Tag: myrrh

Posted on

Gifts of the Magi

Gifts of the Magi

There has been a great deal of confusion about the magi’s visit to the Christ child. Not only are there differences of opinion about who the magi were, but even their gifts have been misunderstood. Atheists have claimed that the whole story is nonsense because Mary and Joseph could make so much money from the gifts of the magi that Joseph wouldn’t have to work as a carpenter. We assume that whatever value the gifts had would have helped support the family during their sojourn in Egypt.

At the time of Christ, these gifts were quite expensive. Today on Amazon, you can buy frankincense resin for $16 a pound and myrrh resin from $16 to 36 a pound. On the other hand, the price of gold is approaching $2,000 an ounce. But the value of the gifts of the magi was not primarily financial.

Frankincense and myrrh are resins extracted from wounds in the bark of trees that grow in northeast Africa and southern Arabia. Frankincense was used to soothe the gums and to treat respiratory problems, skin infections, and bruises. Modern researchers have found that frankincense has antiseptic, antifungal, and anti-inflammatory properties. It also contains flavonoids that cause the lungs’ bronchia to dilate, helping with breathing problems. But frankincense was, and still is, burned in the worship of deity. For that reason, it seems to be an appropriate gift for the Christ child.

People used myrrh as an anesthetic. Soldiers gave Jesus “wine mingled with myrrh” during His crucifixion to relieve His suffering. He rejected the offering. Modem research has shown that myrrh can lower cholesterol levels, and it has been used to treat heart disease. A side effect of myrrh is that it stimulates the thyroid resulting in accelerated metabolism. Myrrh was used to embalm royal mummies like King Tutankhamen. The Jews also used it for embalming bodies for burial. The gift of myrrh hints at the death of Christ.

Even gold was valued for medical uses and not just business transactions. Roman doctors prescribed gold dissolved in acid to cure appendicitis. Today the drug auranofin is a gold salt listed by the World Health Organization to treat rheumatoid arthritis. But gold was and is associated with kings and crowns. This gift from the magi indicates a kingly future for Jesus.

The point of all this is that the expensive gifts of the magi had symbolic meaning. They were foreshadowing the death of Jesus, but also his deity and kingship. We know very little about the magi except that they came to worship the Christ child. Their gifts honored the one who was God in the flesh and who would eventually die to redeem all who would accept Him as their King.

— John N. Clayton © 2020

Posted on

Christmas Traditions and the Bible

Christmas Traditions and the Bible

When I was an atheist, this time of year used to drive me nuts. There was so much about the story of the birth of Jesus that didn’t make sense. I viewed Christmas as a classic demonstration of the foolishness of Christians who would believe any myth that came along. I was confusing Christmas traditions and the Bible.

Then I started actually studying the Bible with the stated intent to prove it wrong. I soon discovered that what I objected to was human traditions and not mistakes in the Bible. Studying Matthew 1:18-2:23 and Luke 2:1-20 told a whole different story than what I saw on TV shows and Christmas cards. Here are some of my confusions that the Bible resolved:

How could a star stand over the place where the baby was? The closest star to Earth is 4.3 light-years away and shines on the whole planet, not a single place. The Bible does not indicate a celestial star. Herod couldn’t see the star and charged the “wise men” to tell him where the baby was. The biblical concept of this kind of celestial object was what is called the Shekinah glory. It is used frequently in the Bible, especially during the Israelite journey in the wilderness. See Exodus 13:21, 24:17, 40:38 and Ezekiel 1:28, 10:18, 11:23, 43:2.

No “Three Kings” would make such a journey to honor anything. Here again, there is a difference between Christmas traditions and the Bible. Matthew indicates they came from the east, and the word used to describe them is “magos,” from which we get our word “magician.” Luke uses the same word to describe a sorcerer in Acts 13:6-8. They were astrologers from Persia or Arabia, and the Bible doesn’t tell us how many there were. It only mentions three gifts. These three individuals arrived first in Jerusalem, not Bethlehem. The Bible doesn’t tell us when they arrived at the location of the child Jesus.

