When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly
with great joy. 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. —Matthew 2:10–11
God is not served by human hands as though he needed
anything (Acts 17:25). The gifts of the magi are not given
by way of assistance or need-meeting. It would dishonor a
monarch if foreign visitors came with royal care-packages.
Nor are these gifts meant to be bribes. Deuteronomy
10:17 says that God takes no bribe. Well, what then do
they mean? How are they worship?
The gifts are intensifiers of desire for Christ himself in
much the same way that fasting is. When you give a gift to
Christ like this, it’s a way of saying, “The joy that I pursue
(verse 10) is not the hope of getting rich with things from
you. I have not come to you for your things, but for yourself.
And this desire I now intensify and demonstrate by
giving up things, in the hope of enjoying you more, not
things. By giving to you what you do not need, and what I
might enjoy, I am saying more earnestly and more authentically,
‘You are my treasure, not these things.’”
I think that’s what it means to worship God with gifts
of gold and frankincense and myrrh.
May God take the truth of this text and waken in us
a desire for Christ himself. May we say from the heart,
“Lord Jesus, you are the Messiah, the King of Israel. All
nations will come and bow down before you. God wields
the world to see that you are worshiped. Therefore, whatever
opposition I may find, I joyfully ascribe authority and
dignity to you, and bring my gifts to say that you alone can
satisfy my heart, not these.”
© Desiring God. Website: desiringGod.org
Good News of Great Joy
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