Christmas 2024
Havasu Christian Church
December 22 2024
Matthew 2:11
Gold, Frankincense and MYRRH
INTRO: Today, we look at the last gift that the Magi brought to Jesus. Myrrh
Matthew 2:11 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.
- What is Myyrh?
- What do we really know about it?
- In the ancient times, Myrrh had a variety of uses.
- These included Medicine,
- particularly as a pain killer.
Mark 15:22–23 Then they *brought Him to the place Golgotha, which is translated, Place of a 1Skull. They tried to give Him wine mixed with myrrh; but He did not take it.
- In religious worship by various peoples, including the Jews
- The Jews used Myrrh as part of their “anointing oil.
Exodus 30:23–30 “Take also for yourself the finest of spices: of flowing myrrh five hundred shekels, and of fragrant cinnamon half as much, two hundred and fifty, and of fragrant cane two hundred and fifty,
24 and of cassia five hundred, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, and of olive oil a hin.
25 “You shall make of these a holy anointing oil, a perfume mixture, the work of a perfumer; it shall be a holy anointing oil.
26 “With it you shall anoint the tent of meeting and the ark of the testimony,
27 and the table and all its utensils, and the lampstand and its utensils, and the altar of incense,
28 and the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, and the laver and its stand.
29 “You shall also consecrate them, that they may be most holy; whatever touches them shall be holy.
30 “You shall anoint Aaron and his sons, and consecrate them, that they may minister as priests to Me.
- This concoction of spices was only allowed to be used in the temple to show that the temple and all it contained, belonged to God.
Exodus 30:31–32 “You shall speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘This shall be a holy anointing oil to Me throughout your generations. ‘It shall not be poured on anyone’s body, nor shall you make any like it in the same proportions; it is holy, and it shall be holy to you.
- As a part of the spices used by Jews to embalm a body.
- Like Frankincense, Myrrh was a very costly commodity.
- Partly because of Supply & Demand.
- Harvesting Myrrh was a similar process to harvesting Frankincense.
- It was slow, tedious, and dangerous work to be a harvester.
- The trade in Myrrh was controlled by the Nabateans and they made sure to keep it scarce.
- Myrrh, being so valuable, was again a practical gift travelers could easily convert to cash.
- In Israel, in the 1st century, Myrrh was used for the embalming of dead people.
- We read about this at the burial of Jesus.
John 19:39–40 Nicodemus, who had first come to Him by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds weight. So they took the body of Jesus and bound it in linen wrappings with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews.
- This gift, the gift of a burial spice, was an appropriate gift for Jesus.
- Just like Gold was appropriate to show Jesus’ Kingship.
- Past, present and future.
- Just like Frankincense was appropriate to show that Jesus would one day be our High Priest.
- The gift of Myrrh was a gift for One who was going to die.
- Jesus is given this gift by the Magi as a foreshadow of his death.
- God’s plan was for Jesus to show us in no uncertain terms, just how awful sin is.
- The innocent, dying for the guilty
- This is where animal sacrifice came in.
- You could see the tangible effect of your sins on your innocent animal.
- As we discussed last week, animal sacrifice never really got rid of sin, it just “piled it up” to be dealt with later, by a perfect sacrifice.
- Mankind needed a better sacrifice!
- Jesus came to Die as the propitiation for our sins… The WHAT?
1 John 2:1–2 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.
1 John 4:9–10 By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him.
10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
- “Atoning sacrifice” is used by some translations, but it doesn’t really carry all the meaning that propitiation does.
From the Baker Bible Encyclopedia: Propitiation. Turning away of anger by the offering of a gift.
.
The Greek term for propitiation occurs in some important biblical passages (Rom 3:25; Heb 2:17; 1 Jn 2:2; 4:10). Also, the idea of the wrath of God is found throughout the Bible. It must be taken into account in the way sin is forgiven.
The idea that God cannot be angry is found neither in the OT nor the NT. It is neither Jewish nor Christian. It is an idea that comes from the Greek philosophers. They thought of their gods as aloof and passionless beings, too lofty by far to be interested in the deeds of little men. But the Bible states that God loves men with a pure and boundless love. It says that because he loves his people so greatly, he is not indifferent when they soil his creation with sin and bring misery into the lives of those he loves. Clearly, in those circumstances he is angry. Whenever his children sin they draw down upon themselves the anger of God. Of course, his anger is not an irrational lack of self-control as it so often is with humans. His anger is the settled opposition of his holy nature to everything that is evil.
Such opposition to sin cannot be dismissed with a wave of the hand. It requires something much more substantial. And the Bible states that it was only the cross that did this. Jesus is “the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world” (1 Jn 2:2 KJV). This is not the only way of looking at the cross, but it is an important way. If God’s anger is real, then it must be taken into account in the way that sin, which caused that wrath, is dealt with. When the NT says “propitiation,” then, it means that Jesus’ death on the cross for the sins of mankind put away God’s wrath against his people once and for all.
- God is rightfully angry at sin.
- He gives us everything, including Jesus.
- We don’t pay attention to what He says.
- Sin is a direct attack on God’s authority…. An authority that God uses for our best interests at heart.
- Jesus is the propitiation for our sins, the sacrifice that takes care of the wrath of God!
- No-one but Jesus could do this for us!
- Jesus did not want to go to the cross!
- But Jesus chose to go anyway… for US!
Matthew 26:39 And He went a little beyond them, and fell on His face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will.”
Conclusion: What’s the takeaway? What does this all mean to me, and to you?
- The Magi probably didn’t know it, but they were pointing with their gift of Myrrh, right at Jesus’ future….
- What He would do for us.
- That baby, born in Bethlehem, God in a human body, chose to come to earth… for the sake of His Creation!
- You didn’t choose when where and how you would come to earth… But Jesus did!
- You or I probably would have chosen to be born into much different circumstances!
- Rich instead of poor.
- Powerful instead of powerless.
- Grown up in an impressive physical body, instead of being born a baby.
- We undoubtedly would have done whatever it took to avoid the cross!
- But not Jesus!
- In fact, he bore all the punishment the Romans could dish out.
- Beaten up.
- Mocked.
- A crown of thorns.
- A beating with a whip that usually killed the man being whipped.
- Publicly stripped naked.
- Made to carry His own cross.
- Nailed to that cross.
- Taking on the sin of every man and woman who have ever or will ever accept Him as Lord and Savior of their life.
- Even though He had never felt the guilt or shame of sin on Himself.
- Feeling the absence of God’s presence for the very first time.
- Suffering on that cross.
- Finally dying on that cross!
- Jesus IS the one who became the perfect sacrifice.
- Perfect in Holiness… NO SIN!
- Perfect in Willingness….
- “Not as I will, but as you will!”
Jesus gave so much…. How can we possibly be unwilling to serve Him with our lives??
