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Sermon preached on Matthew 2:11 by Rev. W. Reid Hankins during the Morning Worship Service at Trinity Presbyterian Church (OPC) on 12/21/2025 in Petaluma, CA.
Sermon Manuscript
Rev. W. Reid Hankins, M.Div.
This week, Christians throughout the world will remember and rejoice in the birth of Jesus. A common tradition associated with this celebration is the giving of gifts. This cultural practice of gift-giving at Christmas has at least partially been inspired by the Magi. These kingly wise men commendably came from afar to give their gifts to the newborn King. Now Christians and non-Christians alike have recognized how gift-giving has the temptation to overshadow everything else. Indeed, the commercialization of Christmas is easily seen, as if this was what this holiday is all about. And yet, there is something generally good about giving gifts. To clarify, there is no Biblical requirement to give gifts at Christmas. But the Bible does commend, in general, the giving of various gifts, something which many Christians have especially found quite fitting this time of year. And so, as I was reflecting on the practice of giving gifts, I thought it would be edifying to spend some time reflecting biblically about the virtue of giving. This will ultimately be an opportunity to talk again about the greatest gift of all.
In today’s message, I’ll especially focus on verse 11, on the gifts the Magi give to Jesus. Our first point will be to consider the phrase, “Opening their treasures.” Then in our second point we will consider the phrase, “They offered him gifts.” Third, I’ll supplement our message with Acts 20:35 which speaks of how, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”
Let us begin with our first point to consider how the Magi opened their treasures. Verse 11, “And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures…” Stop right there. Before they could give their gifts, they had to first open up their treasures. The Greek word here for “treasures” can be used to describe either the treasure itself or the place that you store and safeguard the treasure. It’s the same root, like the English words treasure and treasury. In context, clearly the usage here with the Magi is that they are opening up whatever containers they using to safely store their treasures. But what is inside their treasures is their treasure. And so while it might be obvious, I wanted to begin here to recognize that these Magi are giving of their treasure. Their gifts were valuable treasures. When we give a gift, it will typically cost you something. It’s not much of a gift if it didn’t cost you anything. I remember how in 2 Samuel 24 King David turned someone who wanted to contribute to David’s offering he was going to give to God. David says, that he won’t give an offering to God “that cost me nothing.” True gifts will generally have some sort of cost to them. Indeed, like the Magi here, there was considerable cost to these gifts that they bring King Jesus.
The next time this word for treasure comes up in Matthew’s gospel is in the sermon on the mount in chapter 6. Jesus is there teaching his disciples about treasure. Jesus calls us to consider what it is that we treasure. He says, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Earlier in that same chapter, Jesus had just addressed giving, specifically to the needy. Jesus speaks of how such giving reaps a reward from our heavenly father. Jesus connects our giving of gifts with this idea of laying up heavenly treasure. When we give gifts to others, we are giving up some earthly treasure to bless someone else, and we can end up reaping heavenly treasure in the process. Jesus tells us to put our heart on such heavenly treasure over earthly treasure. The Holy Spirit very well may use our acts of giving gifts to grow our hearts in this way. Giving up some of our earthly treasure can help us to not treasure it so much.
While giving gifts in general is a good thing, Jesus’ concern in the sermon on the mount draws our attention to giving to the needy. Christians through the centuries have especially thought it fitting to give to the poor during this Christmas season. Whenever we give to the needy, Jesus here commends it as ultimately service done unto God.
So then, in our first point, I wanted us to recognize that the Magi gave to Jesus out of their treasure. Likewise, our giving to both Jesus and to others will be out of our treasure. Let us now turn to our second point and consider how, “They offered him gifts.” That’s what it says they did after they opened their treasures. “They offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh.” They present these gifts to this newborn king. Let us appreciate that was an act of homage and ultimately worship. We don’t know how much these Magi knew about Jesus, but they at least knew that he was the long-awaited Messiah King, verse 2. Did they also know that Jesus was Immanuel, God with us, as chapter 1, verse 23 also tells us? Quite possibly they did know that, since Isaiah had prophesied that long before. So, in verse 11, when they finally enter the room with baby Jesus, they fall down and worship him. That’s the setting. Their giving of gifts is in the context of their homage and worship of King Jesus. It’s an expression of that worship they are giving Jesus.
