Advent Foretold Day 22: The Wise Men Part 1

The Wise Men seeking the One who was born King of the Jews was not just some random occurrence or interesting event in the early life of the Messiah. Like every other detail regarding His coming, the visit was to fulfill prophecies given of the coming King in the Old Testament. 

Here is the account Matthew gives of their visit:

Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying,  "Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him." When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.  Gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. They said to him, "In Bethlehem of Judea; for this is what has been written by the prophet: 
  'AND YOU, BETHLEHEM, LAND OF JUDAH, ARE BY NO MEANS LEAST AMONG THE LEADERS OF JUDAH; FOR OUT OF YOU SHALL COME FORTH A RULER WHO WILL SHEPHERD MY PEOPLE ISRAEL.'"  Then Herod secretly called the magi and determined from them the exact time the star appeared.  And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and search carefully for the Child; and when you have found Him, report to me, so that I too may come and worship Him."  After hearing the king, they went their way; and the star, which they had seen in the east, went on before them until it came and stood over the place where the Child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. After coming into the house they saw the Child with Mary His mother; and they fell to the ground and worshiped Him. Then, opening their treasures, they presented to Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Matt 2:1-11 


In Isaiah 60 and Psalm 72 our King's visitors are foretold:

"Arise, shine; for your light has come, And the glory of the LORD has risen upon you. For behold, darkness will cover the earth And deep darkness the peoples; But the LORD will rise upon you And His glory will appear upon you. Nations will come to your light, And kings to the brightness of your rising. ...... A multitude of camels will cover you, The young camels of Midian and Ephah; All those from Sheba will come; They will bring gold and frankincense, And will bear good news of the praises of the LORD. Isa 60:1-3, 6

Psa 72:10 Let the kings of Tarshish and of the islands bring presents; The kings of Sheba and Seba offer gifts.

I love the the magnitude and beauty of the Isaiah passage. What an incredible promise of the coming Light to the Nations. In the midst of a dark world, THE LIGHT of the world would arrive! 
The LIGHT would have visitors who would come to His light, His star the wise men saw in the east. How appropriate that the road sign for the wise men to find THE LIGHT would be a light. They saw His light and came to the brightness of His coming. When they found  Him, they bowed down and worshiped the King of kings and Lord of lords! 

These wise men knew exactly who it was they were seeking, and they did not arrive empty-handed for their visit to the newborn king. They came prepared for an audience with the King of kings. (We will talk more about how they knew who they were visiting tomorrow.)

We are told in Matthew of the magi bringing gifts to the Messiah; gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Isaiah and the Psalms foretell of the visitors bringing the gifts of gold and frankincense, but the myrrh is not mentioned. Why is the myrrh not mentioned?

Each gift the wise men gave to the One they had traveled so far to visit represented an office Jesus would fill. In scripture and in ancient times, gold was representative of kingship. It would be given or used as a tribute to a king. For example, the Queen of Sheba in 1 Kings 10 gives King Solomon 120 talents of gold as tribute when she visited him. Jesus is the King of kings. The Wise Men brought the gift of gold for the one who had been born King of the Jews. The gift of gold represented His role as King. 

The wise men brought frankincense as a gift for the King. Frankincense was used by the priests in their offerings and sacrifices. The frankincense represented Jesus' role as our High Priest.

Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as [we are, yet] without sin. Heb 4:14-15

The wise men brought myrrh. In ancient times myrrh was used for preparing a body for burial. Jesus is the Passover Lamb who would lay down His life for us. He is our atoning sacrifice who would die on the cross for us. Upon His death, He would be wrapped in burial clothes and prepared with the spices of the tomb and laid to rest. But, praise God, the grave could not hold Him. He came to defeat sin and death so that we could live. This is why God chose to enter into His creation. The future death, burial, and resurrection of this young child the Wise Men were visiting had been planned before the foundation of the world. He had been born to die for us.

Each of the gifts brought by the Wise Men is a beautiful foretelling  of Who this Child was that they had come to worship. Gold, frankincense, and myrrh are a beautiful picture of our LORD and the roles He came to fulfill. 

But if each gift had a special meaning, why wasn't the myrrh mentioned in the Old Testament prophecy? This prophecy of the kings coming to visit and bringing gifts was fulfilled in part with the first coming of Jesus. But it will also have a future and complete fulfillment with the second coming of the King. When King Jesus returns and is sitting on the throne of David, kings will come from all over to worship Him, and they will know exactly WHO He is. They will bring gifts to Him, bow down and worship. But, when our King comes the second time, there will be no need for myrrh. His death, burial, and resurrection are already complete. It was once and for all.There will be no need for spices for burial, only gifts for our living King and High Priest. 

By this will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. Every priest stands daily ministering and offering time after time the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins; but He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, SAT DOWN AT THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD Heb 10:10-12

There is another reason for the visit of the wise men. It is a beautiful, comforting picture for us of the plan of redemption. It is a picture of the plan for the ministry of Christ Jesus. He came for both Jew and Gentile. First He came to the house of Israel and then to the Gentiles. The Jews were given the announcement and introduction first. Then the Gentiles came to Him. Upon His arrival, first the Jewish shepherds were given the announcement and introduction. Then the Gentile wise men were called to come. His coming was for all who would come to Him. 

Jesus is the Light of the World.  He is the only way out of the darkness of sin and death and into the LIGHT of redemption and eternal life with Him. Just as the wise men and shepherds responded to the call and saw for themselves the truth and goodness of the promised Messiah, so we must come for ourselves to partake in the promises of our Redeemer. He loves us so much! I am so thankful for His lovingkindness. Praise you, Jesus!! Merry Christmas, dear friends and family.