what they had? Maybe. But I think there was a bigger picture to paint.

Gold is a precious metal typically associated with royalty in ancient times.
Frankincense is a resin with a fragrant aroma that was used for incense in ancient Hebrew offerings (Leviticus 2:1, 6; 6:15; 24:7), was consecrated for use as Ketoret incense, which was an important aspect of priestly liturgy in the temple of Jerusalem, and was a symbol of the Divine Name (Malachi 1:11).
Myrrh was also used in the Ketoret, but was used widely by the Egyptians as an embalming method. Myrrh contains analgesic properties and was a part of the mixture offered to Jesus on the cross (Mark 15:23).

Gold for His kingship.
Frankincense for His priesthood and divinity.
Myrrh for his suffering and death.

These gifts were no accident.
These gifts point to who Jesus is and why He was born in this fallen place — a Redeemer to save us.

As the Christmas season approaches, I pray that we will not lose sight of the cause.