by Frank Luke
In high school, I read a story by O. Henry that I enjoyed, “The Gift of the Magi.” In the story, a husband and wife sacrifice to buy one another the perfect Christmas gift. Della has only a $1.63 to buy a gift for Jim. Likewise, Jim doesn’t have any money to buy a gift for Della. However, they each have an item they treasure. Della has knee-length hair, and Jim carries a gold pocket watch, a family heirloom. Irony ensues. Jim sells his watch to buy Della a set of ivory combs for her hair. Della sells her hair to a wig maker to buy Jim a platinum chain for his watch. That evening, when she admits she sold her hair to buy his present, he gives her the combs. Crying, she gives him the chain, and he admits he sold the watch to buy the combs. They realize their greatest treasure is not the items, but their love for each other, because they sacrificed what they thought was their greatest treasure for something that meant more. O. Henry ends the story saying that those who sacrifice possessions for people they love are as wise as the magi.
Scripture tells us that after Jesus was born, he was visited by wise men from the East. Who were these wise men? Why did they come to Bethlehem?
Matthew 2:1-12 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, 2 “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.” 3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 Gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. 5 They said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea; for this is what has been written by the prophet: 6 ‘AND YOU, BETHLEHEM, LAND OF JUDAH, ARE BY NO MEANS LEAST AMONG THE LEADERS OF JUDAH; FOR OUT OF YOU SHALL COME FORTH A RULER WHO WILL SHEPHERD MY PEOPLE ISRAEL.'” 7 Then Herod secretly called the magi and determined from them the exact time the star appeared. 8 And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the Child; and when you have found Him, report to me, so that I too may come and worship Him.” 9 After hearing the king, they went their way; and the star, which they had seen in the east, went on before them until it came and stood over the place where the Child was. 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. 11 After coming into the house they saw the Child with Mary His mother; and they fell to the ground and worshiped Him. Then, opening their treasures, they presented to Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 12 And having been warned by God in a dream not to return to Herod, the magi left for their own country by another way.
We have often heard this story, but how often do we really think about these men? While we usually number them three in the western churches, the Bible never says there were only three. Orthodox churches usually recognize twelve magi. Only Matthew mentions them coming to see Jesus, and he doesn’t give us many details about them, just they came from the east to see he who had been born king of the Jews. They brought gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
The Men
The first thing we should remember is that these men did not travel alone. If there were only three, the caravan they came in would have totaled about 36 people, including servants, camel drivers, scouts, cooks, and body guards. That does not include the pack animals and camels. If there were a dozen, as the Orthodox teach, the number could have been anywhere from 70 to 105. You get a little overlap in jobs as the caravan size scales.
But what does our Christian tradition say about them? It details more. Let’s look at each of the wise men from our tradition. While Matthew doesn’t name them, since the sixth century, they have been known in Christendom as Gaspar, Melchior, and Belthasar.
First, why “kings” when the Bible states “wise men”? That comes from Psalm 72:10, which is a prophecy of Jesus. It states: Psalm 72:10-11 Let the kings of Tarshish and of the islands bring presents; The kings of Sheba and Seba offer gifts. 11 And let all kings bow down before him, All nations serve him.
According to Matthew, they studied the stars and foresaw the coming of the Messiah in them. How the Star of Bethlehem worked and how they understood it is lost to time. What we know is that they saw the great star, understood it as a reference to the Messiah, and traveled. They did not arrive at the manger, but came some time afterwards. Since Herod slew all the boys under age two, we can conclude they arrived when Jesus was not yet two.
Many countries celebrate “Three Kings Day” on January 6, where as we leave milk and cookies for Santa Clause on Christmas Eve, the children leave water and grass for the camels of the kings. In the morning, they find small gifts in their shoes. On January 6, the celebrants eat special pastries that have a toy of Jesus baked inside.
Melchior—bringer of gold. He was from Persia and the oldest of the three. Persia covers modern-day Iran and Iraq. He is thought to have white hair and a long beard, according to Bede, a historian of the early church. His remains are said to have been moved to Germany where he rests underneath the Cologne Cathedral. As the oldest, he gave the first gift. He died in January of AD 55, at 116.
Gaspar—bringer of frankincense. He was from India, and traveled the farthest. Some claim he was from southern India, where there are three ancient churches named for the nativity, some say the northern part of India that is now Pakistan, and some on the eastern coast of India. Christian art shows him with a reddish beard and removing his crown before kneeling before the child. At 50, he in the middle of the other two by age, older than Balthasar and younger than Melchior. Tradition has him dying in AD 55 at over 100 after traveling to Armenia for a reunion of the magi and he is considered a martyr and saint.
Balthasar—bringer of myrrh. He came from Marib, the capital of Saba, and one candidate for the location of the Queen of Sheba who came to visit Solomon during his reign. That is in modern Yemen on the southern tip of the Arabian peninsula. Said to be the youngest of the magi, he gave his gift last. Tradition also says he died in January of AD 55.
So those are the men who brought gifts to Jesus. Philosopher kings and wise men.
The Journey
They came from a far, in a day that did not have automobiles. The fastest way to travel was by horse or camel back. For Melchior, that was 1,600 miles on the back of a camel. For Balthasar, it was 2,100 miles. For Gaspar, almost 3,000 miles on the back of a camel. A camel caravan rarely traveled more than 25 miles in a day and usually closer to 15. Depending on the weather and bandits, it would take Melchior three to eight months. Lucky! As Balthasar traveled further, it was four to ten months. I’m sure that Gaspar felt his six months to a year in the saddle was long enough.
As not everyone in the caravan rode, the distance traveled in a day was limited to the walking speed of those afoot. Sometimes they would not travel their full distance in a day because they had come to an oasis or caravansary. Some days they would not travel at all if a sand storm looked to be coming.
