Shawn Ryan

The Magi brought gifts that were, in the Old Testament, it mentions certain gifts that were fit for a king.

Three of those gifts, one was gold, referring to royal nature.

One was frankincense, a spice that referred to a priestly function.

And interestingly, the third one was myrrh.

Myrrh was used in embalming dead people in those days.

To me, that's foreshadowing.

Why was Jesus born into this world?

To die.

He was to ultimately give up his life to pay for the sins of humankind.

And I think the gift of the myrrh is a way of almost saying, yeah, this is for his ultimate death.

Now, it's interesting, on the cross, when Jesus is being crucified, they offered him a mixture of water and myrrh.

to ease the pain, and he refused it.

So they give these gifts.

They may have been emissaries of a king.

That's why they came.

Maybe a king sent them.

But here's the theological significance.

And I think this is, when I think about it, this is what blows my mind.

For Jewish people of the first century, they thought the Messiah would be a political savior.

He was going to overthrow the Romans.