(A) Introduction. (Read the passage.)

What do we know about the mysterious figures from the east who make such a surprising appearance in the Christmas story? We know their:

(1) Name. They are called Magoi - a term derived from the Persian, Magus or Magupate, meaning magicians rather than wise men.

(2) Origin. The Magi came from the far east. Their journey to Jerusalem must have taken something like a year and a half in order to explain Herod's decision to kill all the little boys in Bethlehem under 2 years of age. If the Magi travelled 50 miles a week - not a great distance on foot - they could travel 2600 miles in a year! The Persian name given to the men suggest that they came from the far east of Persia or Parthia as it was in the time of Herod the Great.

(3) Speciality. The Magi studied the heaven and used astronomical observations to interpret events and forecast the future. So they were both astronomers and astrologers. It is known that at this time the priestly caste of the Zoroastrian religion - which like Judaism was monotheistic - took a great interest in astronomy. So it seems likely that a group of Zoroastrian priests associated a new bright light in the sky with the birth of a Jewish king of such immense worth that they told Herod they had come to worship him.

(4) Status. The travelling Magi were wealthy and influential. This is evident from their treasure and the audience they were able to secure with king Herod the Great.

In this Christmas exposition I am going to study the gifts of the Magi:

(B) The trek.

The Magi's long walk was very much a gift to Jesus. The men made it because they considered the new born king was worth it.

A few years ago Edward F. Markquart, former pastor of Grace Lutheran Church, Seattle, visited a sister church in the mountains of Haiti as the guest of Pastor Berjae. On his last day in the village Pastor Berjae disappeared. He left his home at 4am to walk to Kais the nearest small town. He went for a present. It involved a 16 hour round trip walking for much of the time in darkness along narrow goat tracks. The gift he bought Pastor Markquart was a simple painting in water colours of large trees, a stream and two Haitian women with water pots on their heads. It was not a great painting and was worth very little but Pastor Markquart kept it in his study because he knew its value lay in Pastor Berjae's long walk. The Haitian pastor thought his guest was worth it.

How far are we prepared to walk for Jesus? How much effort are we prepared to expend for him?

The wise men were helped on their journey of faith by:

(1) One another. It is always easiest to make a big effort alongside others. I read a story on the internet that illustrates this. In the 1930's a careless motorist drove his model Ford into a ditch. He persuaded a farmer who lived nearby to pull him out with his old horse, Buddy. The farmer gave these rather strange instructions:

"Pull Nellie!"

"Pull Buster!"

"Pull Coco!"

"Pull Buddy pull!"

At which point Buddy pulled the car out of the ditch.

The puzzled motorist asked for an explanation of the farmer's tactics. He replied, "Old Buddy's blind - and if he thought he was the only one pulling he wouldn't try."

We can imagine the Magi encouraging one another on the long, difficult journey to Bethlehem. In the same way Christians need to support and strengthen each other on the long walk through the wilderness to the Promised Land.

(2) The advice they received. When the Magi reached Jerusalem and wanted to know where to find the new born king they received guidance from God's word. The chief priests and scribes knew where God's anointed would be born: "Bethlehem Judea - for this is what the prophet has written." Mt2v5.

There are times we flag and falter on the long walk for Christ. So often at such times we are heartened by a few words from the Bible. I found the quotation from John's gospel in Pastor Richard Underwood's annual letter peculiarly uplifting: I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." Jn8v12. What I liked was the assertion of Jesus that those who follow him will never walk in the dark.

(3) The star. As the Magi neared the end of their journey the star they saw in the east appeared again until it stopped over the place where the child was. v9.

God often sends a star when a person is near the end of their journey to faith. Such was the case for Augustine of Hippo. He struggled to find God and was close to despair when one day, standing in the garden, he heard the sweet voice of a child from a neighbouring house singing: "Tolle, lege - tolle, lege." (Take, read.) Augusting hurried in doors and took up Paul's epistle to the Romans. In the 14th verse of the 13th chapter of that great epistle he read: But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ. This was the key that opened up the way of salvation to Augustine.

(C) The treasure. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh. v11.

All the gifts that the Magi presented to Jesus were valuable. Once again they must have considered he was worth it.

So let us examine each of the gifts in turn:

Gold - a gift fit for a king. The Magi did not present Jesus with silver, brass, copper or iron - but gold. Only the best would suffice!

Do we give Jesus our gold - our best. God expected his people to show their gratitude by giving him the first fruits of the harvest - the very best of their crops.

