The Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh I Must Offer
Matthew 2:11
Hallelujah! May the grace and peace of our Lord be with you on this Christmas Sunday. The gold, frankincense, and myrrh offered by the Magi were not merely gifts of the past; they challenge us to reflect on what our faith demands of us today. What can we offer to the Lord?
First, I will explore the symbolic meanings of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Next, I will examine how these gifts relate to the core of our faith—faith, love, and hope. Finally, I will speak on the grace that Jesus, who received these offerings, bestows upon us.
First, let us explore the symbolic meanings of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. The gifts of the Magi—gold, frankincense, and myrrh—were their confession of who Jesus was to them.
Gold was given as an act of worship, recognizing that Jesus is God. He is the Son of God. When the Israelites built the Tabernacle as a place to meet God, they used gold to construct the interior of the Holy Place, the Most Holy Place, and all its furnishings. Gold symbolized God’s sovereignty and glory. Jesus said, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:21). Offering gold to Jesus symbolizes that our hearts do not belong to the world but to God. It is a declaration that Jesus is our King, along with a commitment to live as His people, following His laws with faith and devotion.
Frankincense was offered as a confession that Jesus is our Mediator. In the Tabernacle, frankincense was used by the high priest on the altar of incense to produce a fragrant aroma that ascended to God. This incense, combined with the prayers of the people, was pleasing to the Lord. Revelation 8:4 says, “The smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of God’s people, went up before God from the angel’s hand.” Similarly, Psalm 141:2 declares, “May my prayer be set before you like incense; may the lifting up of my hands be like the evening sacrifice.” Thus, the fragrance of frankincense represents prayers and worship that God delights in receiving. Frankincense symbolizes prayer in the name of Jesus, affirming that He is our High Priest and Mediator.
Myrrh was offered as a confession that Jesus is our Savior, the Christ who saves us from sin and death. After Jesus’ crucifixion, Nicodemus brought myrrh to prepare His body for burial (John 19:39). Myrrh, commonly used as an embalming spice, represents death and suffering. It signifies a life of self-denial and taking up one’s cross to follow Christ. Such a confession is possible only by faith in Jesus as the Christ who saves us. Myrrh symbolizes participation in Christ’s suffering and the offering of a sacrificial life (Romans 12:1). Therefore, offering myrrh is a declaration that Jesus is our Christ.
In conclusion, gold is an offering that proclaims Jesus as our King, frankincense acknowledges Him as our High Priest and Mediator, and myrrh confesses Him as the Christ who leads us to eternal life. May we offer these gifts with sincere and genuine hearts in the name of the Lord.
Next, let us examine the connection between gold, frankincense, and myrrh with faith, love, and hope. These three—faith, love, and hope—are at the core of our Christian faith.
Gold represents faith as it symbolizes devotion through offering and entrusting one’s life and resources to God. Scriptural references affirm this. Job 23:10 says, “But he knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold.” This illustrates how pure gold, refined through fire, represents the purity and maturity of faith. Likewise, 1 Peter 1:7 states, “These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory, and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.” Here, faith refined by trials is likened to gold.
The act of offering gold by the Magi was their declaration of faith in Jesus as their King. However, this confession required enduring hardships and challenges. Their journey to meet the baby Jesus was long and fraught with dangers. Similarly, we are called to offer pure and refined faith to God, a faith forged through trials and commitment. This offering is not only financial but also includes dedicating our time and talents to serve others and glorify God. May this Christmas Sunday inspire us to make such a commitment.
Frankincense represents love, as it is the fragrant aroma pleasing to God, offered through prayer and worship. Jesus Himself became this pleasing aroma to God. Ephesians 5:2 says, “Walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” This signifies that frankincense embodies a life of love—loving God, loving others, and working toward their salvation.
When we offer frankincense to God, we are expressing a life filled with Christ’s fragrance, reflecting His love through our actions. As stated in 2 Corinthians 2:14-15, “But thanks be to God, who always leads us as captives in Christ’s triumphal procession and uses us to spread the aroma of the knowledge of him everywhere. For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing.” In the same way, our lives, through prayer and worship, should be offerings that are holy and fragrant to God, manifesting Christ’s fragrance to the world.
