What are the things the 3 wise men brought to Baby Jesus?

Question

I know the names, but don't quite understand what they are and the meaning. Can you please help me and explain what each gift meant?
Thanks and Happy Holidays.

Thank you for all your wonderful answers except a few. I was taught that there were 3 wise men and you have made me realize that it was different. Who really knows how many wise men were present, but to be there had to have been spectacular and breathtaking.

Answer 1

Well there's a number of theories surrounding this tradition, but this is how I was taught:

Gold symbolized recognition that Jesus Christ was the "King of Kings."

Frankincense symbolizes Christ's divinity and his ability to heal.

Myrrh symbolizes the way Christ would suffer and die upon the Cross.

Happy Holidays to you, too :)

Answer 2

3 Wise Men Gifts

Answer 3

The second answer is correct, but I'd add that from a literary perspective, the fact that Frankincense and Myrrh were brought, foreshadowed Christ's death. Those are two of the expensive spices that would be used to 'treat' a body when it was prepared for burial.


+++ THEY, meaning there were more than one wise man. There were magi, MEN, meaning more than one. So if three gifts are specifically mentioned, and we KNOW there are more than one person presenting gifts, it's not a massive leap in logic to assume the more than one corresponds to the three gifts ++++

Mat: 2: 10 11 On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure-chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

Answer 4

The three gifts that a group of wise men brought to the young child Jesus were gold, frankincense and myrrh (how do you spell that?).

There was more than one wise man. Maybe three, maybe thirty... doesn't say how many came to the house.

The gold was to honor a King - it probably came in handy when they had to skip town and live on the run.

Frankincense - sweet smelling incense, also to honor Him.

Myrrh - anointing for the dead. Remember that Jesus came to this earth to die for us.

Answer 5

First of all, there are three gifts, and the idea that three wise men brought them is a back-formation from the number of the gifts. Check the Gospel of Matthew. We are not told how many wise men there were.

Here is the significance of the gifts:

gold - kingship or royalty, as only kings had any quantity of it.

frankincese - divinity, as it was burnt in devotion to God.

myrrh - death, as it was used to preserve corpses.

Answer 6

The Gold (in nugget form), Frankincense (which is a granular substance that slightly resembles amber) and Myrrh (which is also a granular substance and is similar in appearance to Frankincense) were delivered in small, handheld chests. Both Frankincense and Myrrh can be ground into a powder form, and both are very fragrant.
If you do a google image search you will be able to see exactly what each of these look like.

Answer 7

Gold is a precious metal.

Frankincense and myrrh are both resins -- dried tree sap -- that come from trees of the genus Boswellia (frankincense) and Commiphora (myrhh), which are common to Somalia.

The way that people collect the sap is similar to the way people collect rubber-tree sap or pine-tree sap. Cutting the tree's bark causes the sap to ooze out of the cut. The sap used to create both frankincense and myrrh comes slowly and is allowed to dry on the tree. The hardened sap is collected and used as frankincense and myrrh.

Both in the time of the three wise men and today, frankincense and myrrh are commonly used to create incense. You mix frankincense with things like spices, seeds and roots to create different aromas. Traditionally, you burn the powdered incense with charcoal in a censer or on a small stand.

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Wouldn't you want to give the son of God precious metal and stuff to make the house smell nice? It kind of reminds me of people handing out blue cigars to say, "It's a boy!" Well, think of these precious things as saying, "Joy to the World, The Lord is Come! Let Earth Receive Her King!"

Answer 8

where have you read in the bible that there was 3 wise men ? ? ?
The bible mentions the three gift that were brought by the kings.Perhaps 2 or 5 kings bought three gifts ?

It's kinda like when you invite 10 friends to your child's birthday party,will the child receive only 10 presents ? ? ?

Answer 9

Were There Three?
The number of Magi is not mentioned in the Bible record. Nevertheless, Nativity scenes and Christmas songs espouse the commonly held tradition that there were three. Evidently this springs from the fact that there were three types of gifts. Regarding these, the Bible says: “They also opened their treasures and presented [Jesus] with gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh.”—Matthew 2:11.
Is it sound reasoning to conclude that since the Magi gave three different gifts, there must have been three Magi? Let us consider the account of another notable visitor to Israel. The queen of Sheba once visited King Solomon and presented him with “balsam oil and very much gold and precious stones.” (1 Kings 10:2) Although three different kinds of gifts are spoken of, the only person mentioned as giving them is the queen of Sheba. The number of her presents does not indicate that three people approached Solomon on that occasion. Similarly, the three gifts made to Jesus have little to do with the number of people who brought them.

Answer 10

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RE:
What are the things the 3 wise men brought to Baby Jesus?
I know the names, but don't quite understand what they are and the meaning. Can you please help me and explain what each gift meant?
Thanks and Happy Holidays.