"Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh..." Sermon Notes

As the "Wise men" came much later, when Jesus was a small child, it makes sense to post this sermon a week or so after Christmas...

Starting Off: Matthew Chapter 2
Notes: Wise men=Persian Astronomers (Magos in the Greek from Magi in Persian; root of our word “Magician”)
“We have seen His star…” Tradition teaches that these men (many more than 3 for many reasons: safety, power, money, distance) were an order of scholars and astronomers set up by the prophet Daniel during his time there.
They ask Herod, who then asks when they saw it (so he can calculate the age of the child. This leads to his slaughter of every male child 2 and under a few verses later)
The star appears to them and leads them to the child Jesus (most likely about 2 based on Herod’s calculation)
And they bring him gifts….this has been the fuel of numerous comedy bits over the years, most funny and not blasphemous
Question: Ok, what is up with those gifts?



These three gifts speak of Jesus’ three roles that he plays in his relationship with you, me and all of humanity.

The first gift: Myrrh=Prophet
What does the gift of Myrrh tell us about Jesus’ role as Prophet? Myrrh is a reddish-brown resin of a tree found in the Middle East and Northwest Africa. As with the ministry of the prophets, Myrrh is bitter but is used to heal.
What did Prophets do? They spoke the Word of God, both foretelling (future) and forthtelling (truth).

Jesus, as the greatest prophet who ever lived, IS the WORD OF GOD (John 1:1) The written Word (The Bible) exists to point us to the Living Word (Jesus).
Continually, in His ministry Jesus tells his listeners “I say to you…” (Matt. 5:22) or “I tell you the truth…” (Mark 1:22). He is not appealing to the authority of others, as the Rabbi’s did, nor is he a false prophet, telling his listeners what they want for their itching ears, or what we wish he would say (it’s ok, I understand you can’t stop using, can’t stop having sex, can’t stop drinking)
No, Jesus the Prophet looks us in the eyes, sticks His finger in our chest, and calls us out…He points out our inequity, our shame, our shortcomings, our SIN, all that stand between us and God, who is Holy and Pure and who can’t look at sin without judging it. He calls sin, sin. He does not rationalize, or equivocate or make excuses for us. His Word declares that we are sinners and sin is what we do (Romans 3:23). He declares that we need a savior and that savior is Him, and only Him (John 14:6; Luke 19:10). How does He do this? Through the witness of the written Word that declares the Living Word and the ever-present ministry of the Holy Spirit in the world and in our lives.

So we are sinners and deserve Hell…what now? Thankfully, Jesus doesn’t leave us like this, lost and damned, trying desperately to win God’s love and favor (as so many other religions of the world) or chasing pleasure in the things of this world to numb ourselves to the reality of our state. Jesus’ ministry as Prophet is to use the bitter Myrrh of the God’s Word to heal us and drive us to His Mercy Seat, where the second gift of the trio is then used.

The second gift: Frankincense=Priest

What does the gift of Frankincense tell us about Jesus’ role as Priest? Frankincense is a golden colored, aromatic resin from a family of trees native to the Middle East and North Africa. It has been traded for over 5000 years in the Arabian Peninsula. We derive our current English name for it from the French (or Frankish) crusaders who went to the Holy Lands and brought back “Frank-incense”. It has been used for thousands of years in religious rituals, including being an ingredient in the incense used in offering prayers to God in Old Testament times. And who administered the Tabernacle and later the Temple? Who lit the incense that symbolized the prayers of the believers ascending upward to Heaven? The Priests.

What was the Priest’s role? The Priest in Old Testament times stood between Holy God and sinful humanity, making sacrifices to cover sin (his own first, then the sins of the people). These sacrifices pointed out the very real consequences of sin: death, in this case, the deaths of animals, as the price of sin, and that only blood can cover sin; no other sacrifice would do…
Turn to Hebrews and be ready

Consider…
--Jesus is our Priest (Hebrews 3:1)
--He is fully God and fully Man and thus the only one able and qualified to stand as mediator between God and Man: “For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus” (1Tim 2:5)
--Not only is He a better Priest than any earthly priest, He is a sacrifice far exceeding any earthly sacrifice, He is the Supreme Sacrifice (Heb 9:24-28)
--Hebrews 4:15-16--He identifies with us…we don’t know, can’t know what it’s like to be Him, but He knows everything about what it’s like to be us
Jesus, as our Great High Priest, ministers to us out of love, extending mercy and grace to us, sinners so undeserving of either. Take pause to consider the degree of humility and love involved here: the same God who spoke the universe into existence and is absolute in power, majesty and glory, humbled Himself to endure being human, to endure scorn and shame, mocking and beating, and accepted being put to death in pain and humiliation for a crime he didn’t commit…

Remember the sin in all of our lives that Jesus the Prophet pointed out a little earlier? Well, here is the solution: As our Priest, Jesus doesn’t just kill an animal for you, or light incense for you, or say a mass for you…He died for you. He was the only sacrifice that could satisfy the Holy requirements of the Father, stemming from Adam’s sin in the Garden, through which sin entered into all of humanity.

Keep your finger in Hebrews and turn to Isaiah 53 (Read)
--It pleased the Father to wound the Son…for us, on our behalf!!!
--“The inequity of us all was laid upon Him…and by His stripe(s) we are healed”
--2 Cor 5:19— “God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself”

How do we merit this? We can’t. But we can do this: 2 Thessalonians 1:11 and Ephesians 4:1 both urge believers to live lives worthy of the calling they have received.


Now we turn to the final gift…

The third gift: Gold=King
This is the easiest gift to understand. When we think of Kings, we think of Gold. Gold was a common gift for royalty. It is easy to say Jesus is “King of Kings”, sing “All Hail King Jesus!” and other pleasantries but it is another thing entirely to submit your life to the Kingship of Jesus every day.

Colossians 1:15-20
"He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence. For it pleased [the Father that] in Him all the fullness should dwell, and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross."

He rules over everything, everyone, every aspect of our lives, over all creation.
What about those who are sinning with no regard for Jesus the King? Where is His sovereignty in their lives? Just because the King has not punished the lawbreaker (which is what you put yourself under when you sin) does not mean he won’t.

--"But if you do not do so, then take note, you have sinned against the LORD; and be sure your sin will find you out." (Numbers 32:23)
--"Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows." (Galatians 6:7)
-- "and consider [that] the longsuffering of our Lord [is] salvation"—(2 Peter 3:15)
-- "The Lord is not slack concerning [His] promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance." (2Peter 3:9)
--I John 1:9 "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us of all unrighteousness."



To conclude…

He is Prophet: He shows us who we are, what our condition is, and through the Holy Spirit and the written Word, the Living Word convicts us of sin and leads us to Jesus as…
He is Priest: He paid the price for our sins and is the only one able to stand as mediator between Holy God and sinful man, and makes intercessions for us constantly, daily.
He is King: He rules over all as sovereign Lord, and for those in His Kingdom, he leads, provides and protects.

Only a complete view of Christ in all three of these roles will allow you to see Jesus for who He fully is, and allow you to grow in the depth of your relationship with Him.