The Gifts of the Magi; The True Meaning of Christnatum

Matthew 2:1 “Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, 2Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.... 9When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was. 10When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. 11And 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.”
.

There's so much meaning in these verses!

.

“Jesus was born”! Besides his death and resurrection, his birth is the most meaningful event in history. Think about it. A poor baby was born to be King and it was foretold : Isaiah 7:14 “Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” (This prophesy was written ca 685 BC and fulfilled at ca 5 BC). The Virgin Mary did give birth, he was a son, and he is “God With Us” (Immanuel). Yes, God took on human form and walked among us. That young baby was God and still lives!

.

“Bethlehem of Judaea” About 700 AD Micah told us of the Messiah's birthplace: Micah 5:2 “But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.” Micah told of a future king who had been with the creation at its creation and will be born in Bethlehem. How could a king be born in such an unclean place? Although Bethlehem had been the birthplace of King David, years of war and miscegenation had made it an unclean insignificant city. No one would even visit Bethlehem except those who were diligently awaiting the Messiah. Few self-righteous Jews took the notion seriously that their general and king would come from Bethlehem. But he did! This humble carpenter.

.

“Wise men from the east”. From the Greek these men were “magoi”, transliterated into the English as “Magi”. There may have been more, but because of the three gifts, we think of three. They were from the east of Jerusalem, likely Iran (Persia). In the second century AD they were given the names at the time of Origen: Casper (Jasper), Balthasar and Melchior. They were not kings, but religious philosophers, hence “wise men” (Magi). They were astronomers and followed the star to the infant Jesus. They, likely being Zoroastrians, believed the true God and was guided to praise Jesus. Their new-found faith was a gift of God. God still calls us today to seek Jesus and the wise respond! We cannot ignore the fact that Jesus was/is real; Jesus is in history right along with Cleopatra, Caesar, Herod and all the other notables of that day; and that Jesus was killed, raised from the dead and still lives. All these events were witnessed by thousands and many have testified to the truth of Jesus.

.

“Jerusalem”. Jesus didn't live in Bethlehem. He was born there because of a special Roman census. Each family was to return to their hometown for the census. This was the first time this has ever happened, and it had to happen! The Romans didn't know it, but they were instruments of God fulfilling prophecy! Jerusalem comes from the Semitic words “yeru” and “shalem”, and means
“to raise up God”. That's certainly what happened! Jesus was resurrected (raised up) in Jerusalem and he confessed to be and was recognized as God.

.

“King of the Jews”. When Isaiah spoke of a ruler being raised up, many expected a warrior King who would finish the war of independence. The Maccabaen dynasty had been defeated just a few years earlier and Judah was a Roman tributory state. Jesus was not only the King of the Jews, but died to save the unclean gentiles as well. That means he died for us all! He was a spiritual King, not a civil one, but during the millennial reign, he will be both. Jesus will finally be the King for which the Jews awaited. In the tribulation time 144,000 Jews will become believers in Jesus! He will be their King.

.

“Star in the east”. By God's design at creation stars appear to move from east to west. Hence, the Magi followed a star placed there by God to direct them to the awaited Messiah. That star arose for the special occasion, astronomers have tentatively identified it and it really happened. Jesus is certainly the “star of the east”. Babylon was confounded for looking to the stars for God. It's ironic that they looked too soon! While they were looking for guidance from the heavens, God gave us the Way and He was found by following a star. That was a right reason!

.

“Come into the house”. Nope. The gifts weren't given in the manger when Jesus was born, but months later at his home!

.

“ Rejoiced with exceeding great joy”. That's what we're to do. Rejoice! We're to show our joy, not because of the star, but because of the STAR! We are to take the time to praise Jesus. It was a one-time event. His birth was the commencement of our own salvation. Imagine, our creator walked the earth as a person, felt what we felt, cried for his mother, cried for us and died for us! Rejoicing doesn't make you charismatic. Rejoicing means you adore Jesus. Never be ashamed to praise Jesus! He wasn't ashamed of you when he died for you.

.

“ Mary his mother”. Mary is not a person to venerate. She was a righteous woman, but still a sinner and certainly not divine. Our praise is to be directed toward Jesus who is God. Jesus himself denied Mary as his mother, not because of disrespect, but because in our heavenly homes we'll all be his sons and daughters. Remember, God is a jealous God and he commands utmost reverence and the worship of Him only! The saints and Mary were special people, but not gods nor God!

.

“ Worshiped him”. The focus of the Magi's attention was Jesus, the infant. Heretics believe that he became God at his baptism. He was God already. He was born God in the flesh! When the wise men bowed down before Jesus, he was praised as both creator and Savior. Worship is showing reverent love, respect and devotion. That's how we worship Jesus: We love Him, we respect Him and we are devoted to Him. While many people “believe” in Him they fail to love and respect Him, not to mention a total lack of devotion. Reverence is “profound awe”. God is an awesome God! Just ask Moses, Elijah, and others who've seen him. They tell you of God's awesomeness in Scripture. On Christmas Day, not to mention the rest of the year, how many of us truly worship Jesus? How much time is devoted to the study of scripture, praying, fasting, meditating, and loving? Very little is the answer for which you're looking.

.

“They presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense and myrrh”. Jesus was presented gifts, not others! Rather than ritually giving and receiving to each other, Christmas should be a time of giving to Jesus. It deflects self-centeredness and correctly propagates Christ-centeredness. We must think of and worship Jesus and be servants and meek ourselves.

We all know what gold is. It's recognized as valuable by all people in all times. It has intrinsic value. The gift of gold by the Magi showed the value placed on Jesus. His life was universally valued. The Magi weren't Jews. They knew Jesus was for all mankind! Whereas Jews in rebellion built a golden God (the calf), the Magi gave God his just dues... gold!
Frankincense is a perfumed incense. We know from tabernacle worship that God was pleased with the aroma of burning incense. The priests burned incense because they loved and revered God. Surely, the Magi were pleasing God! They knew what God loved of his children.
Myrrh is a soothing oil, medicine and perfume. Myrrh is an analgesic, thus reducing pain. Myrrh was also used as an embalming fluid which was learned from the Egyptians. Hence, the wise men knew not only of Jesus' birth, but his death as well!
.

I'm still furthering the use of “Happy Christnatum” (Happy Birth of Christ). Pronounce it as “krist nay tum”. We're not to put the emphasis on the Mass (Christ Mass, Christmas), but on his birth! Christum Natum. Merry Christnatum to you and may Jesus be your own Messiah!