Each caravan would have scouts to be on the lookout for bandits or sand storms. As I mentioned earlier, if there were only 3 magi, the caravan might have been only 36. If there were a full dozen, upwards of 100 in the caravan.
Bandits were always a consideration when traveling. A well-disciplined group of bandits could make hash out of a larger caravan.
I say all of this to let you know what the magi went through on their journey to Bethlehem. It was not an off-the-cuff idea for any of them. The magi underwent a long and arduous journey to see prophecy fulfilled. Today, a non-stop drive from India to Jerusalem is 58 hours, not the six months in the saddle Gaspar went through.
All to see Jesus. All to give Him gifts.
What did they do?
They saw the star from the east and traveled thousands of miles to see the child of prophecy. When the star disappeared, they went to the king’s palace. This makes perfect sense; where else would a newborn king be? Being from so far away, they did not know about Herod. Herod was the puppet king of Rome. He did whatever the Roman envoy told him to do. If they said taxes need to go up, he raised taxes. If they said, side with us against Egypt, he would raise an army. Now, otherwise, he was free to do what he wanted. If Rome had no interest in something, the decision was his. In many ways, Herod was a beneficial king over Judea, but that isn’t why he is remembered.
Herod was an Edomite, not a Jew by birth. He wanted to be Jewish since he ruled over them. He even married a beloved Jewish princess, but they never saw him as Jewish. Forever, he was recorded in their books as “Herod the Edomite.” It didn’t matter that he paid for renovating the Temple from his own pocket. It didn’t matter that he rid the countryside of bandits and made it safe for people to walk in Judea without needing bodyguards. It didn’t matter that he started a public works program that made entire libraries and buildings—out of his pocket not from raising taxes.
No, what Herod is remembered for is the slaughter of the innocents. Upon hearing that Jesus had been born, Herod planned to kill him. The wise men didn’t know that, so they told what they knew. The Pharisees present in Herod’s court told that the prophecy of the Messiah’s birth pointed to Bethlehem.
I know some people who belittle these Pharisees for not going with the wise men to see Jesus. “Oh, they didn’t care about the Messiah! They were as bad as Herod!”
Let’s take a step back. I’m going to give them a pass on this one. The Messiah is a babe, no more than two. He can’t restore the throne to David right now. Herod, on the other hand, is a known tyrant. Do you really want to tick off the man who killed two of his own sons because they tried to take the throne from him? Do you want to tick off the man who executed his best general and his beloved wife because of a rumor they were having an affair? No. Even if you long for the Messiah, in Herod’s court, you wait for the child to grow. You go home and thank God that the Messiah has come, but you wait because Herod might kill you if you even express the passing thought of considering thinking about going to check in on this babe and saying hi.
The wise men go, present their gifts, and then return home a different way. In this part of Matthew, dreams are a major part of the story. Joseph has two dreams from God, and the wise men have another. God tells the magi to go home by a different route, don’t go back through Jerusalem. And they obey.
Mary and Joseph flee to Egypt until God sends Joseph a dream that it is safe to go back.
The Gifts
For the final part, let’s look at the gifts the magi gave Jesus. Gold, frankincense, and myrrh. The Christmas carol, “We Three Kings” does a tremendous job of explaining the gifts.
Gaspar’s gift of gold:
Born a king on Bethlehem’s plain,
Gold I bring to crown Him again.
King forever,
ceasing never,
Over us all to reign.
The King forever! The son of David! The heir to the throne of Judea, and the descendant of the dynasty’s founder. To Him, you bring a worthy gift of gold. It is a gift befitting a king! It mattered.
Melchior brought frankincense:
Frankincense to offer have I.
Incense owns a deity nigh.
Prayer and praising,
All men raising!
Worship Him, God on high.
He was God in the flesh. This is one of Matthew’s focal points. Jesus is “God with us.” Jesus will be with us always, even unto the ends of the world. Frankincense was the highest quality incense that one could buy in those days. It was incredibly expensive. Yes, this gift is meant for the God who had come to earth to save mankind.
Balthasar brought myrrh:
Myrhh is mine, its bitter perfume,
Breathes a life of gathering gloom.
Suff’ring, sighing,
Bleeding, dying.
Sealed in the stone cold tomb.
He came to die. You know, only Matthew and Luke tell us anything about Jesus’ early life, but all four gospels spend a whole lotta time on his death. John’s gospel spends almost half the book on the events that come with the Last Supper and onward. Half the book.
Myrrh is not a happy gift, no. But it is appropriate. The first coming of Jesus was to end with His death and resurrection. The second coming will be the one where He establishes His kingdom forever. With the first coming, He had to die.
Myrrh comes from a similar plant to frankincense, and is harvested the same way. It’s expensive and used in perfumes and as pain relief. However, for thousands of years, it was used for burial.
All the prophecies of Jesus conquering and ruling had to wait. First, He would die and rise again to save mankind. It, too, was an appropriate gift.
Conclusion
What do you offer Jesus? On Christmas, we give one another gifts, celebrating what the magi did. What can you bring the King of Kings, God on High, and the Savior of mankind?
You can give yourself. The magi brought gifts worthy of a king from another king. What He asks of you is everything. The king of all wants all from you—the best and worst parts of you. He will amplify the best and remove the worst. We all have besetting sins that hurt us and keep us from His will.
You can give all that you are. Come to Him as you are, but know that you will not leave the same. Malachi 3 says, “He is a refiner and purifier of silver.” He will accept the ore you come to Him as, but He will smelt the dross, the useless parts of the ore, out of you.
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Please visit Frank Luke’s Blog where this sermon is also posted.