The arrival of the Wise Men. Some time after the birth of Jesus there came a number of wise men to witness with their own eyes that the things that the star was the sign of were true.

1 NOW when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,

2 Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him. (Matthew 2:1-2)

It took the wise men a long time to come to Bethlehem from their home country, perhaps as much as just under two years.

7 Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, enquired of them diligently what time the star appeared. (Matthew 2:7)

16 Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently enquired of the wise men. (Matthew 2:16)

Today something will be revealed to you what has not been revealed to the world before. You will learn how truly wise these men were, and the deep spiritual significance of the three gifts they bore. Those gifts will show you that the wise men were men of prophecy, with more spiritual insight than any people in Jerusalem. You will see that the wise men were of Hebrew origin, serving the One true and living God.

The first gift was Gold. This was the obvious gift from a prophet to the King of Kings. The amount of gold was insignificant. Perhaps a large amount of gold could be used in situations of need, but let's try to look past the worldly aspects of the gifts, and try to look at the symbolic aspects instead.

Any amount of gold, if ever so small, would still be a testimony from these men that they knew that he was not just the son of David with the right to the throne, and not just the King of the Kingdom of God, but even the King of all Kings that would need to be anointed to administer the affairs of the Kingdom of God. This was the significance of the first gift!

"Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him".

The second gift was Frankincense. Frankincense was used by way of commandment of God on the meat offerings made unto the Lord.

1 AND when any will offer a meat offering unto the LORD, his offering shall be of fine flour; and he shall pour oil upon it, and put frankincense thereon (Leviticus 2:1)

A meat offering is not an offering of any kind of flesh. "Meat", in the case of meat offering stands as the opposite to "drink", in other words, food. The meat consisted of:

• Fine Flour – Kernels ground and beaten until all lumps and imperfections are gone. It symbolizes the perfection of Jesus and how his body would be tormented at his sacrifice.
• Salt – Representing the covenants between God and man. A covenant is that man makes solemn promises at the time when they receive saving ordinances, for which promises God swears a corresponding oath to bless those who keep their promise, and to punish those who tries to mock him.
• Oil – Fine oil was poured over the bread that was made with the flour and salt. The oil represents the blood of Jesus that was spilt during his sacrifice, in order to give eternal life to those who turn to Jesus with a broken heart and a contrite spirit.
• Frankincense – A spice that burns long with a sweet savory odor. The frankincense was the last item applied to the meat offering before it was all set afire. The savory smoke represents the prayers that ascend unto the Father.

The meaning of the wise men's giving frankincense to Jesus was to show their faith in him that they knew that his body (the bread) was going to be beaten (the fine flour), and sacrificed (burned) in order to fulfill the covenants (the salt). And as his sacrifice (the burning) began in the Garden of Gethsemane, his prayers (the smoke from the frankincense) would ascend towards heaven: (O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt. (Mathew 26:39). At the same time there would be great drops of blood (the oil) coming from every pore.

This sacrifice of Jesus' body would continue, and so would his prayers, until he gave up the ghost. Surely he prayed for strength to be able to carry out this monumental sacrifice (Can you see and smell the smoke from the frankincense?)  On the third day he was resurrected, and this opened the doors for all mankind to be resurrected. The frankincense was a great "thank you for the resurrection" from the wise men.

The third gift was Myrrh. Among several different uses, one of the most common uses of myrrh was to spice bitter wine to make it somewhat drinkable. Let's look back at one of the prayers of Jesus again:

O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt. (Mathew 26:39).

That cup that Jesus emptied must have been bitter indeed! Can we blame the wise men showing a sign of affection in wanting his bitter cup to be made somewhat more agreeable (figuratively) by adding their third gift, the myrrh? The cup that Jesus had to empty was to take upon him the sins and suffering of all men. This was done during the process of shedding his blood. Those who repent of their sins and call upon the Lord in faith, with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, will be granted eternal life in the presence of God.

The Three Gifts of the wise men spell out:

Thou art the King of Kings (Gold) and we come unto thee witnessing with our gifts that thou wilt sacrifice thy body (frankincense) that we may be resurrected, and suffer no end (myrrh) that Satan will have no hold on us, but that we might have eternal life.

This is why these men are called wise. They must have been Israelites, since only the children of Israel would be blessed with such knowledge at this time. It appears that God had lead away Israelites far away from Jerusalem, and made sure that they had their prophets. What a wonderful mystery! Could it possibly have been these Israelites that Jesus talked about when he said:

16 And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd. (John 10:16)