The Bible also doesn’t name the magi, but their traditional names and descriptions are highly symbolic. Tradition describes Melchoir as old, white-haired, and he brought gold – a gift usually reserved for kings. Gaspar, who was young and beardless, brought frankincense – a fragrant gum resin which was often burned to give a balsam odor which symbolized God’s people ascending to heaven. Balthazar, who was black, had a heavy beard and brought myrrh. Myrrh was a fragrant resin from Arabia, frequently used as an embalming material. (See John 19:39.) None of these names and descriptions are in the Bible – it is all tradition.

The “Christmas story” stated in the Bible is credibly simple. The traditions are not, but they are just traditions invented by humans. It took me many years to realize the difference between Christmas traditions and the Bible. Many times there is a vast difference between what the Bible says and what humans say it says.

— John N. Clayton © 2019

Posted on

Christmas Traditions vs. Bible Facts

Christmas Traditions vs. Bible Facts
It is interesting to see how many Christmas traditions are not found in the Bible. A classic example is the song “We Three Kings” which we often hear at Christmas time. Tradition even identifies those “kings” by name, appearance, and which gift each brought. They are:

Melchoir – old – white hair – bringing gold – a gift for a king.
Gaspar – young – beardless – bringing frankincense – a fragrant gum – smoke from burning is said to symbolize the prayers of God’s people ascending.
Balthazar – black – heavy beard – bringing myrrh – a fragrant resin from Arabia used in embalming (John 19:39, Psalms 45:8, Proverbs 7:17).

The Bible does not mention how many there were. It just says that they came from the east to Jerusalem. The word translated “wise men” in Matthew 2:1 is also used in Acts 8:9,11 and Acts 13:8 in reference to a sorcerer. The biblical reference to them being kings is Psalms 72:10 – a Psalm written for Solomon which mentions three kings from Tarshish, Sheba, and Seba. Matthew 2:11 tells us the three gifts.

Who saw the “star?” The shepherds of Luke 2:8-20 did not see the star, but were told about the birth of Christ by an angel. Herod didn’t see the star even though the birth was not far from Jerusalem. Since the wise men were not Jews and apparently were from a sorcerer type of background, they came from their homes to Jerusalem, not Bethlehem. When they learned the baby was to be born in Bethlehem (Matthew 2:5-6), they were guided by the “star” to the place where Jesus was. Christmas traditions often place that in the manger. Matthew 2:11 says the young child and his mother were in a house. The fact that Herod killed all the baby boys in the area that were two years old or younger indicates that the wise men come at a later date to the house where Joseph, Mary, and Jesus were living.

So what was the “star.” It certainly was not a typical star. Normal stars don’t move and stand over a manger, and they would have been visible to Herod or anyone else in the region. Modern attempts to explain the star as a comet, a supernova, or an aurora simply don’t work. The conception of Christ was a miracle. You don’t explain it by parthenogenesis or any scientific method. You either accept it or reject it on faith. Similarly, the star the wise men saw was not a natural object, and they knew that. In the Old Testament, there was a pillar of fire that led Israel out Egypt and into the promised land. The ancient Jews called it the Shekinah glory (See Exodus 13:21, 24:17, 40:48 and Ezekiel 1:28, 10:18-19, and 11:23).

Christmas traditions aside, the wise men from the east would be part of the ancient oriental world, and they would have carried the message to the Gentiles in that area. The shepherds represent the Jewish community of the area where they shared the news. The story is amazing, beautiful and pregnant with meaning. It doesn’t need the embellishments of modern Christmas traditions.

If you are interested in learning more about Christmas traditions vs. Bible facts, we recommend a book called Star of Jacob by Wayne Leeper. You can borrow it from this ministry or purchase it at THIS LINK.
–John N. Clayton © 2018