When the Three Wise Men visited Jesus in Bethlehem, they brought the gifts gold, frankincense, and myrrh along with them. In the twenty-first century, many wonder just why the gifts of choice for the Son of God were a precious metal, a fragrant material, and a narcotic.
Well, the Bible says that gold was given to Jesus because it stands for royalty. In Isaiah 9:6, we are told that Jesus shall be called “The Prince of Peace”. This name that he has been given is a royal title and like all other members of royalty, Jesus deserves the gift of the precious metal, gold.
Frankincense also has a simple reason as to why it was given to the Son of God. This gift is a material that is searched after for its fragrance. When Jesus was born, it was typical for priests everywhere to use frankincense during their sermon’s. By doing so, they would hope to snuff out the evil. This having been said, why does a baby need frankincense? Jesus was a carpenter by trade but, being from God, Jesus was also a priest. He was brought unto the Earth to take care of all of the sin and so, it was befitting that he received frankincense. The first two make complete sense as to why it would be given to the Child of God. Gold for his majesty and frankincense for his priesthood. However, myrrh is not so easy to decipher.
Myrrh is a fragrant material that comes from certain types of trees. Due to its fragrant nature, it is used in perfumes. What most people are unaware of, is that myrrh is a narcotic in that it does a tremendous job at dulling pain. Why does a baby need a death vice? The answer is that Jesus was no ordinary baby; he was born to die an exponentially painful death so that we would not have to. Physically, Jesus suffered immense pain as he hung from the cross. The way his body was stretched out made it to where he had to lift himself up by his hands (nailed to the cross) just so he could take a breath. What those who witnessed him being crucified could not see was the pain he was taking from sin. In that moment, Jesus felt all of the sin of the world that would ever occur and he paid the price with his suffering and, eventually, his life.
However, Jesus did not stay dead for on the third day the stone was rolled away and he returned to Heaven. We can see that these three gifts that appear to have nothing to do with each other had everything to do with Jesus. “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder; and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.”-Isaiah 6:9 (KJV)
