What the Magi's Gifts to Jesus Really Symbolize
Matthew 2:1-12 tells us the magi brought gold, frankincense, and myrrh to honor the Christ child, but never explains how they happened to bring these gifts. Let’s discover what they mean.
Gold for a King
Gold is obvious. It’s been the store of value for thousands of years. It’s rare and difficult to accumulate. It’s easy to work into shapes or very thin sheets. And it doesn’t rust or corrode. All of these recommend it as a store of value, and its use is all over the Old Testament books of the Bible.
Gold was the Old Testament symbol of kings. Thus, when the magi brought gold to honor Jesus, they were proclaiming him king. More, they were proclaiming him to be the ultimate king, in their eastern tradition, the “king of kings.”
It would be interesting to know exactly how much gold they brought and what happened to it. Unfortunately, the written record doesn’t provide any clues. Was it used by Joseph and Mary to buy their escape into Egypt? We simply don’t know.
Frankincense for a High Priest
The high priest of Israel burned incense in the temple on the Day of Atonement. The smoke of the incense was intended to fill the Holy of Holies and hide God who dwelt on the mercy seat between the cherubim in order that the high priest might be there in the presence of God without dying.
When the magi brought frankincense to Jesus, they proclaimed him to be their high priest. In the Old Testament tradition, kings came from the tribe of Judah, while priests came from the tribe of Levi. In the birth of Jesus, the two roles were combined, and the presence of the two gifts together foreshadows Jesus’s role as both king and priest for the people.
Myrrh for a Sacrifice
The last gift of the magi, myrrh, is the most solemn, but no less prophetic. An embalming oil, Myrrh symbolized the Christ’s mortality as a man. Myrrh reveals to us that our King and Priest, God forever, was somehow a mortal man would also serve as our prophet, a man who would die in the place of his people
This is just the barest taste of how the presents from the wise men point to so much more. The study of the gifts of the magi is a study without end.
Each reference leads to another revelation, an additional unveiling of who Jesus is. Come and behold Him!
