Title: Gold, Frankincense, Myrrh, and Another Gift?
Contents
Matthew 2:1-12 Gold, frankincense, myrrh, and what other gifts?
There is a short story that comes to mind when I think of Christmas. It is a novel written by O Henry. Let me briefly explain this novel. In a city lived a poor couple who loved each other very much. As Christmas approached, the two became worried. The wife wanted to give her husband a Christmas present, and the husband wanted to give his wife a Christmas present, but he was so poor that he had no money to buy it. Nevertheless, the husband decided to buy his wife a hairbrush to comb her beautiful, long hair. So he sold his watch, which he loved the most.
Meanwhile, the wife found out that her husband's watch band was old and bad, and decided to give him a platinum watch band as a gift. So my wife cut her long hair and sold it to raise money. It's Christmas time. As they celebrated the birth of Jesus, they offered gifts to each other. But the comb that the husband bought to give to his wife was of no use. Because my wife's hair was cut short and she didn't have a comb. So was my husband. The watch band my wife bought was also to no avail. But they were happy. The gifts they each prepared were no longer useful, but since they were already able to read each other's minds enough, the couple hugged each other and shed tears of happiness. This is a beautiful gift story.
Ladies and gentlemen, gifts have meaning. Gifts should be pleasant to give and need to be received. If you want to give a gift to that person, you need to give a gift that is suitable for that person. It is blasphemy to give a comb to a bald man with no hair. It's not a good idea to gift a 100-day-old child a newer 586 computer. Because the child does not yet have the wisdom to handle it, and by the time the child grows up and can handle the computer, the gifted computer will already be out of date.
Everyone, why did the Magi prepare gold, frankincense, and myrrh for the baby Jesus? There must be good reasons for that. It must have been a gift that the wise men of the Magi decided after thinking deeply about what gift they would give the baby Jesus. Because no one prepares a gift without thinking. The three gifts given to Jesus must have something to do with Jesus. Today we are going to share the grace of these three gifts as we learn the meaning of them.
1. The meaning of gold
Gold means kingship. Even if you go to a museum in Korea, the king made a crown out of gold and wore it. A golden belt was used and a golden bowl was used. The fact that one of the wise men gave the baby Jesus gold as a gift is a confession of faith that Jesus is our King. The historian Seneca at the time tells us that there was such a saying in the Middle East at that time.
In other words, the gift that must be prepared when meeting the king at that time was gold. Gold is the king of metal and Jesus is the king of the world. Jesus was and was. Jesus was not a king who ruled the world by force, but a King who ruled by love. Jesus did not rule this world with guns or laws, but He is the King who ruled over the world through the cross.
The king of the world has many things he cannot do, but Jesus is the all-powerful king who has nothing he cannot do. The king of the world does not have expert knowledge in every aspect, so he has to work with his staff, but Jesus is the King of kings who has excellent knowledge in every aspect. He is a king who has no one to follow him in politics, economy, education, and health. The king of the world is a temporary king with a tenure, but Jesus is an eternal king. The king of the world is the king of this earth, but Jesus is also the king in the world to come.
There is an article by a historian comparing King Alexander and Jesus.
Alexander was born in the kingdom and Jesus was born in the stable. Alexander was born a prince and Jesus the carpenter's son. Alexander died as a noble king on the throne, and Jesus died of ridicule on the cross. Alexander had great success in his life, and Jesus' life appears to be a failure. Alexander shed hundreds of thousands of blood for his own possessions, and Jesus shed his blood for all mankind.
Alexander died in Babylon of glory, and Jesus died on Calvary of shame. Alexander conquered all kingdoms and Jesus conquered death. Alexander made all men slaves and Jesus set all men free. Alexander made history, Jesus changed history.
From a human point of view, compared to Alexander the Great, King Jinsi, and King Sejong, Jesus is considered a king, so his achievements seem so humble. Maybe he doesn't have the worldly skills to become a king, so he seems like a poor person who died without even trying hard to become a king. But he is the King of kings. Because He is not the King who conquered the world with violence and military force, but the King of peace who came to us through sacrifice and love. The gold that the magi gave as a gift contains the meaning that Jesus is the King.
2. Meaning of Frankincense
Frankincense is a type of perfume that emits fragrance. Just by hearing the word frankincense, you can smell it. Because Jesus was born in a smelly stable, he did not present the perfume, frankincense. The wise men followed the stars, but they would not have known that Jesus was born in the stable. Frankincense was used to fragrant the whole family at home, and it was absolutely necessary for offerings in the temple.
Among the sacrificial rites, there is a 'meal offering' in which grains are sacrificed. The grain offering was a kind of thanksgiving offering to thank God for accepting the sacrifice after other sacrifices were made, so almost all the grain offerings were offered after all the sacrifices. However, frankincense was always necessary when offering a meal offering. And the incense unit was always burning without being extinguished. Incense is an essential item for a priest.
For example, the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word ?쁲tethoscope??is a doctor. And the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word ?쁥ammer??is a carpenter. Similarly, the first thing that comes to mind when we hear the word ?쁦ncense??is the priest. Frankincense was the most necessary of the items used by the priests. In other words, the spiritual meaning of frankincense as a gift from the wise men is . Jesus acted as a mediator between God and us.
3. The Meaning of Myrrh
Myrrh is a sap from a tree called cistus. The Israelites anointed the heads of priests, kings, and prophets. The oil poured at that time is called anointing oil, and the myrrh used to make this oil is myrrh. King Solomon's bed was also sprinkled with myrrh.
Jesus' life began with myrrh and ended with myrrh. When Jesus was born into this world, He received myrrh as a gift. The last gift Jesus received when he died was myrrh. When Jesus died, a man named Nicodemus brought about 100 pounds of myrrh and aloes and put them on the body of Jesus.
Myrrh is the oil that is sprinkled on the bed of a very precious person, applied to the body of a very precious person, and poured on the head of the noble person chosen by God. Jesus is called 'Messiah' or 'Christ', which means 'Anointed One'. Because the magi knew Jesus as the Messiah, he offered myrrh as a gift. So, what gift should we give to Jesus today?
4. Soul
Jesus came to this earth to save souls. That is, the search for lost souls. And he entrusted it to us. That is why, at Christmas, saving souls is the greatest gift to Jesus. Jesus said that even if you give the whole world, you cannot exchange it for one soul. There is no gift more precious than bringing that precious soul to Jesus and saving him.
And we pray, love, and help that precious soul to bear fruit. That is, we practice love for our neighbor. Christmas is not only about making me happy, it is about sharing that love according to the will of the Lord, making everyone happy and acting so that everyone can be saved. I've lived here in Canada for 10 years and I've never heard of people dying of starvation. Because the social security system is good.
But here too, there are neighbors in need who are worse off than me. There are people who are lonely and lonely at heart. Maybe we are all like that. That's why we need to love each other and help each other's souls prosper. In the name of the Lord, I pray in the name of the Lord that a warm word will warm the hearts of neighbors and bring their souls closer to the Lord.