27 Jun 2014
Matthew 2:10-11
Matthew 2:10: “When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.
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.”
The reason the Gentile wise men spent all that time traveling to Israel was so they could worship and honor the Messiah. They probably knew about Him from Daniel’s prophecies, and they were thrilled when they at last found Him. They were eager to worship Him and they gave gifts that were worthy of of who He was. They gave Him gold, which was a gift for a king; frankincense, which was an offering of incense to a deity, and myrrh, which probably looked forward to His death. In these gifts the wise men revealed that they understood who He was and what He had come to accomplish.
As a side note, it’s interesting to notice that Jesus was in a house, not a stable, and that he was a young child, not an infant. He was probably around 2 years old at the time these events took place.