Bring Him Incense, Gold and Myrrh
Insight for Today
A Daily Devotional by Chuck Swindol
Scriptures: Matthew 2:11
“11 And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary his
mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they
offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh.” English Standard Version (ESV)
What do you give a young king?
The magi, after
traveling more than five hundred miles away to see the child Jesus, brought
gold, frankincense, and myrrh with them.
Why those gifts?
What did the gifts
mean in relation to Jesus?
And what did they
mean for the men who gave them?
Gold. The magi, even before they arrived at Jesus's home, knew they
were searching for a king.
As men who
acknowledged Jesus as sovereign ruler, they brought a gift befitting someone of
rank and authority.
Gold has long been
used as a medium of exchange—whether as coins or as the basis of the value of a
coin. In gold, the magi brought a gift of great value, a symbol of sacrifice on
their part as worshipers.
Gold represented
their willingness to give everything to God, because He alone is worthy.
Frankincense. Worshipers in the Old Testament inserted the dried gum of
frankincense into candles to make offerings in the temple.
The frankincense
candles released a fragrant scent that filled the room with an exquisite aroma.
That the magi brought
frankincense to Jesus demonstrates that they acknowledged the Child not simply
as King but also as Priest who would intercede for humanity before God.
In this way, the
frankincense was a symbol of the magi's humility before the Child, recognizing
their dependence on a holy and just God.
Myrrh. The ancients used myrrh when embalming the dead, making the
gift especially appropriate for Jesus, whose death would change history.
While the magi
likely had no concept of the death Jesus would die, the gift signified the
importance of Jesus's death.
In fact, when
Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus took Jesus from the cross and prepared His
body for the tomb, they used a mixture of aloe and myrrh.
The gummy
consistency of that mixture would help hold together the cloth wrappings that
surrounded the body.
The King received
the gold. Our Intercessor took the frankincense.
And the One who
died on the cross had myrrh wrapped about His body by His friends.
The magi's gifts to
Jesus pointed to the utterly unique, glorious, and sacrificial ministry of the
Lord Jesus. See Matthew 2:11–12 and John 19:38–40.
The magi's gifts to Jesus pointed to
the utterly unique, glorious, and sacrificial ministry of the Lord Jesus.
— Charles R.
Swindol
Adapted from Charles R. Swindoll, "Lord, My Gift to You Is
______," in Holiday Messages, message series
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