“Jesus is the reason for the season”. We see this saying so much around this time of year as we get ready to celebrate the birth of Christ on December 25th but we busy our selves so much with shopping and festive decorations, racking our brains what to buy everyone on our list and planning the Holiday meal, but do we truly take time out of our hectic schedules to understand the importance of the first gifts ever given to honor the birth of Christ. Do we put much thought in what we give others as a gift that is fit for a king? Let’s take a look at who the Magi were and the importance of the gifts they gave to honor the King of kings.
Matthew 2:1-12 gives us the account of the Magi who were a priestly sect from Persia bringing their best gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh to honor the Messiah’s birth as they symbolically acknowledged Jesus as being the prophesied King of the Jews.
Magi were renowned in their knowledge of astrology with regard to it being science and related their knowledge to the Star of Bethlehem. Daniel was highly regarded by the Persian court. In Daniel 9 the Magi had been given the prophecy of Messiah being cut off in the midst of His 35th year. They knew this event would occur 483 Babylonian years of 360 days after the Persian King Artaxerxes issued a decree. With this piece of information they deducted the Messiah would be born 32B.C.
There was also a Mesopotamian prophet named Balaam who foretold the coming of the star that would signify the rise of Messiah for the tribes of Israel. It was foretold that the Hebrews would receive a King Messiah and that his coming would be noted by a sign in the heavens specifically in the constellation known to Magi as Virgo. One of Daniels pupils, Zoroaster, incorporated these prophecies in his bible called the Zend Avest. Zoroastrianism was the state religion of Persia at the time of Jesus’ birth.
In Matthew 2:9-11 indicates that something would be marking the very place of Messiah’s birth and it is possible that Magi witnessed the Shekinah Glory Cloud, the same cloud described in Genesis at the entrance to the garden of Eden, in Exodus 13:21, 22 as the Pillar of Cloud by day and Pillar of fire by night and in Job as he witnessed the Shekinah when God spoke to him from a whirlwind of a bright and shining cloud.
The trip from Persia to Jerusalem by camel had to take at least three weeks as a camel can travel 500 miles in ten days plus giving time for rest along the trip. Being that the path they took could have been the Silk Road, which was an unsafe road especially when you were traveling with goods of worth, the Shekinah Glory Cloud not only led their trip it protected them until they reached the site where Jesus was born so they could humble themselves before the King of the Jews and worship him with their best gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.
All three gifts that were mentioned in scripture had real value and also possibly a prophetic one as only the Magi recognized Jesus as being a king at his birth even though no one else did, not even his own family. Gold was a traditional gift to families to help with the financial burden of a new child and it also symbolized virtue. Frankincense was used as incense and perfume as a soothing gift for a new family. It also helps to keep away pest especially around a new baby. Frankincense was one of the elements used in holy anointing and was placed in a purified form on the showbread in the tabernacle, Exodus 30:34; Leviticus 6:15; 24:7. Myrrh was another ingredient of the holy anointing oil, Exodus 30:23-33). It was also useful as a deodorant. Its preservative properties allowed myrrh to be used along with aloes and other scents and spices to anoint the dead.
These three gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh represented the life and death of Jesus in respect to gold as being his kingship here on earth, frankincense his priestly office and myrrh signifying his suffering. These three gifts symbolized the life and death of Christ we also humble ourselves before him bringing our best gifts to bring glory and honor to the name of Jesus.
The gifts of the Magi were fit for a king and we have to ask ourselves what are our best gifts or are we even giving our best gifts to the Lord. Gifts are not only monetary like what you place in the offering plate, but it is also giving the best of us to others as Jesus gives us his best.
Gods will is for all of us to love unconditionally as Christ loves us this way. We need to be obedient to one another’s needs, concerns and passions through being true to our own selves of what is the best we can do for others.
John 14:15 if you love me keep my commandments. Matthew 22:36-40 Jesus said unto them, thou shalt love the Lord with all your heart and with all your soul and with your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the Prophets.
Some ask, “Who are my neighbors”, and Gods answer to this is everyone around the world. As we help others in the name of Jesus this honors him with a gift that is fit for a king as in doing so we bring faith, hope and the love of Christ to others that have no faith or hope.
Our works are not our own, but the works that Jesus started and left for us to continue. When we follow in the steps of Jesus we maintain a true heart and others will trust in the Lord through us allowing the light of Christ shine through us.
