{"id":80,"date":"2014-05-20T12:00:50","date_gmt":"2014-05-20T12:00:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/forbiblestudynerds\/?p=80"},"modified":"2014-05-08T21:17:17","modified_gmt":"2014-05-08T21:17:17","slug":"matthew-21-12-the-visit-of-the-magi-symbolism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/forbiblestudynerds\/2014\/05\/matthew-21-12-the-visit-of-the-magi-symbolism.html","title":{"rendered":"Matthew 2:1-12; The Visit of the Magi (Symbolism)"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Magi gave to baby Jesus gifts of gold, incense, and myrrh. Those gifts fulfilled a prophecy found in Isaiah 60:6, and also communicated symbolic meaning.<\/p>\n

Gold in the ancient Middle East was associated with \u201cnoble purposes,\u201d as well as \u201cimmense worth and indestructibility.\u201d Incense was an element of worship, and \u201cfrom the revelations of both Isaiah and John, we understand that incense signals the everlasting worship of Yahweh.\u201d Frankincense specifically was used in an altar sacrifice at the temple. Finally, myrrh was a rare, aromatic substance used to perfume clothing and dead bodies during the embalming process. Taken together, these three gifts can symbolize Jesus\u2019 place as the eternal King, the divine Messiah, and our suffering Savior.<\/p>\n

\"Matthew<\/a><\/p>\n

Works Cited<\/a>:<\/p>\n

[DBI, 341, 419; HBD, 322, 672]<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u2126\u2126\u2126<\/p>\n

About: For Bible Study Nerds\u2122<\/a><\/p>\n

About: Mike Nappa<\/a><\/p>\n

Copyright \u00a9 2014 to present by\u00a0Nappaland Communications Inc<\/a>. All Rights Reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Magi gave to baby Jesus gifts of gold, incense, and myrrh. Those gifts fulfilled a prophecy found in Isaiah 60:6, and also communicated symbolic meaning. Gold in the ancient Middle East was associated with \u201cnoble purposes,\u201d as well as \u201cimmense worth and indestructibility.\u201d Incense was an element of worship, and \u201cfrom the revelations of…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":571,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,13],"tags":[35,41,40,34,302,42],"class_list":["post-80","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-matthew","category-symbolism","tag-christmas","tag-frankincense","tag-gold","tag-magi","tag-matthew","tag-myrrh"],"yoast_head":"\nMatthew 2:1-12; The Visit of the Magi (Symbolism) - For Bible Study Nerds<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/forbiblestudynerds\/2014\/05\/matthew-21-12-the-visit-of-the-magi-symbolism.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Matthew 2:1-12; The Visit of the Magi (Symbolism) - For Bible Study Nerds\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Magi gave to baby Jesus gifts of gold, incense, and myrrh. 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