The Gift of Frankincense

The wise men foreshadowed Jesus’ mission and ministry with their gifts. Discover the meaning behind their gift of frankincense, a fragrant oil used for healing. (Matthew 2:10-11, Hebrews 10:10-14, 4:14-16)

Transcript

WISE MEN & THEIR GIFTS

As we prepare our hearts for the birth of our Savior Jesus this Christmas, we’re kicking off a new series called The Gift. Over the next three weeks, we’re going to look at the most famous gifts in Christmas history—the three gifts that the wise men gave to Jesus.

It’s recorded in Matthew 2:10-11, “10 When they [the wise men] saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11 On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.”

Here’s some context on this scene if you’re unfamiliar with the story. When Jesus was born in Bethlehem, a group of wise men, sometimes called magi, traveled a great distance to come and worship the baby Jesus.

Christmas trivia time! How many wise men were there? You might think three. But we don’t actually know; the Bible doesn’t say. We think there were three because they brought three gifts, but there could’ve been dozens.

We actually don’t know much about these men. They’re called wise men, magic, astrologers, or royal advisors. They may have even kings. We don’t know. But here are a few things we do know about them:

• They would’ve been highly educated

• They were very wealthy

• And they were desperate to meet the one who might be the savior of the world.

They were so overjoyed when they saw the baby Jesus that they bowed down on the ground and worshiped him. And then they gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

Not only were these gifts practical to the family and incredibly valuable, but they were also deeply spiritual. They foreshadowed some images of what Jesus would represent to them and to us.

• Gold represented the kingship of Jesus.

• Myrrh, which we’re gonna talk about next week, represented Jesus as the Suffering Servant.

• And today, we’re gonna talk about frankincense.

FRANKINCENSE

Frankincense is a tree resin, kinda like sap, that is very aromatic. If there are any essential oil users out there, you might know that frankincense is like a Swiss army knife of oils. People use it for anxiety, inflammation, immunity… super speed, invisibility, telekinesis, and male pattern baldness. (Ok, maybe those last few weren’t quite true.)

Two thousand years ago, in the Ancient Near East, it was used extensively for medicinal purposes. And we all know how often babies get sick. So, it was a very expensive and practical gift that helped heal sicknesses and treat wounds.

But there was also another way frankincense was used. It was used by the priests in sacrifices. They would burn the incense, and the smoke would rise up to heaven, representing the prayers of the people rising in faith to God. Because of this usage, frankincense came to represent Jesus as our High Priest.

THE HIGH PRIEST

In the Old Testament, the priest served as the mediator between the people and God. And this was broken primarily into two functions: First, the priest made sacrifices for the forgiveness of sins. Second, the priest prayed prayers on behalf of the people to God. Let’s talk about the first one—making sacrifices for the forgiveness of sins.

I recognize that sin isn’t a popular term these days. “Do what you want. You do you. Live your truth. Who are you to tell me I’m wrong? People make mistakes, but we’re not inherently bad. The idea of sin is an outdated tool of the patriarchy to oppress people, especially women.”

But here’s the challenge. If you have a casual view of sin, then you’ll never feel a need for Jesus as your High Priest to make a sacrifice for your sins.

THE HOLINESS OF GOD AND THE SINFULNESS OF HUMANS

Since the beginning of time, there have been two conflicting forces: the holiness of God and the sinfulness of humans.

And nowhere is this conflict illustrated more dramatically than in the Jewish Day of Atonement or Yum Kippur. Once a year, the High Priest would offer a sacrifice by killing an innocent animal as a temporary payment for the sins of all the people.

Then he would go into the innermost sanctuary of the Temple, called the Holy of Holies and light the frankincense, and the smoke would rise up to heaven, representing the cries and prayers of the people. Then the priest would sprinkle the blood of the animal on the lid of the Ark of the Covenant, which is called the mercy seat. This was the death of an innocent one in the place of the guilty ones, as a just payment for their sins.

Next… Have you ever heard of a scapegoat? Well, the term came from what happens next. The priest would take an innocent goat and confess the sins of the people, symbolically transferring the sins onto the goat. And then, the people would drive the goat into the wilderness, symbolizing that the sins have been separated from the people. That animal literally was the first escape-goat.

Can I just pause here and say… that’s weird. This cute little animal gets killed, and its blood gets poured out. And this is supposed to fix people’s mistakes. It’s violent, kind of gross, and completely unfair to have this innocent little animal dying for someone else. It’s barbaric. Why?

Two reasons: the holiness of God and the sinfulness of humans.

