The Three Gifts to Jesus – Myrrh4 minute read

You can find part 1 & 2 of this series covering the gifts given to Jesus here: Gold, Frankincense

The Third Gift presented in Matthew 2:11 was myrrh.

^{Matt 2:11} And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense and myrrh.

Myrrh’s Many Uses

Much like Frankincense, Myrrh is also a sap harvested from a tree. It was used for many medicinal purposes, even a pain killer. In Mark 15:23, we see Jesus is offered a wine mixed with myrrh which he refuses. He wanted and needed the full experience of crucifixion. No pain killers allowed.

Like Frankincense, Myrrh was also used as an incense. Incense was burned to carry prayers to God with a pleasing aroma. In Psalm 141:2, David asks that his prayer be set forth before God as an incense. 

Myrrh was also used as anointing oil. It was used to anoint, Kings. Both Saul and David were anointed with as they were placed to be king over Israel. High Priests and even altars for sacrifice were anointed with myrrh. You can find in Exodus, chapter 30, a recipe God gave to Moses to anoint Aaron and his sons, along with the tabernacle and everything within it.

This is important to know because here we find the distinction between the uses of Frankincense and Myrrh. Frankincense was only used for worship and meal offerings. It was not used for blood or sin sacrifices. Myrrh is what was reserved for the sin sacrifices. It is what prepared and purified the altars beforehand.

What does Myrrh Signify?

I believe myrrh signifies a couple different things. First of all, as an anointing oil, I think myrrh is a good picture of the Holy Spirit. It is called “the oil of Gladness” by King David in Psalm 45:7-8. We also know that one of the fruits of the Spirit is joy. Is that a stretch? Maybe. But think about this.

In the Old testament, the priests were to be anointed with that oil in the temple in order to carry out the sacrifices to God in order to please him. In the New Testament, we no longer carry out sacrifices because of Jesus’ death on the cross. We are now “anointed” with the Holy Spirit. This is what allows us to be in the presence of God and please him.

The second reason myrrh was gifted, and possibly the most convincing, was because it was considered an embalming spice. That’s right. myrrh was used to preserve the dead bodies of that day. It was Jewish law to prepare the bodies for the tomb a certain way. Myrrh was a huge part of it. In John 19:39-40, you see Nicodemus preparing Jesus’ body for the tomb with 100 pounds of myrrh and aloes.

This is most likely what the wise men had in mind when picking out this gift. The knew that the child they came to visit was born to die. Jesus’ sole purpose for coming was to die for our sins. Isaiah 53 says he was to be brought as a lamb to the slaughter. Jesus was considered the ultimate sacrifice for our sins. So it is only fitting that the wise men brought the spice that was meant to prepare sacrifices and preserve dead bodies. They were pointing to Jesus’ ultimate death on the cross.

Conclusion

The wise men knew exactly what they were doing and knew exactly who they were visiting. They hand-selected each gift with a purpose. Each having a significant meaning for the Christ child. They knew the prophecies and came prepared to meet Jesus. 

So as we wrap up this series, I want to condense what we learned of the gifts from the wise men.

• Psalm 110:4 spoke of the coming Priest.
• Daniel 9:24-27 spoke of the coming King.
• Isaiah 53:7 tells us that he was to be brought as a lamb to the slaughter.

All three gifts are a picture of who Jesus was and his Purpose.

He is the King of Kings and will set up His eternal kingdom that will not pass away. GOLD

He is our High Priest. The mediator between us and God. The messenger of our prayers. FRANKINCENSE

He was the last sin offering. The ultimate sacrifice. And he promised to anoint us with the Holy Spirit. MYRRH

That is why we celebrate Christmas. We were given the ultimate gift.

Travis Haines

Husband | Father | IT Guy | Blogger | Author and Creator of ChristianIntrovert.com wanting to encourage those who question their abilities in Christ. Don't let your Introversion define who you are and don't use it as an excuse to shut yourself out from the world.