THE THREE WISE MEN
“Then Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men, determined from them what time the star had appeared. And he sent them toBethlehem and said“Go and search carefully for the youngChild, and when you have found Him, bring back word to me, that I may come worship Him also.”When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen in the east went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was.When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. And when they had come into the house, they saw the youngChild with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him.And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Then, being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed for their own country another way.”Matthew 2:7-12
Before I drift off into my thoughts about the Three WiseMen, the gifts they brought and what they represent, I simply wanted to wish everyone a blessed Christmas.I pray, first and foremost that we all remember the true meaning of Christmas:
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begottenSon, that whoever believes inHim should not perish but have everlasting life.”John 3:16
God’s greatest gift to mankind is Jesus Christ, one of many gifts God has bestowed on us:
“Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us is God, who also has sealed us and given us the Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.”2nd Corinthians 1:21-22
also:
“In Him you also trusted, after you hear the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of Promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.”Ephesians 1:13-14
...God, through the birth, life, death, resurrection and blood of His Son Jesus Christ gave mankind a sealed, guaranteed, irrevocable promise of eternal life with Him. The manifestation of the promise appeared in a little town called Bethlehem.
The song“What Child Is This”has to be my all time favoriteChristmas song. I love any version of it...from Burl Ives, Mahalia Jackson and Lee Greenwood, to Jessica Simpson, Tamela Mann and Rod Stewart...any version of this song tugs at my heartstrings unlike any other Christmas song...I love this song so much that as my gift to my Solafide Jam Family, I teach you how to play it on piano, as easy as 1, 2, 3 in the Musician’s Corner section of this website.It was the soundtrack of my childhood Christmases.The song kept things in perspective for me...because I loved getting stuff, too. My greatest childhood memories was this song playing in the background as I ripped open my brand new Star WarsMillenniumFalcon and all of my other toys as my mom and grandma feigned joy and surprise out of whatever lame gift they’d bought me to give to each other, as if it came out of my own piggy bank for them.I was a spoiled only child when it came to Christmastime, andI’m not afraid to admit it. It was the one time during the year when I could say I was happy.
Only after I’d opened all of my toys would I be forced out of my pajamas and put in a tight suit, with tight new shoes and taken to church to watch my mother sing or direct the choir (later in life, I would even perform with her) to the songs “What Child Is This,” “Silent Night” and other choir favorites, I’d visualize the three wise men seeing Baby Jesus for the first time and offering up their gifts, never thinking twice about the significance of it all because at 8 years old, I was more concerned about what adventures I’d take Luke Skywalker and Han Solo on in their new space ship.
As a musician in prison responsible for putting together Christmas programs for the inmate population, “What Child Is This,” “Silent Night” and “The Little Drummer Boy” were my go to songs. They laid out the visual (or what I thought was the visual) surrounding what I believed to be the circumstances of our Lord and Savior’s first few days on this earth. All of my life, that “Nativity Scene” I had burned in my brain was how I viewed the three wise men following that star to Jesus.
Unless you truly get into the Word, your typical nativity scene is how most people view Christ’s birth…Y’know? With Baby Jesus sleeping in a manger in a cold stable with Mary and Joseph humbly accepting gifts from three wise men as the little drummer boy drummed with an ox and lamb helping him keep the beat. Laugh if you want, but until you study the Word, many of us have a version of this scene running through our mind.
The reality of the situation was that King Herod summoned the three wise men from another country to point out where The Newborn Messiah was at so that he could kill him. He viewed Christ as a threat to his throne. He knew that the three wise men were well versed in the prophecy of the New Born King. The king even told them that he wanted to worship Christ, too…after they reported back to him with His location. It’s not clear whether or not they bought his line of bull, but they took advantage of being commissioned by King Herod to seek out Jesus Christ, realizing it was a once in a lifetime opportunity, and prophecy fulfilled.