These are truly gifts fit for a king. Gold, frankincense, and myrrh were very expensive. It may surprise you that back then, the least expensive item on that list is the gold, at least per ounce. We aren’t told the quantities, but these were all indeed treasures, luxuries that were kingly. I acknowledge the text doesn’t go into any detail about these. But, let’s appreciate each gift for a moment and consider some of the kingly and even priestly connotations.
Start with the gold. Gold is a timeless precious metal, a currency and symbol of the wealthy. Ordinary people back then did not typically possess gold. They had coinage made of bronze and silver, but not normally gold. To clarify, there were gold coins, too. The Romans had a gold coin called the Aureus. But one of those gold coins was worth about a month’s pay of a normal laborer. A rough analogy might be to think of modern currency. We have bills of several denominations, $1s, $5s, $20s, $50s, and $100s. Larger denominations are no longer printed, though there are some still in circulation. Most people don’t walk around with say a $5,000 bill, let alone try to use one to pay for your groceries. Gold back then was like that, it was the currency of the elite, especially associated with kings, and used for large transactions.
This prestige and value of gold was clearly symbolic in the Tabernacle. At our Wednesday study we just finished learning about all the gold used in the Tabernacle. Remember that the outer court featured just bronze, but as you went into the inner sanctum, into the Holy Place, then everything was featured in gold. This was fitting as God who is King over all the earth had placed his special presence there.
As for the frankincense, this was an aromatic resin, broadly considered a spice, though not in the culinary sense. It was used for perfumes and incense.
I understand that this would have been the costliest, per ounce, of these gifts. It was a rare commodity that had to be imported from afar. So again, this is a kingly gift, not something ordinary people would enjoy. Its use as a perfume is especially mentioned repeatedly in the Song of Solomon, where both King Solomon and especially his bride are described as perfumed with such. Of course, that describes a royal romance, there were less expensive perfumes for common people. Like gold, frankincense was also featured in the Tabernacle, again in close connection with God. It was a key ingredient in the incense formula for what they burned twice daily in the altar of incense that was positioned right in front of the Holy of Holies. It was also added to some of the offerings as a pleasing aroma to the LORD, though interestingly it was never to be put on any sin offering.
So then, the myrrh was somewhat similar to frankincense in that it was an aromatic resin, a spice in the sense of making perfumes and incense. While it was probably not quite as expensive as frankincense, it still was very costly and thus again a kingly gift. The Song of Solomon also repeatedly refers to the couple both being perfumed with myrrh. Psalm 45, an ode for a royal wedding, likewise describes the king’s robes fragrant with myrrh. Again, myrrh also played an important role in the Tabernacle. It was a key ingredient in the holy anointing oil used to consecrate both the priests and all the furnishings of the Tabernacle.
Stepping back then, when we look at these gifts we see that not only are they kingly, but also priestly. Their use, not only by kings, but also in the Tabernacle, brings out the priestly nature of them. That is quite fitting, because as the Old Testament prophesied (e.g. Psalm 110), the Messiah would be both a King and a Priest. Indeed, we who are in Christ are also described as being a royal priesthood (1 Pet. 2:9).
As we see these Magi bringing these costly gifts to the newborn Christ, let us recognize that this signals fulfillment of prophecy. Isaiah 60 is one of the several prophecies about how God would restore his people and their kingdom under a coming Messiah. Isaiah 60:6, “A multitude of camels shall cover you, the young camels of Midian and Ephah; all those from Sheba shall come. They shall bring gold and frankincense, and shall bring good news, the praises of the LORD.” That prophesied that when God restored the fortunes of Israel that kings would come from afar to pay homage to the Israelite Messiah, and they would give him gifts.