Matthew 5:16 Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father, which is in heaven.
What does works have to do with gifts you might ask, well works and gifts go hand in hand as what we do for others is a gift from the heart as we allow the light of Christ to shine through us. Some families at Christmas time instead of giving store bought gifts to each other will use that money to help others that are less fortunate then themselves and this is giving the best gift of all which is the gift of love.
The works of the Lord are not just teaching his word behind a pulpit, Matthew 25:35-40, the works of the Lord also include feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and not turning our backs on those that are in prison. The works of the Lord is the witness of God shared with people that do not know him.
The basics of what we are to do as a child of God is to know that the calling from God is to take his word out into the world according to Matthew 28:18-20, and to take His word out with love and compassion in our hearts, Matthew 22:36-40, and the works of the Lord are helping those who need our help, Matthew 25:35-40. Grace is what saves us and the works we do are done unto the glory of the kingdom of God.
The best gifts we ourselves could ever receive are those treasures that are stored up in heaven that are not temporal like the ones we receive here on earth, but are eternal that has brought much glory and honor to the Lord, Matthew 6:19-21. Never boast about what you do as this will be your reward on earth instead of heaven when others give you praise of what you do and this takes away from the gifts you give to the Lord as you take the praise away from his glory.
Matthew 6:1-4; Titus 3:5-11; Ephesians 2:8-10; Philippians 4:13
There are material and Spiritual gifts we give to others like those gifts of the Magi that were used for finances, health and anointing. The material gifts we give to others help’s sustain
nourishment of body, fiancés of maintaining household priorities such as rent and utilities and the anointing comes from the word of God we share with those we help for Spiritual growth.
To me one of the most precious things to see is the face of the children when you bring a box of food mixed with toys that they knew they would not receive on Christmas day and the gratitude on the parents face as tears of joy stream down their cheeks, but not only on Christmas, we need to be helping others all year around. Jesus said in Matthew 25:40 Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
Gifts that are fit for a king are those that come from the heart as we share our love and compassion for all our neighbors and the best place to start distributing those
gifts are in your own backyard.
Luke 2:8-14
There may never be peace on earth until the coming of the Lord, but until then we can bring peace of mind to those who are in need as we become like the Magi
bringing gifts fit for a king.
God bless all of you and have a blessed Christmas and a prosperous New Year.
Matthew 2:1-12 gives us the account of the Magi who were a priestly sect from Persia bringing their best gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh to honor the Messiah’s birth as they symbolically acknowledged Jesus as being the prophesied King of the Jews.
Magi were renowned in their knowledge of astrology with regard to it being science and related their knowledge to the Star of Bethlehem. Daniel was highly regarded by the Persian court. In Daniel 9 the Magi had been given the prophecy of Messiah being cut off in the midst of His 35th year. They knew this event would occur 483 Babylonian years of 360 days after the Persian King Artaxerxes issued a decree. With this piece of information they deducted the Messiah would be born 32B.C.
There was also a Mesopotamian prophet named Balaam who foretold the coming of the star that would signify the rise of Messiah for the tribes of Israel. It was foretold that the Hebrews would receive a King Messiah and that his coming would be noted by a sign in the heavens specifically in the constellation known to Magi as Virgo. One of Daniels pupils, Zoroaster, incorporated these prophecies in his bible called the Zend Avest. Zoroastrianism was the state religion of Persia at the time of Jesus’ birth.
In Matthew 2:9-11 indicates that something would be marking the very place of Messiah’s birth and it is possible that Magi witnessed the Shekinah Glory Cloud, the same cloud described in Genesis at the entrance to the garden of Eden, in Exodus 13:21, 22 as the Pillar of Cloud by day and Pillar of fire by night and in Job as he witnessed the Shekinah when God spoke to him from a whirlwind of a bright and shining cloud.
The trip from Persia to Jerusalem by camel had to take at least three weeks as a camel can travel 500 miles in ten days plus giving time for rest along the trip. Being that the path they took could have been the Silk Road, which was an unsafe road especially when you were traveling with goods of worth, the Shekinah Glory Cloud not only led their trip it protected them until they reached the site where Jesus was born so they could humble themselves before the King of the Jews and worship him with their best gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.