Do we give Jesus our best or do we clutch our treasure to ourselves. There are many ways we can give of our best. Today, despite the snow and ice, Cicily has travelled to chapel to arrange the flowers for our Christmas services. At the funeral of Cicily's husband 79-year-old Peter sang a solo which the Spirit invested with rare power. Roger spent a week at the turn of the year transforming our kitchen. In the spring Gwen and Ken plant a border in our graveyard with colourful annuals. And I have tried to cook a few meals for visiting speakers to the glory of God.

God can use our best to bring blessings to others. The Magi's gold must have been a godsend during the first few months that Joseph and Mary spent in Egypt. Without it they could barely have managed.

Frankincense - a gift for a priest. Frankincense was an aromatic gum made from the resin of the Boswellia tree. It was burned twice a day in the temple on the altar of incense. The smoke ascended as a sweet perfume to the LORD.

We give Jesus our frankincense when we pray - in season and out - in good times and bad. We may have only a few poor granules to burn but they are an offering pleasing to God. As the Christmas carol puts it:

Vainly we offer each ample oblation -
Vainly with gifts would His favour secure;
Richer by far is the heart's adoration -
Dearer to God are the prayers of the poor.

There is no doubt that we have trouble giving Jesus our frankincense. As another hymn writer so pithily put it:

Were half the breath thus vainly spent
To heaven in supplication sent
Your cheerful song would oftener be,
Hear what the Lord has done for me!

The red coals needed to ignite the frankincense grow cold. The embers of faith, hope and love smoulder fitfully. But the embers can glow again - if fanned by the Spirit. They can flame again, hot and joyous, and our prayers will then ascend like fragrant smoke off the altar to Christ above.

(3) Myrrh - a gift to the suffering servant. Myrrh is another gum or resin from the Commiphora tree and worth nearly three times as much as gold per kilo. It was often burned at funerals where its bitter fragrance masked the sweet smell of decay.

We give Jesus myrrh whenever we share his suffering. This happens when we suffer:

(a) Rejection, disappointment and failure - but keep on going on in the Christian life.

(b) Poverty and insecurity for the sake of the gospel.

(c) Loss - friends, popularity, influence and even respect for defending the Faith.

It is difficult to give Christ our myrrh. We prefer recognition to rejection, prosperity to poverty, security to insecurity and gain to loss. In the West few Christian are prepared to take the risks Jesus did. I like the poem, 'He was a gambler too,' by Stuart Kennedy (Woodbine Willy):

And, sitting down, they watched Him there,
The soldiers did;
There, while they played with dice,
He made His Sacrifice,
And died upon the Cross to rid
God's world of sin.
He was a gambler too, my Christ,
He took His life and threw
It for a world redeemed.
And ere His agony was done,
Before the weltering sun went down,
He knew that He had won.

Are we prepared to take risks for Jesus - to give him our myrrh - or do we simply snatch greedily the benefits of Christianity and avoid the pain?

(D) Themselves. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshipped him. Mt2v11.

The Magi - the strange magicians from the east - gave themselves in worship when they realised that they were in the presence of one greater than themselves. What they did was absolutely appropriate because the little boy in the care of the humble couple from Nazareth was God's love gift to the world.

What a gift he is! Christians love to sing:

Jesus my Shepherd, Husband, Friend
My Prophet, Priest and King,
My Lord, my Life, my Way, My End
Accept the praise I bring.

What a gift he is! Jesus is mankind's one and only Saviour. If we give ourselves to him in repentance and faith he will give us eternal life. This is a sacred contract sealed by his own precious, shed, blood.

What a gift he is! At the great gathering of the ransomed in the summer land of love nothing will give us more pleasure than to sing this new song:

Unto Him who hath loved us and washed us from sin
Unto Him be the glory forever! Amen.

In the Daily Telegraph of Friday Dec 18th 2009 various celebrities were asked how they would spend Christmas Day. I was pleased with the response of Bear Grylls the adventurer. He wrote:

Presents happen after this (the Queen's speech) around the tree. We make sure that there is a pen and paper in everyone's hand so that they can write down which relation gave what. We have a saying that a present isn't yours until you have written to say thank you - I think that is important.

Christmas is about gratitude for all our blessings, not least because on that day the Son of Man was born, and He came to heal, mend and unite us.

What a gift he is! Have we made him ours by thanking God for his indescribable gift. God has given himself in love. Surely we should receive his gift with thanksgiving and joy. We should be like the ancient Magi - and worship the new born King.