Interestingly, we can think back to earlier days when King Solomon looked something like that. For a time, one might have thought the Solomon might be the promised Messiah. Solomon wrote a psalm where he prayed for this, that kings would come and honor the King of Israel. Psalm 72:10-11, “May the kings of Tarshish and of the coastlands render him tribute; may the kings of Sheba and Seba bring gifts! May all kings fall down before him, all nations serve him!” The heart behind the prayer is that God promised a king from the line of David that would rule all the nations. Psalm 72 has Solomon praying for this, that the kings of this earth would flock to the Davidic kingdom and pay honor to its king. That prayer had an initial typological fulfillment when the Queen of Sheba visited Solomon and gave him great gifts of gold and spices and jewels (1 Kings 10:10). In Matthew 12:42, Jesus commends that Queen of Sheba for her faith, but then says that one greater than Solomon has now come. For Solomon fell short of being the promised Messiah, but Jesus came in God’s perfecting timing to be the King of the Nations. These Magi, then, reflect an initial fulfillment of these Old Testament prophecies that all the nations would come to the Israelite Messiah. We add to its fulfillment in our day as people from all over the world continue to come to serve and worship Jesus as Lord. And one day, Jesus will return and usher in the fullness of his kingdom, when the kingdoms of this world become the kingdom of Christ, Revelation 11:15.
Moving to our third point for today, I want to bring in this Acts 20:35 reference which Paul quotes Jesus as saying, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” Maybe you’ve heard that saying a lot, especially at Christmas time. Maybe you didn’t even realize Jesus is the one who said it. It’s an interesting quote because it is nowhere recorded in the four gospels, so it reminds us that not every detail of Jesus’ teaching ministry was recorded in the gospels. Paul here preserves another teaching of Jesus. It is also interesting because Paul in Acts 20 is quoting this to the Ephesian elders about how he would have them commend this in the Ephesians church. I find that timely for us because we are currently going through Paul’s letter to these same Ephesians. So far, that letter has had so much weighty and glorious doctrine of Jesus’ saving work for us, but Paul can also commend to these same Ephesians something as practical as giving to others. In context, Paul seems to imply that such gifts can include our earthly treasures and also of our time and talents.
When people give gifts at Christmas, or any time through the year, it is an opportunity to live out this teaching of Jesus. Our Lord says it is better to give than to receive. That is why though we aren’t commanded, per se, to give Christmas gifts, Jesus certainly commends giving to others. We should especially look to give to those who are in need. And we can give in love to others to express our love for them. When we give to our fellow Christians, it’s an expression of that “love one another” command Jesus gave us. And when we give to the poor who are outside of the church, it’s an expression of the command to “love your neighbor as yourself”. And we certainly can and should give unto our Lord of our treasure, time, and talents, even following the example of the Magi here. When we give to the Lord, we are expressing our worship and reverence for him. This is all very good, as Jesus literally says we are blessed as we give. Yes, everyone loves to receive gifts. But Jesus speaks of how even more blessed it is that we give.
Now when we hear Jesus say this, we know that he lived this truth to the full. As Jesus said in Mark 10:45, “[He] came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” When we celebrate the birth of Christ, we are recognizing that he is the greatest gift of all. The eternal Son of God came down and took on a human nature in order to die for us, that we could be saved from our sins. John 15:13, “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.” Jesus gave us the greatest gift as he came into this world ultimately to lay down his life for us. And indeed, in that chief of sacrifices, even Jesus found the blessedness of such giving. For having so sacrificed himself, God then “highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” The Magi began to bend the knee to Jesus. We continue to do so today and hail him King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Have you fallen down before Jesus and received him as Lord and Savior?
Trinity Presbyterian Church, today we’ve reflected on the biblical idea of giving and of the greatest gift of all, Jesus. I will summarize our message with three points of application. First, may you be generous in giving to the Lord from your treasure. When you give to the work of Christ’s church, you are joining with the Magi in worship and recognition of Christ Jesus. From a practical standpoint, you can help be a part of closing the gap on this year’s church budget with a generous end-of-the-year gift. Second, may you cheerfully give to others. We follow our Lord’s lead when we give to others, agreeing with him that it is more blessed to give than to receive. How fitting, especially, to give during this festive time. Three, may you gratefully receive all the gifts that our Lord gives. The Lord has given us Jesus with all his saving benefits. God has given us of his Spirit to renew us and guide us. God has bestowed upon us a kingdom in Christ, and made us a royal priesthood. God even in this life gives so many earthly treasures, entrusting us to steward them for his glory. Let us be grateful in receiving all these gifts from above. Indeed, may our own gift giving never overshadow the greatest gift we have in Jesus.
Amen.
Copyright © 2025 Rev. W. Reid Hankins, M.Div.
All Rights Reserved.