All three gifts that were mentioned in scripture had real value and also possibly a prophetic one as only the Magi recognized Jesus as being a king at his birth even though no one else did, not even his own family. Gold was a traditional gift to families to help with the financial burden of a new child and it also symbolized virtue. Frankincense was used as incense and perfume as a soothing gift for a new family. It also helps to keep away pest especially around a new baby. Frankincense was one of the elements used in holy anointing and was placed in a purified form on the showbread in the tabernacle, Exodus 30:34; Leviticus 6:15; 24:7. Myrrh was another ingredient of the holy anointing oil, Exodus 30:23-33). It was also useful as a deodorant. Its preservative properties allowed myrrh to be used along with aloes and other scents and spices to anoint the dead.
These three gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh represented the life and death of Jesus in respect to gold as being his kingship here on earth, frankincense his priestly office and myrrh signifying his suffering. These three gifts symbolized the life and death of Christ we also humble ourselves before him bringing our best gifts to bring glory and honor to the name of Jesus.
The gifts of the Magi were fit for a king and we have to ask ourselves what are our best gifts or are we even giving our best gifts to the Lord. Gifts are not only monetary like what you place in the offering plate, but it is also giving the best of us to others as Jesus gives us his best.
Gods will is for all of us to love unconditionally as Christ loves us this way. We need to be obedient to one another’s needs, concerns and passions through being true to our own selves of what is the best we can do for others.
John 14:15 if you love me keep my commandments. Matthew 22:36-40 Jesus said unto them, thou shalt love the Lord with all your heart and with all your soul and with your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the Prophets.
Some ask, “Who are my neighbors”, and Gods answer to this is everyone around the world. As we help others in the name of Jesus this honors him with a gift that is fit for a king as in doing so we bring faith, hope and the love of Christ to others that have no faith or hope.
Our works are not our own, but the works that Jesus started and left for us to continue. When we follow in the steps of Jesus we maintain a true heart and others will trust in the Lord through us allowing the light of Christ shine through us.
Matthew 5:16 Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father, which is in heaven.
What does works have to do with gifts you might ask, well works and gifts go hand in hand as what we do for others is a gift from the heart as we allow the light of Christ to shine through us. Some families at Christmas time instead of giving store bought gifts to each other will use that money to help others that are less fortunate then themselves and this is giving the best gift of all which is the gift of love.
The works of the Lord are not just teaching his word behind a pulpit, Matthew 25:35-40, the works of the Lord also include feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and not turning our backs on those that are in prison. The works of the Lord is the witness of God shared with people that do not know him.
The basics of what we are to do as a child of God is to know that the calling from God is to take his word out into the world according to Matthew 28:18-20, and to take His word out with love and compassion in our hearts, Matthew 22:36-40, and the works of the Lord are helping those who need our help, Matthew 25:35-40. Grace is what saves us and the works we do are done unto the glory of the kingdom of God.
The best gifts we ourselves could ever receive are those treasures that are stored up in heaven that are not temporal like the ones we receive here on earth, but are eternal that has brought much glory and honor to the Lord, Matthew 6:19-21. Never boast about what you do as this will be your reward on earth instead of heaven when others give you praise of what you do and this takes away from the gifts you give to the Lord as you take the praise away from his glory.
Matthew 6:1-4; Titus 3:5-11; Ephesians 2:8-10; Philippians 4:13
There are material and Spiritual gifts we give to others like those gifts of the Magi that were used for finances, health and anointing. The material gifts we give to others help’s sustain
nourishment of body, fiancés of maintaining household priorities such as rent and utilities and the anointing comes from the word of God we share with those we help for Spiritual growth.
To me one of the most precious things to see is the face of the children when you bring a box of food mixed with toys that they knew they would not receive on Christmas day and the gratitude on the parents face as tears of joy stream down their cheeks, but not only on Christmas, we need to be helping others all year around. Jesus said in Matthew 25:40 Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
Gifts that are fit for a king are those that come from the heart as we share our love and compassion for all our neighbors and the best place to start distributing those
gifts are in your own backyard.
Luke 2:8-14
There may never be peace on earth until the coming of the Lord, but until then we can bring peace of mind to those who are in need as we become like the Magi
bringing gifts fit for a king.
God bless all of you and have a blessed Christmas and a prosperous New Year.