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Worship Jesus for Who He Is—Our King

Less than 1 minute Reading Time: Mins

We all know the story of the wise men that brought Jesus gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. I never truly understood the meaning behind each of these gifts. This devotional really helped me to understand why they chose these specific things to give Jesus and the significance behind each one. I hope it helps you understand too.

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Day 2

Have you ever struggled to find the perfect gift for someone you love? You want it to be meaningful to them so that they see how meaningful they are to you. 

The wise men gave gifts to Jesus that at face value seem a little odd, but that actually paint a beautiful picture of who Jesus is. They brought Him gold, frankincense, and myrrh. It’s easy to let those go by without paying attention to them, but these gifts had significance that can help center our hearts this Christmas.

Together, those gifts show us who Jesus is. A God who is sovereign but willing to suffer to save us. 

There are a lot of reasons the wise men could have chosen to bring gold as one of their gifts to Jesus. For one, gold is something you’d give to a king. But think about the faith they would have had to give gold to a child. Everyone was expecting God to send a king. In fact, people in Jesus’ day wanted someone to rule their country—not necessarily to rule their hearts. Instead, God sent a child who would grow up, teach us how to live, and die in our place for our sins. 

So a child wasn’t exactly what anyone was expecting. And yet the wise men still presented gold, showing that Jesus is our King and is worthy of praise, sacrifice, and honor. 

Gold was also significant in the Old Testament. In fact, in the book of 1 Kings, we see how Solomon used gold when he built the temple for God. There are very specific instructions he had for building this temple, because it was a place for the presence of God to reside. 

Inside the temple there were different areas, and the innermost area was known as the Most Holy Place, or the Holy of Holies. In that place, the priest could encounter the presence of God and make a sacrifice on behalf of the people. The walls and altar within that holy place were made of gold.

So when the wise men gave Jesus gold, it foreshadowed that Jesus would make the ultimate sacrifice for us by dying on a cross and rising from the dead three days later so that we could choose to have a relationship with God. 

Now while the wise men gave Jesus gold, Jesus gave us a gift far more precious. The wise men weren’t buying their way to God. No human, no matter how seemingly important or well off, can afford that. Jesus Himself willingly paid the price we could never pay to pave the way for a personal relationship between us and God. The wise men gave Jesus gold—but Jesus gave us a connection to God. 

The only reasonable response for the wise men was to give what they had as an extravagant act of worship to Jesus. May we follow their sacrifice, and may we remember that Jesus is our King. In a season that can often be associated with hurry, let’s pause to remember how holy and awe-inspiring it is that God would send Jesus to be with us.

Pray: God, thank You for sending Jesus to be our ultimate sacrifice. Thank You for being the King of kings and the Lord of lords. Remind me of Your glory today. In Jesus’ name, amen. 

Practice: As you pray today, find a place to kneel down to remember that Jesus is King.

 

Accompanying bible verse

AMP Version

1 Kings 6:14-22

14| So Solomon built the house (temple) and finished it. 

15| He built the walls of the interior of the house [that is, the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies] with boards of cedar, from the floor of the house to the rafters of the ceiling. He overlaid the interior with wood, and he overlaid the floor of the house with boards of cypress. 

16| He built twenty cubits on the rear of the house with boards of cedar from the floor to the ceiling; he built its interior as the [inner] sanctuary, the Holy of Holies. 

17| The [rest of the] house, that is, the temple in front of the Holy of Holies, was forty cubits long. 

18| The cedar on the house within had wood carvings in the shape of gourds and open flowers. Everything was cedar; no stone was visible. 

19| Then he prepared the Holy of Holies within the house in order to put the ark of the covenant of the Lord there. 

20| The Holy of Holies was twenty cubits in length, twenty cubits in width, and twenty cubits in height (a cube), and he overlaid it with pure gold. He also overlaid the cedar altar [with gold]. 

21| Solomon overlaid the interior of the house with pure gold, and he drew chains of gold across the front of the Holy of Holies (inner sanctuary), and he overlaid it with gold. 

22| Then he overlaid the entire house with gold, until the whole house was finished. He also overlaid the entire [incense] altar which was by the Holy of Holies with gold.

Matthew 2:10-11

10| When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. 

11| And after entering the house, they saw the Child with Mary His mother; and they fell down and worshiped Him. Then, after opening their treasure chests, they presented to Him gifts [fit for a king, gifts] of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

Hebrews 4:14-16

14| Inasmuch then as we [believers] have a great High Priest who has [already ascended and] passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession [of faith and cling tenaciously to our absolute trust in Him as Savior]. 
15| For we do not have a High Priest who is unable to sympathize and understand our weaknesses and temptations, but One who has been tempted [knowing exactly how it feels to be human] in every respect as we are, yet without [committing any] sin. 
16| Therefore let us [with privilege] approach the throne of grace [that is, the throne of God’s gracious favor] with confidence and without fear, so that we may receive mercy [for our failures] and find [His amazing] grace to help in time of need [an appropriate blessing, coming just at the right moment].
 

Revelation 17:14

14| They will wage war against the Lamb (Christ), and the Lamb will triumph and conquer them, because He is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those who are with Him and on His side are the called and chosen (elect) and faithful.”

The gift devotional Day 2

Read day 3 of the devotional here

Read day 4 of the devotional here

Read or listen to the full 5 day devotional in the YouVersion

 
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