Because God is perfectly just, He must punish sin. If he let evil go unpunished, he would be an unjust, vile God. But God is also loving and merciful. So, here’s the beauty in what he does. The sacrifice satisfies God’s justice and, at the same time, extends mercy. The penalty for sin is paid, but someone else pays the price. So, God’s holiness and justice are satisfied, and yet he extends mercy to the people that He loves so much.

JESUS AS A BETTER HIGH PRIEST

But there’s a problem with all these old covenant sacrifices—they’re temporary. Under the new covenant, there is a new and better sacrifice. Here’s how Hebrews 10:10-14 describes it:

“10 We have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. 11 Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again, he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. [9] 12 But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God… 14 For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.”

How are we made holy? By the sacrifice of Jesus Christ once and for all. Under the old covenant, the priests would sacrifice day after day, week after week, because the sacrifices were only a temporary solution. But our High Priest, Jesus, offered himself as a single sacrifice for sins, good for all time and all people who call on his name. He was both High Priest and sacrifice. He offered his innocent, sinless life as a covering for our sin, satisfying the justice of God and extending mercy to God’s creation—you, whom he loves so much.

That is what’s represented when the wise men presented their gift, their sacrifice of frankincense to the baby Jesus.

AN ILLUSTRATION

Let me give you a picture of this. I’ve got a dirty shirt on. I also have terrible taste in fashion. I could wash his shirt, and that would get it clean for a bit. But it would get dirty again. And I could just keep doing that over and over and over again.

Now, imagine Jesus if he had a perfect shirt without any dirt or stains. And he exchanged his perfect shirt for my stained shirt. He replaced our dirtiness with his beauty and perfection.

For you theology nerds, this is called double imputation—our sin is put on Jesus, and his righteousness is put on us.

Jesus, your frankincense-burning High Priest, sacrificed his life, taking on your sin so that you could put on his righteousness. It’s not yours; it’s his. If you believe in Jesus as your High Priest, when God looks at you, he doesn’t see your sinfulness. Instead, he sees the righteousness of Christ. This is our High Priest, who gave his life, satisfying the justice of God and simultaneously extending mercy. Jesus is our High Priest. And that’s what the gift of frankincense foreshadowed.

APPROACHING THE THRONE

But there’s more… Jesus isn’t a distant, untouchable High Priest. Now, if you’re a part of a hierarchical, power-distance culture, like Hmong, there’s a good chance that this is how you view Jesus when you think of him as your High Priest.

If this is you, then Hebrews 4:14-16 has the best news you’ll hear all day.

“14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess.”

Why can we hold firmly to our faith?

“15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.”

What difference does this make? What does this change? Everything!

“16 Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”

Whatever you’re going through right now, Jesus understands it. He relates to your trials. He sympathizes with your pain. He knows because he went through it.

• Judged by your family? So was he in Nazareth.

• Anxiety? Overwhelmed? So was he in the Garden of Gethsemane.

• Rejected or abandoned? So was he by his own disciples.

He was criticized, ridiculed, and bullied. He was tempted by evil. He experienced the death of a close friend. He was wrongly accused. People saw him as a failure.

Whatever you feel, he felt. Wherever you hurt, he hurt. He is a great High Priest who can empathize with whatever you’re going through right now.

And that gives us an amazing promise—that we can approach him. Timidly, like a powerful leader? Fearfully, like a punitive parent? No! We can approach him confidently, boldly—not because of our goodness but because of Jesus’ sacrifice.

And if we do that and an amazing thing happens. We receive the gifts of grace and mercy when we need them the most.

• When we want to give up… here… the gift of strength and hope.

• When we feel broken and wounded… here…the gift of healing.

• When we feel condemned by our sin… here… the gift of forgiveness.

I hope you understand this. You can come to Him today just as you are. You can come to him with confidence. He is a good, empathetic High Priest who lights frankincense for your prayers and sacrifices himself for your sin.

APPLICATION / CLOSING

Today, I want to give you a chance to approach God’s throne of grace with confidence. To walk right up to him and exchange your sin for his righteousness. I’m gonna give you a few minutes. We’ll dim the house lights. And I want you to picture yourself in your mind, walking up to Jesus on his throne. And when you get up there, I want you to take off your sin and give it to Jesus. Then he will hand you a beautiful, glowing white shirt. And I want you to put that on.

Will you do that for me this morning?

And now, this Christmas, when you think of baby Jesus, think of the gift of frankincense and remember this moment—that Jesus is your High Priest whom you can approach confidently in your time of need.