This includes offering prayers that align with God’s will, as modeled in the Lord’s Prayer. The Lord’s Prayer does not seek our own desires but focuses on God’s kingdom and His righteousness. Through such prayer, we emit the aroma of Christ. May we all live this way in the name of the Lord.
Myrrh signifies death, but through the living hope of resurrection, it demonstrates that death is not the end. It reminds us of the promise of resurrection we possess. 1 Peter 1:3-4 says, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you.”
Thus, myrrh symbolizes the eternal living hope we receive through Christ’s death and resurrection. This hope sustains us, prevents spiritual decay, and keeps us focused on God’s promises. As Galatians 2:20 declares, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.” This confession has empowered me to overcome trials and challenges.
This is the gift we are called to offer this Christmas—a life of hope rooted in Christ’s resurrection.
Finally, let us reflect together on the grace Jesus bestows upon us as He received gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. By offering gold, we become heirs to the kingdom of God. The Lord taught us that no one can serve two masters, for one cannot serve both God and money. Yet, by nature, we tend to rely on earthly wealth, allowing it to govern our hearts. However, offering gold is a confession of renouncing Mammon, which causes us to rely on wealth, and acknowledging God’s sovereign authority. Just as the man who discovered treasure hidden in a field sold everything he owned to purchase that field, those who recognize the value of the kingdom of heaven ensure their place in it by offering gold. May this grace be with us all.
The Lord also receives the fragrant aroma of our offerings of frankincense. This fragrance is emitted when we are filled with the Holy Spirit through prayer and worship. It is the evidence of Christ dwelling in us, allowing us to emit the aroma of Christ to others. For example, in Philippians 4:18, the Apostle Paul describes the missionary and relief funds sent by the Philippian church as “a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God.” As I often emphasize, the fragrance we offer to God is inseparable from the aroma of Christ we share with our brothers and sisters. If we fail to emanate the aroma of Christ to others, it cannot become a fragrance pleasing to God. However, when God accepts the fragrant offering we bring, He recognizes us, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” In Genesis 27:27, when Jacob approached Isaac, his father smelled the fragrance of Jacob’s garments and blessed him, saying, “Ah, the smell of my son is like the smell of a field that the Lord has blessed.” As baptized believers, we are clothed in Christ, and the Father delights in the aroma of His children, declaring blessings over us. No harm will befall you, for the Lord will protect and guard you. This grace signifies prosperity and well-being in our lives. May we all enjoy this grace abundantly.
In response to the myrrh we offer, Jesus gives us the gift of eternal life through His sacrifice (John 3:16). The Lord gives us His flesh and blood, making us one with Him. To those who deny themselves, take up their cross daily, and follow Him, He grants the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of eternal life. When the Holy Spirit dwells within us, eternal life resides within us, ensuring that we will never perish. If we were to close our eyes today and not open them in this world, we would awaken to find ourselves clothed in a glorious resurrected body like the Lord’s, standing before Him and the saints who have gone before us. This is not a vague hope but a living hope. May you experience the blessings of eternal life in the name of the Lord.
Thus, the Lord accepts the gold, frankincense, and myrrh we bring and, in turn, gives us the kingdom of God, receives us as beloved children of the Father, and fills us with a living hope of eternal life.
In conclusion, the gold, frankincense, and myrrh presented to the Christ child by the Magi were confessions that Jesus is their King, High Priest, and Savior. Similarly, when we offer gold, it is a declaration of faith as we endure trials. Offering frankincense represents living a life of love that emanates the fragrance of Christ to our neighbors. Offering myrrh signifies denying ourselves and taking up our cross daily, confessing that it is no longer we who live but Christ who lives in us. These confessions are realized through offerings of material wealth and time, through acts of loving devotion, and through the surrender of our lives for the salvation of souls. When we live this way, the Lord will give us His kingdom, receive us as His beloved children, and clothe us in an incorruptible resurrected body.
What will you offer to Jesus today? May we offer the gold, frankincense, and myrrh of our lives and experience the abundant grace of the Lord. Amen.