“Let the sea resound, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it. Let the rivers clap their hands, let the mountains sing together for joy; let them sing before the Lord, for he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples with equity.” Psalm 98:7-9
These verses reference the coming again of Jesus to judge the world. Jesus fulfilled the prophecies of God coming to earth. God is both loving and just merciful in punishment.
Traditional Christmas nativity scenes depict three kings form ancient Persia named Balthazar, Gaspar, and Melchior each bearing a gift for the baby Jesus on the night of his birth. They are accompanied by the shepherds, angels, and a bright shining star.
The Bible tells us in Luke 2:10-14 how an angel appeared to the shepherds, not a star, instructing them to go to Bethlehem and find the baby lying in a manger. Mathew is the only Gospel to record wise men or Magi. In Matthew 2:9-11 we hear about an event that took place at an unspecified point sometime after Jesus’ birth. An unnamed group of wise men visited Jesus in a house, not a stable, with only Mary in attendance. “After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it, stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him.”
Since the Bible does not tell the time of this visit, some later assumptions thought the visit occurred up to two winters later. This was explained because of Herod’s fear of this child. King Herod lied to the Magi. He knew he was not the rightful heir to the throne of David so he viewed this baby as a threat. It would have taken the Magi a long time to travel the distance. Herod wanted the Magi to return to him and report where this baby was living so he could kill him.
When the Magi saw Jesus, Matthew 2:11 states, “Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and myrrh.” The Magi were priests knowledgeable about the subjects of philosophy, medicine, and astrology. They brought gifts of value to honor Christ. Myrrh was commonly used as an anointing oil and embalming oil and as a symbol of death.
Frankincense was a perfume or incense and a symbol of deity. These gifts have also been described as gold symbolizing virtue, frankincense prayer, and myrrh suffering. Since three kinds of gifts were presented to Jesus, tradition has had three Magi each bringing one gift. Many Western Christian churches observe the visit of the Magi commemorating it on January 6, Epiphany. Epiphany means the manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles as represented by the Magi.
After the Magi presented their gifts to this young child King, Matthew 2:12 teaches us, “and having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.”
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