By Pastor Marcus Blair, Grandview Baptist Church
Matthew 2:1-12
Wise men from the east came, knelt down, and worshipped the infant Jesus and when they did, a part of their worship was the presentation of three very precious things. Today, we will begin the study by talking about gold. Now, this is perhaps the easiest for us to understand, because we still give gold today, and hold it in very high value. That’s been the case since way before the time of Christ, that gold is extremely valuable and has been used for trade and currency by many, many cultures. And it would have been a very valuable gift for Mary and Joseph, which would have contributed greatly to the raising of the young Lord.
Remember who the wise men said they came looking for? They were looking for a newborn king. In their minds, the first fitting tribute a king ought to receive would be gold. People have always showered royalty with gold, and in fact, we most often think of a king wearing a gold crown on his head and holding a golden scepter. Usually the most lavish palaces, and even the temple in Jerusalem, were adorned heavily with gold, wall to wall. It’s a symbol of royalty and of excellence. Think about it: that’s still the case today. What do we hang around the neck of someone who is the greatest athlete? What kind of ring do we place on their finger? What kind of trophy do we hand them? Gold.
So on his birth he was given gold, but really, we are talking about the King of Kings and Lord of Lords here. To the one who created the heavens and the earth, just how precious is gold? It was the best gift we, humanity, had to offer to him, but all the gold is the world would not be of much value to the Lord of the entire universe. He is the maker and owner of all gold imaginable! And it shows us that sometimes we think we are making huge sacrifices for God, when we give of our time, when we donate and tithe our money to the church, when we lose sleep in prayer for a loved one or friend. We offer up what we can! But compared to the riches he is worthy of, it’s like a child finding a penny in the gutter and brining it to you.
Revelation 21:9-12, 18-21
For the complete column, see this week’s edition of the Centralia Fireside Guard.
