Christmas Gifts Matthew 2:9-12
Christmas. I love Christmas, but as a child I really loved Christmas, and it was for one reason; presents. We give presents to each other in imitation of the Magi’s gifts given to Jesus.
The Magi traveled far to find the Christ child. Some say they arrived when Jesus was an infant, others say Jesus may have been as old as two. It really doesn’t matter. When they arrived they gave the child gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
Each of these has a spiritual meaning. Gold. Gold symbolizes kingship, it represents Jesus’ royalty; Psalm 22:28, “For the Kingdom is the Lord’s, and he rules over the nations.”
Frankincense. Frankincense symbolizes God. It represents Jesus’ role as our high priest; Hebrews 6:20, “where our forerunner, Jesus, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.”
Myrrh. Myrrh symbolizes death. It points to Jesus sacrificial death; Matthew 20:28, “Even as the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
These gifts they gave were not just trinkets, they were among the best and most expensive things the kings had. The gifts were treasures they had and yet they traveled many miles to lay them at the feet of a newborn baby. When we give each other Christmas gifts, are they among the best and most expensive we have? Usually, they are not from our own possessions but from a store. They habitually fall into one of three categories; what someone wants or needs, what we think someone wants or needs, what we can afford.
These gifts the Magi gave Jesus, did he want or need them? No. One, he was a baby and unaware of what was happening around him. Two, he is God on earth, and God wouldn’t need them.
Did the Magi think Jesus needed these gifts? No. Matthew 2:1-2, “Magi, from the east…asked, ‘Where is the one who has been born King of the Jews? We have come to worship him.’” They didn’t bring gifts because they thought this new king needed them, they brought gifts as tribute to the new king, as a way to recognize the importance of this new king’s birth. Were these gifts what the Magi felt they could afford? No, we’ve already established the gifts were from the best and most expensive of their possessions. They could have given wooden boxes and cheap cloth, but they chose to give their best.
Jesus was born 2000 years ago so we can’t approach the infant Jesus in the manger with gifts, but we can approach our savior with gifts. What gifts? Let’s look at this.
We come to church and give our gifts and offerings. We spend time, maybe painting a railing, maybe dusting or vacuuming, perhaps we decorate, or set up communion. Does Jesus need these things? Probably not. They’re good things, they show our dedication to our church and fellowship, but do they help Jesus?
What do we think Jesus needs? Do we think Jesus needs our praise? Does he need us on our knees in self-confessing prayer?
What can we afford to give Jesus? Money, time; what do we give? What do we think is enough? I spent four hours preparing this message, an hour at service, is it enough? I give a weekly donation, more at Christmas, is it enough?
What Jesus needs, what we should understand as his need, what we should give, is our best and most expensive possession; simply, ourselves.
Jen and I used to watch the Big Bang Theory. One episode revolved around Christmas. Penny gave Sheldon a gift, and Sheldon responded by saying social protocols required him to reciprocate with a gift of similar monetary and emotional value. Jesus gave us the best and most expensive gift he had, glory in heaven and his earthly life. To reciprocate, we need to give him our best and most expensive; simply, our lives.
Jesus wants us to approach him, accept him, and enter a saving relationship with him. But not only does Jesus want this, we need this. We need Jesus and the cross. We need salvation. We need reconciliation with God the Father.
Jesus wants our best and most expensive. If our Lord can give up the unimaginable glory of heaven, then he wants us to give up ourselves, our time, our money, our compassion, our interest, and our efforts to others in his name.
How often do we make decisions about how much we can afford to give Jesus? How much is enough? How good of a disciple do I want to be? Am I better when I worship in a beautiful church, or live in a big house, or am I just as good a disciple if I live in a cardboard box under a bridge? It’s the goodness in my heart that’s the best I have; big house or under a bridge, Jesus sees how much we have, and what we give to him. All the disciples except John, died hard and painful deaths in the name of Christ; can’t we give up our lives for him? Can’t we give from our blessings to bless others?
Jesus gave up his life, can we do the same? Maybe not dying on a cross, but can we give up some of our comforts? Instead of sharing a bountiful meal with family and friends, couldn’t we give that up and serve meals to the poor at a “soup kitchen?” Can we dedicate our lives to doing God’s work with others, instead of dedicating our lives to having more than enough money?
If we go back to our scene, what was the first gift given in that manger? It’s not gold or frankincense or myrrh, it’s life. John 1:1, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” The gift of Christmas is God’s gift of life, the life of his Son. And it’s this life that gives us eternal life. The gift given to us at Christmas is life. The gift we should give at Christmas, and always, is life, our life to the direction and glory of God.
When we give God our life, that is our best and most expensive; then we also give him the gifts of the Magi. We give Jesus, gold. We recognize he is the king of our lives. We acknowledge our life will be spent in service to him. We give Jesus, frankincense. We acknowledge Jesus is our high priest, our savior. We admit that he is the one we need more than anyone else. We give Jesus, myrrh. We come to him and accept his sacrifice for our life. We tell him his death was not in vain, and we will honor his sacrifice in how we live our lives.
Christmas is the birth of a baby to a poor family in a little town in a small country 2000 years ago. Christmas is celebrating this birth in a manger with presents. This year as we exchange gifts with family and friends, let’s not forget to give Jesus our presents. Give him your best and most expensive. Give him your gold, your frankincense, and your myrrh.
God bless you
Merry Christmas