Matthew 2:11, “And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshiped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.” Some of the commentaries I have read point out that the young child took precedence over his mother, “they saw the young child with Mary his mother.” As an aside and in my opinion, this is where the mother of Jesus should be, in a subordinate to her son, not having the near deity attributed to her by the Roman Catholic Church.
I grew up looking at Christmas cards with the baby Jesus in the manger, the Bethlehem Star overhead in the Magi presenting baby Jesus with gifts. Not exactly the real chronology of the events surrounding Christ's birth. Matthew 2:11 points out that the wise men saw Jesus in a house. Also, Herod ordered the execution all male children under two years old suggesting up to two years has passed since the birth of Jesus.
When the Wise Men presented Jesus with Gold and Frankincense it foretold of the role Jesus would fulfill as both King and priest. The myrrh was predictive of His death.
Joseph, often compared to Jesus, was given gold likely as a symbol of his authority. Genesis 41:42-43, “42 And Pharaoh took off his ring from his hand, and put it upon Joseph's hand, and arrayed him in vestures of fine linen, and put a gold chain about his neck; 43 And he made him to ride in the second chariot which he had; and they cried before him, Bow the knee: and he made him ruler over all the land of Egypt.”
Frankincense, the incense tree, that is, incense itself. Myrrh, a bitter gum, and costly perfume which exudes from a certain tree or shrub in Arabia and Ethiopia, or is obtained by incisions made in the bark: as an antiseptic, it was used for embalming. [Thayer]
“The treasures they brought spoke volumes. Gold is a symbol of deity and glory; it speaks of the shining perfection of His Divine Person. Frankincense is an ointment or perfume; it suggests the fragrance of the life of sinless perfection. Myrrh is a bitter herb; it presages the sufferings He would endure in bearing the sins of the world.” [Believer’s Bible Commentary]
In Matthew 26 we read when Jesus is in Bethany at the home of Simon the leper a woman broke open an alabaster container of oil and poured it on Jesus’ head. The oil was expensive perfume and when his disciples saw it, they had indignation, saying, “To what purpose is this waste?” Matthew 26:8. Jesus replied, Matthew 26:12, “For in that she hath poured this ointment on my body, she did it for my burial.”
“Christ interpreted her act, and gave it a solemn significance. By this effusion of the precious unguent site anticipated the embalming of the Lord’s body; she showed her reverence for that body which was to be given for the life of the world not many days hence. The full meaning of the mystery of which she was the instrument Mary did not comprehend, but what she had consciously done received a wonderful commendation from the Lord, which has no parallel in the Gospel history.” [The Pulpit Commentary]
God speaking through the prophet Isaiah of the of the later days said, “The multitude of camels shall cover thee, the dromedaries of Midian and Ephah; all they from Sheba shall come: they shall bring gold and incense; and they shall shew forth the praises of the LORD.”
Here Myrrh not included in the gifts, no longer relevant in the later days.
No comments:
Post a Comment