Also, in contrast to the typical nativity scene image I bought into (with Christ in a manger)…Christ was nearly two years old by the time the three wise men found him…Mary and Joseph lived in a house and were married, and they had no immediate plans on leaving Bethlehem until after the three wise men left. The three wise men knew exactly who they were seeking, and when they found Him, they worshiped Him for who He really was. They knew Christ to be the foretold Messiah, The Son of God and The King of Kings…and the gifts that they brought each underscored their understanding of who Jesus Christ was, and what His purpose was to be: The gift of gold was a gift typically given to royalty. The fact that one of the gifts was gold meant that, from prophecy, they understood this Newborn King to be just that A King:
“Also I will make him my firstborn, The highest of the kings of the earth.” Psalm 89:27
The gift of frankincense is most telling because it illustrated that they understood the deity of Christ: In Exodus 31:34-37 it says:
“And the Lord said to Moses: ‘Take sweet spices, stacte and onycha and galbanum, and pure frankincense with these sweet spices; there shall be equal amounts of each. You shall make of these an incense, a compound according to the art of the perfumer, salted, pure and holy…It shall be to you holy for the Lord.”
and
“When anyone offers a grain offering to the Lord, his offering shall be of fine flour. And he shall pour oil on it, and put frankincense on it… Leviticus 2:1
Up until Christ was nailed to the cross and gave His life for our sins, many still gave burnt offerings as sacrifices to the Lord, and these three wise men probably came from where it was still customary to do that. Frankincense always was a key fragrance used in offerings, and was often mixed with other spices, which made the third gift of myrrh necessary, and prophetic: Myrrh was an expensive spice that was typically used to anoint the bodies of royalty for burial. These three wise men understood that Christ was royalty (gold), that he was Deity (frankincense,) and that he would be sacrificed arid buried (myrrh). They also understood their prophesized role in it all:
“The kings of Tarnish and of the isles will bring presents; The kings of Sheba and Seba will offer gifts. Yes, all kings shall fall down before Him; All nations shall serve Him.” Psalm 72:10-11
and:
“The multitude of camels shall cover your land, the dromedaries of Midian and Ephah; All those from Sheba shall come; gold and incense, And they shall proclaim praises of the Lord.” Isaiah 60:6
They worshiped Jesus for who He was and what he represented, knowing he was The Messiah, knowing He was perfect, just and almighty. Afterwards, God spoke to the three wise men in a dream telling them NOT to return to King Herod with the confirmation of what they found, heading back to their own countries without cutting back through Jerusalem. This bought Mary, Joseph and Jesus enough time to escape to Egypt, because once Herod realized he’d been defied by the three wise men, King Herod ordered the deaths of all male children under the age of 2 who lived in Bethlehem and its neighboring cities.
The three wise men, after finding Jesus Christ and listening to the voice of God, decided to take a different path home. They came with their own traditions, customs and wisdom, and left with new wisdom and traditions that can only be given to us through The Father, Son and Holy Spirit. They could never go back the way they came. Answering the call of Jesus in my life has made it impossible for me to go back down the path that led me to Christ. Christ transforms the life of the believer and causes us to not only live our lives in a different way (direction) but at an elevated level. The voice of God is above all else in our lives. We are now more sensitive and receptive to his signs and words.
My question for you this Christmas, when we think about the birth of our Savior, is: How has Christ affected the direction of your life? What have you been through without Jesus being by your side?
This Christmas while you are listening to your favorite Christmas songs, ask yourself “What would you have brought Jesus?” What gifts do you have to offer in service of our Lord? What can you give to pay homage to His royalty, deity and death? What aroma can our spiritual lives emit that would be pleasing to God’s nostrils? What songs can we sing, or words we speak that can be pleasing to God’s ears? Does God like what He sees when he looks at the path that we have decided to take?
Our gold, frankincense and myrrh are the spiritual gifts that he gives us to build up His church, and lead people to the gospel. The best gifts to honor Christ with are to use the gifts God gave us. If you have been given the gift of prophecy, share that in an edifying and clear manner…and remember: not all prophecy is about predicting the future; most of the time it is simply preaching the word of God. If you have been given the gift of being a servant, let your service to your church and your fellow man / woman be faithful and loyal. If you teach, let your lessons lead people to a better life in Christ. If you are a singer or a musician, use your gift to usher in the Holy Spirit, and to ready people to receive the word of God.
As the three wise men all came to worship Baby Jesus with different gifts, they all bowed down to accord. We, too, as brothers and sisters in Christ, must come together as one body of believers, All gifts come from God, and to Him they shall return.
Have a very blessed Christmas, and a happy New Year… It’s going to be 2023 very soon, and I am going to take the opportunity to walk a little closer with Jesus, and to have a better relationship with Him. I hope you do, too.
From everyone at Solafide Jam…Stay Prayed Up.